Now Sega has released a tweaked version of that classic. It is the same game in many respects. All thirteen characters return with basically the same move sets that they had, as well as the arenas that they fought in. Arcade and Versus modes return basically the same, although Arcade has been altered a little to also feature bonus tasks in some levels, such as 'win in the first 10 seconds'. It works in much the same way as Quest Orders, which are explained in more detail below. So what is different? For starters the Kumite mode has been replaced by a Quest mode. And the training mode has had several additions. There are also two new characters, each with new fighting styles and moves. They are Goh Hinogami and Brad Burns, masters of Judo and Kick Boxing respectively. They both fit well into the Virtua Fighter stable, and are both fairly easy to pick up. Unfortunately one of the more innovative features in VF4 has been removed; there is no AI mode in Evolution. Though not widely used it was one of the more interesting modes, where you could train an AI fighter who fought on your behalf. Whether Sega have marked this as a failed experiment or are working on an improved version it is not known. Hopefully we will see it again in the future.

Graphically the game looks and plays better than it did last year. Sega have worked on removing the jaggies present in VF4 and it shows. Each arena is now fabulous to look at and the characters move very fluidly. Some new weather effects further enhance some levels. As far as the game plays it is still as smooth as ever and there is no problem with translating the moves you are making to what is happening on the screen.

The heart of Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is the Quest mode, which replaces Kumite in VF4. Kumite mode was great in that it was large and challenging, but suffered from a couple of faults. Firstly it was fairly aimless, with the player going through an endless series of random bouts with the aim of achieving the highest rank possible. While this was good, a bit of direction in the mode could have helped players figure out where they were in the scheme of things, how far they had come, and where they had to go. Secondly, it got pretty challenging quickly, possibly too quickly for a lot of players. The average player in VF4 was able to get into the Dan ranking, and up to about 2nd or possibly 3rd Dan, and then hit a wall in terms of progressing to a higher rank. While training could help to get past this stage, a lot of players were turned off once they got to that point.

Quest Mode seeks to address both of those issues, and we think they've succeeded in this. Quest is set in a city, with several Virtua Fighter arcades located in it. Each of these arcades is populated by a number of fighters of varying ranks. As with VF4 the fighting habits of actual gamers in Japan are used for opponents, with some returning from VF4 (yes, Fluffy does reappear). The game starts with just one arcade accessible, with others able to be unlocked by getting first, second or third in that arcade's tournament. As the arcades are opened up, the average rank of the arcades increases, and the harder it becomes to win the tournament. As well as completing each arcade, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution has also kept the ranking system seen in VF4. As the player progresses through the arcade, they can include matches to increase rank. For the lowest set of ranks 'Kyu', it is based on experience, and how many matches the player has been in and won. Above that, from '1st Dan' onwards, ranking can be increased after beating a certain number of fighters of the same rank. It's a good system, and since all the fighters you will meet in Quest also have a ranking, it is a way to compare your skill level with those that you will meet.

Each arcade has several things to accomplish in it, not all based on winning bouts. Firstly the tournament for that arcade needs to be unlocked. The criteria for this are usually failrly straightforward, such as beating 50% of the arcade's fighters or winning 30 matches. Accomplish this and the tournament is available to be entered. As well as this there is a completion percentage, based on how many of the arcade's fighters the player has beaten. Beating all of the fighters at least once will net a 100% statistic. While this is good for knowing where you stand in terms of the rest of the arcade, this can be sometimes tricky in the way the game is set up. Within each arcade the player will have to fight a series of random fighters from that arcade, and the player cannot choose who they fight. Where it gets tricky is when you need to meet just one or two more fighters to net 100%, and the fights you get are chosen randomly from a pool of around 30 fighters. It is possible to play thru 30-40 matches just to meet up with one particular fighter. Some sort of challenge system after winning the tournament would have been good to see here.

Also in each arcade are a series of Quest Orders. These orders are things a player must achieve in that arcade in the course of fighting there. Orders include things such as 'hit opponents with 10 evade attacks', 'win two matches in a row without using guard', or 'win 15 matches in a row'. As the player progresses through the arcades the complexity and difficulty of these challenges grows. They are definitely a nice addition to the mode, and become a minigame in themselves in trying to complete them all. They are also useful in that they sometimes force the player to think differently about how they are fighting, or push them to learn new skills. A lot of the time these orders are skill-based, such as 'perform a 4-hit combo' or 'perform a combo that takes away 70% of your opponent's health', so the player will need to learn these in order to complete it. While completing the Quest Orders is totally optional, they do provide another way to improve fighting skills.