Virtua Quest

"Sega's Virtua Fighter series has long been one of the crown jewels in the respected Japanese developer's portfolio of games. But while garnering a sizable and devoted fan base, as well as a respectable amount of critical acclaim, the series has never quite broken through to the masses. As a result, Sega is now attempting to broaden the franchise's appeal by experimenting with it a bit. The upcoming Virtua Quest, an action role-playing game that employs the venerable Virtua Fighter license, has toyed with the franchise by presenting it in a decidedly different way. "

We went hands-on with the GameCube version of Virtua Quest today at Sega's E3 booth. In the game, you'll take control of a young boy named Sei who has the uncanny ability to access "Virtua Souls," which are data clusters spread around the world that will grant Sei new fighting powers. Sei will be pursued by an evil group that desires his powers throughout the game.

"Virtua Quest is hard to recommend anyone, given its poor controls, lackluster combat, and unenticing world."

"...Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation is a game that could have been so much more than it is. The combat system is a joy to use (intermittent camera woes aside) and the rich heritage of the series would have made a great transition into something more open-ended and exploratory in nature. It’s as though the developers shied away from the potential and as such the game is noticeably lacklustre because of it. In summation, Cyber Generation is a lost opportunity on the part of SEGA and consequently a below average title."