Virtua Fighter 5
October 30,2007 - The popularity of the Virtua Fighter series overseas is immense. Here in the States, however, the game has its crowd, but the game has the potential to grab hold of a much larger audience. Sega plans to finally gain that larger audience with the launch of Virtua Fighter 5 Online for the Xbox 360. It’s the latest installment in their premiere fighting franchise and it‘s better than ever. This is a slightly reworked and rebalanced version of the game that now sports plenty of online functionality, but also keeps what makes the VF titles so terrific and unique.

As mentioned already this title is slightly reworked and rebalanced. Big fans of the VF titles probably know this already. This Xbox 360 version of the fighter is based on revision C of the arcade version. If you’re curious, the PS3 version of VF5 was based on revision B. So, in translation for the newer players, revision C is the overall best. It’s the best of the 3 revisions because it basically fixes what little was wrong with the PS3 version. Lots of movements had frames shaved off to give a sense of faster gameplay and even better balance.

A good reason for the very loyal fan base is because of the series’ brilliant fighting system. It revolves around three buttons. The punch button, kick button and guard button. Timing and different combinations of the three buttons is everything. You can combine high, low and mid attacks to confuse and catch your opponent off guard. There is also a good countering system that just adds to the technicality of the game, in a good way. One could side step to avoid being hit, counter a kick or punch being thrown or reverse a grapple attempt. Now, what’s so clever about the fight mechanics is that you essentially get whatever you put into it. Here’s an explanation, if you’re a veteran of the series or if you just decide to put a decent amount of effort into learning attack combos, counters and evasive maneuvers with some characters, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how deep and complex fights can really get. At the same time though, casual gamers and new comers can have just as much fun playing each other with basic attacks and combos to execute some cool moves.

There are a number of different modes one can play. There’s a little something for everyone. There’s an Arcade mode that keeps track of your score and ends with the game’s boss. A Versus mode in which you can play with a friend sitting next to you or you can sign into Xbox live for some online battles. This is of course new to the series and only appears in this version of the game for the Xbox 360. In a time where online play is growing ever so popular, especially with fighting games among others, it’s a very good thing that there’s online functionality finally, you know? It’s the simple fact that there is the option to play with someone over Xbox live, be it a ranked or player match; and now you can show off and other people can actually see your customized characters!

So, this is just another reason why the Xbox 360 version of the game is well worth the buy. It must be noted though, the Xbox Live battles shouldn’t be taken too seriously. They should really only be taken lightly and played casually because a game like VF in which the gameplay is so centered around timing and sensitivity doesn’t play too well in the eyes of very experienced players. The lag and so on could cause a fight to go downhill fast for someone trying to play with a certain style. Either way, it’s like I said, the online is still a plus. Hardcore gamers and fans of the series would know about the online workings and they’d get their kicks out of playing on the same console with a friend or attending tournaments in person.

The other modes of play would include Dojo mode which is basically where you’d go to train and hone in on your skills. Then there’s the Quest mode. Here’s another part of VF5 where I think the game really shines. Quest mode will display a map and on that map are different virtual arcades where you can join in and face off against various computer profiles that try to play like different human controlled characters. All the profiles have their own rank and win loss ratio. While winning matches here you’ll unlock some new outfits, gain items and raise money to buy new apparel for your chosen character. By the way, all the original fighters are back, along with the two newly introduced fighters from the original PS3 version, El Blaze, the lucha libre style wrestler, and Eileen, the monkey style martial artist.

Graphically, Virtua Fighter 5 looks amazing. It’s presented in a high definition widescreen format. The stages are fairly detailed and the backgrounds appear pretty alive and lush. Lighting and shadows look great. Even better looking are the character models and animations. All their movements are fluid and graceful as they should be due to the games tight and responsive fighting system. On the audio side of the game nothing really disappoints, except for the voice acting. It sounds a little odd and some characters’ voices and some sound effects sound a bit muffled. All the classic sounds are still here. For example, the punch and kick sounds and some of the sounds you might here in the menus.

With all that being said Virtua Fighter 5 Online for the Xbox 360 is most definitely a buy. That is of course, if you didn’t buy it for the PS3 already. It’s arguable though. The added content and online functionality may be the push you need to make up your mind. It just can’t be missed if you haven’t played the game yet. It’s totally accessible to everyone and provides a very unique and very cool fighting experience.

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