Gamernode: Reviews - Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5

• Virtua Fighter 5
• PlayStation 3
• Sega-AM2
• Sega
• February 22nd, 2007

The Virtua Fighter series has long been the epitome of "easy to play, hard to master." Unlike a majority of the fighters out there, the learning curve for VF has always been rather steep; this game is no different. With a distinct lack of fighters on next-gen consoles, many gamers who are new to the genre have experience only with Dead or Alive. While the two games look similar, they're very different when you look at what's inside. If you're looking for an easy fighting game you can pick up and play, VF5 may not be the game for you. If you're a new (or old) fighting fan looking for a new challenge -- or if you're looking for a game where experience will almost always beat button-mashing -- then VF5 is the answer to your gaming prayers.

Despite the numeral, VF5 isn't the fifth Virtua Fighter title -- it is the fifth official tournament, though. With a new tournament comes new fighters, and VF5 is no exception. This time around we get a young girl named Eileen who specializes in Monkey Kung Fu, as well as a luchador who goes by the name El Blaze. (El Blaze seems to be in direct contest with Wolf, as he joins the competition to beat the heavyweight wrestler, and the videos we got introducing us to him a while back showcased their rivalry.) Along with the two new bloods, the game features a returning cast familiar to long- and short-term fans of the series. AM2 and Sega have even created an old-school vibe, in some cases giving characters moves from the past which haven't been seen in a while.

Virtua Fighter has never been about flashiness (unless you count that first step into 3d-fighting). Where other games will load up the single player mode with CG video, a stable of unlockable fighters and other touches here and there, in Virtua Fighter the name of the game has always been gameplay, and this title does it better than any VF game before it.

While the game is obviously based towards fighting enthusiasts or fans of the series, the flashy moves and beautiful graphics do a good job of pulling in newcomers. Even the simplest of combos yields a fantastic looking attack, so those who have relatively no experience with the game won't be forced to watch in awe as their friends pull off good looking attack after good looking attack. At times, it even seems like the strongest attacks are relatively uninspiring compared to the simple ones. While the flashy attacks may be easy to pull off, the nuances of the fighting engine in Virtua Fighter 5 make it very unfriendly for a newbie -- if they're playing someone with experience or a harder computer opponent. Otherwise, they'll do fine. The moment a veteran steps into the virtual ring against them, though, there's almost no hope of winning. The incredible depth of the countering, stances, evading, etc. just make it impossible to beat someone far better than you.

At first, it may seem like there's no real single player story mode in Virtua Fighter 5. Where other games will give each character their own little story (and possibly a cinematic upon completing the last fight), in VF5 you really don't know what's going on; most of your information will come from reading the short bios in the instruction booklet. The only reward for beating arcade mode is a bonus fight against Dural, which is a one-and-done. Lose the fight? Better luck next time! You'd think that means you can get something from winning the fight, right? Wrong. There's really no reason to play in the arcade mode at all, especially given the alternative: the Quest mode.

The Quest mode is easily the most addicting mode I've ever seen in a fighting game. The concept is simple, albeit rather corny. Instead of playing as your fighter, you play as a virtual you, traveling to arcades and playing other players in order to unlock tournaments, prizes and increase your rank. As you win fights, you're given what is basically experience. Get enough, and you go up a rank. (Rankings really serve no purpose other than giving you a clue about the skill level of your opponent.) The addicting part comes in the form of Item fights and tournaments. While playing, you'll randomly be given the chance to win an item if you win the fight. Items range from emblems which go under your health bar to costume items, including clothing and accessories. Using the items you've unlocked or purchased (you'll accumulate gold by winning tournaments or item fights, among other things), you can customize the appearance of your chosen character. When playing Quest mode, you won't be able to change characters and keep your progress. This means that if you want to unlock a ton of costume options for each of the 17 fighters, you're in for a very, very long ride.

With an incredibly polished fighting engine, nice character animations and movesets and an addicting single player mode, are there any faults in Virtua Fighter 5? Yes, and no. The largest fault comes in the form of the omission of any form of online capability. In a day and age where online gaming (even on consoles) is dominant, it's odd to see such a high profile title without the feature. To be completely fair, though, Sega and AM2 were worried that latency and player connections would create a very unbalanced online aspect, and to their credit they went with what they thought was best rather than cash in. It will be interesting to see if the Xbox 360 version offers some form of online accompaniment, though. Whether it's in the form of online matches or even an online leaderboard where stats can be displayed, it would be nice to have some form of support.

There's also a bunch of little issues which just add up, especially with how noticeable they are in an otherwise perfect game. For example, some features from the original arcade version in Japan are completely left out. One of my favorite aspects of VF5 were the entrances you could create for your fighter. These allowed people to have a little more customization to separate them from other players, but sadly it's not here. Once again, hopefully we'll see a change in the 360 version.

Graphically, Virtua Fighter 5 is the best looking fighter yet. The backgrounds and environments may not wow you, but you'd have to be in denial to not notice how nice the character models look. Even on a standard television set, you can tell they look better than Dead or Alive or any current arcade fighter. Plug the PS3 into an HDTV, and you'll swear at times you're watching a high-budget CG film, or even live-action fighting. It's -- as far as the eye can tell -- identical graphically to the arcade version on an HD, and for a fighting fan that's an amazing thing.

If you're a fan of the genre, Virtua Fighter 5 is an incredible title. Is it worth buying a PS3 over? Only if you planned to import the arcade version. If you have a PS3 and are looking to fill an oddly empty genre, then by all means pick this title up. And if you've been waiting for something other than Resistance to be worthwhile, you can't do much better. While the barebones gameplay options and lack of flash may make VF5 seem like a stripped title, that couldn't be further from the truth. While we don't get beautiful cinematics, dozens of characters or a bunch of gimmicky modes to keep us busy, we do get the solidest fighter we've had in a very long time, and what may be the best single player mode in any fighter to date.

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