Virtua Fighter 5 Online

"After playing this, I can't play DOA 4 anymore."

My name is dafreestyleking, and this is my review for VIrtua Fighter 5 for the Xbox 360. Is this game fun and exciting, or boring like the San Antonio Spurs? Let's find out.



GRAPHICS-10/10

This game is one of the prettiest games I've seen on the 360 so far. Before each match, the camera zooms in and out and shows different parts of the fighting stage, very nice. The fighters all look fantastic, and you'll notice the little things like hair flowing and blowing in the wind, clothes that don't look painted on, and the realistic looking background stages.




MODES-9/10

After a cool intro into the game, I decided to play around with the different modes to explore. Arcade Mode is exactly what it sounds like...it's like you were playing at an actual arcade playing Virtua Fighter 5. Once again, there aren't any end game cutscenes explaining the characters in the story, so you'll have to use your imagination by reading the brief character bios in the instruction booklet. Since there aren't any storylines in-game, I didn't spend much time with this mode.

Quest Mode is the meat and potatoes in this game. In this mode you go to a map and pick an arcade for your character to fight in. These arcades can range from novice to advanced A.I. players. WIn enough at these arcades and you'll be prompted with a invitation to participate in a tournament. By placing at least in 3rd place, you can unlock items and prize money for your character.

What I always liked about Virtua Fighter was the ranking system. If you keep winning matches, you'll notice a little green bar, when it's full, you've been promoted up a rank.(I'm a 3rd Dan with Vanessa btw.) It's cool things like ranking matches that make Quest Mode so fun. Each character can have 4 different base costumes, and you can buy more parts with the money you've earned in fights, or use the parts you've won in item battles.

In Quest Mode, there's also an option to turn on commentators during fights. They're not perfect, but they seem to have an idea of what's going on in a fight, and if you don't like it, you can always turn it off.



CHARACTERS-8/10

I've been critical of Virtua Fighter characters in the past, I used to think they were bland and boring like the San Antonio Spurs. Maybe it's just the graphics upgrade, but I don't think this way anymore. There are 2 new fighters in this game, Eilleen and Rey Mysterio....er I mean El Blaze, both are great additions imo. It's a shame this game hasn't sold well in the US compared to Japan, cause I don't think US gamers truly appreciate how deep the fighting in this game is.

I think the fighter intro/post-fight comments could be improved thouigh, some are cool while others not so much, for example: Vanessa: "On the battle field, you'd be dead!"



GAMEPLAY-9/10

Each character plays differently, and while I suck as some characters, I can appreciate the amount of details that go into them. Take Vanessa for example, she has 2 styles, offensive and defensive. Most fighting games are just button mashers, in this game you have to practice to get good at it. The A.I. is challenging, not cheap like in DOA 4. When I lose, I don't cheated, I realize my mistakes and try to minimize them. It may take you a while to get used to the speed in this game, it's lighting quick. On the highter difficulty settings, you better learn how to block and dodge attacks, or you'll be tasting the canvas a lot.


PROS:
-The best 3-D fighter on the market.
-Quest Mode is fun, yet challenging at the same time.
-Great graphics and beatiful stages.
-Customizable outfits for fighters.
-You can turn on commentators, and while they're not perfect, they get the job done.

CONS:
-Lack of in-game story makes Arcade Mode pointless.
-Some of the pre/post fight comments are corny.

I rented this game, and I'll be buying this one asap. I tried to play DOA 4, but I just couldn't suffer though it anymore. Anyway, if you're a fighting game fan, you owe it to yourself to check this game out.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/07

Game Release: Virtua Fighter 5 Online (US, 10/30/07)