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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Fighting Developer: SEGA-AM2 Publisher: SEGA of America |
has offered over the years. The series is not only for the casual gamer that is looking for a game that is easy to pick up and play, but it is
“Mortal Kombat,” “Dead or Alive” and many others, no series has offered the depth and complexity that the “Virtua Fighter” franchise
also for those who are willing to dedicate themselves to learning the fighting styles of each character to master the game. “Virtua
Fighter 5” has the possibility of being the best fighting game in the franchise to date and may become to next generation console
champion.
For those who have never player any of the games in the “Virtua Fighter” franchise are in for a treat. “Virtua Fighter 5” is a great looking
game with excellent animations, awesome arenas and some great environmental effects. It is also the best fighting engine many
players will have ever experienced before. Some would argue that “Virtua Fighter 5” is far too complex for the average gamer. For those
looking for a fun experience, players can get through the Arcade and Quest modes relying on a handful of combos and some extreme
button mashing. For those who want to dedicate the time, there is an deep and gripping system to master. Those who only skim the
surface of the game will have some fun, but are certain to miss out on most of the things that make “Virtua Fighter 5” great.
There is a total of seventeen fighters to choose from in the game, with Eileen and El Blaze being new additions to the franchise. Each
character has his or her own fighting style and combo set. The move lists are very long and take considerable time and effort to master
a single character, much less the entire roster. Each character has very distinct looks and fighting styles. The differences in height and
build are amazing between some characters.
“Virtua Fighter 5” has many of the elements common in other fighting games. There are several tiers of combos that ranges from a
couple of quick button taps to high level attacks that require players to have perfect timing to execute. “Virtua Fighter 5” is a very well
balanced fighting game that mixes all of the elements of the fighting genre into a single fluid system.
Along with the inclusion of an online mode, the Quest Mode remains to be the bulk of the “Virtua Fighter 5” experience. Players take on
the role of an arcade gamer that plays the game in a variety of virtual arcades around an imaginary city. When they step up to an arcade
machine, the main goal is to knock off whoever is the champion on the machine and then hold the record for as long as possible
against all new comers. Players will do this with a single character, changing to another character begins a new Quest Mode. As
players win in the arcades, they will go up in the rankings, earn gold and unlock new items. The cash can be spent to buy more items
that the players will then be able to use to accessorize their characters with.
With dozens and dozens of items available and four different costume types for each character, players can create some very unique
versions of the same fighter. The differences can be so different that it could take a while to recognize some of the characters at first
glance. Player’s Quest Mode alterations carry over online allowing gamers to face off with their own customized fighters.
The fighting engine is very strong, but there are many areas where the game is lacking, but this is expected of any game released. The
arenas, which offer a few destructible elements, are nothing more than rectangular rings. While this is very standard for fighting games,
but this is not even close from the interesting multi tiered levels of other games. For a series that has always been ahead of the curve,
but “Virtua Fighter 5” is actually the first in the series that doesn’t push the envelope too much, instead it decides to play it safe.
The biggest change is the addition of online play. The online options are very minor and are not quite up to par with what have been
seen in other recent online fighting games. There are options for one on one ranked and unranked matches, but there isn’t any
tournament structure in place. Ranked matches use a scoring system that not only allows for a leader board, but also offers skill
rankings to easily judge whether a competitor is far above or below a player’s rank. It is a shame that the online mode doesn’t offer
more.
Quest Mode is designed as a virtual arcade and could have served as a place for online gamers to meet and battle. There are
occasional latency issues, where a button input is recognized later than it would offline. The case of latency is fairly rare, but it has
occurred occasionally during online sessions.
“Virtua Fighter 5” is a great fighting game. The fighting system is deep, complex and amazing. Unfortunately the other elements of
“Virtua Fighter 5” don’t equal up to the rest of the game. The presentation is fairly standard and the Quest Mode would have been a lot
more fun if it were online. For those who love fighting games and there really isn’t any choice but to play “Virtua Fighter 5.”
“Mortal Kombat,” “Dead or Alive” and many others, no series has offered the depth and complexity that the “Virtua Fighter” franchise
also for those who are willing to dedicate themselves to learning the fighting styles of each character to master the game. “Virtua
Fighter 5” has the possibility of being the best fighting game in the franchise to date and may become to next generation console
champion.
For those who have never player any of the games in the “Virtua Fighter” franchise are in for a treat. “Virtua Fighter 5” is a great looking
game with excellent animations, awesome arenas and some great environmental effects. It is also the best fighting engine many
players will have ever experienced before. Some would argue that “Virtua Fighter 5” is far too complex for the average gamer. For those
looking for a fun experience, players can get through the Arcade and Quest modes relying on a handful of combos and some extreme
button mashing. For those who want to dedicate the time, there is an deep and gripping system to master. Those who only skim the
surface of the game will have some fun, but are certain to miss out on most of the things that make “Virtua Fighter 5” great.
There is a total of seventeen fighters to choose from in the game, with Eileen and El Blaze being new additions to the franchise. Each
character has his or her own fighting style and combo set. The move lists are very long and take considerable time and effort to master
a single character, much less the entire roster. Each character has very distinct looks and fighting styles. The differences in height and
build are amazing between some characters.
“Virtua Fighter 5” has many of the elements common in other fighting games. There are several tiers of combos that ranges from a
couple of quick button taps to high level attacks that require players to have perfect timing to execute. “Virtua Fighter 5” is a very well
balanced fighting game that mixes all of the elements of the fighting genre into a single fluid system.
Along with the inclusion of an online mode, the Quest Mode remains to be the bulk of the “Virtua Fighter 5” experience. Players take on
the role of an arcade gamer that plays the game in a variety of virtual arcades around an imaginary city. When they step up to an arcade
machine, the main goal is to knock off whoever is the champion on the machine and then hold the record for as long as possible
against all new comers. Players will do this with a single character, changing to another character begins a new Quest Mode. As
players win in the arcades, they will go up in the rankings, earn gold and unlock new items. The cash can be spent to buy more items
that the players will then be able to use to accessorize their characters with.
With dozens and dozens of items available and four different costume types for each character, players can create some very unique
versions of the same fighter. The differences can be so different that it could take a while to recognize some of the characters at first
glance. Player’s Quest Mode alterations carry over online allowing gamers to face off with their own customized fighters.
The fighting engine is very strong, but there are many areas where the game is lacking, but this is expected of any game released. The
arenas, which offer a few destructible elements, are nothing more than rectangular rings. While this is very standard for fighting games,
but this is not even close from the interesting multi tiered levels of other games. For a series that has always been ahead of the curve,
but “Virtua Fighter 5” is actually the first in the series that doesn’t push the envelope too much, instead it decides to play it safe.
The biggest change is the addition of online play. The online options are very minor and are not quite up to par with what have been
seen in other recent online fighting games. There are options for one on one ranked and unranked matches, but there isn’t any
tournament structure in place. Ranked matches use a scoring system that not only allows for a leader board, but also offers skill
rankings to easily judge whether a competitor is far above or below a player’s rank. It is a shame that the online mode doesn’t offer
more.
Quest Mode is designed as a virtual arcade and could have served as a place for online gamers to meet and battle. There are
occasional latency issues, where a button input is recognized later than it would offline. The case of latency is fairly rare, but it has
occurred occasionally during online sessions.
“Virtua Fighter 5” is a great fighting game. The fighting system is deep, complex and amazing. Unfortunately the other elements of
“Virtua Fighter 5” don’t equal up to the rest of the game. The presentation is fairly standard and the Quest Mode would have been a lot
more fun if it were online. For those who love fighting games and there really isn’t any choice but to play “Virtua Fighter 5.”
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