Virtua Fighter 5 features a control set similar to most other Japanese developed fighters, meaning players will use various combinations of button presses and D-pad directions to perform attacks. This brings out one of the inherent flaws with the Xbox 360 system, the D-pad. Though the D-pad performed better with this title than I expected, it is still far from perfect. Dedicated fans of fighter games may want to invest $60 in the arcade style Virtua Fighter stick, with the joystick and oversized buttons seen on coin-op games. Mastering the combinations will be a long process, as each of the 17 characters features a unique command set. Neophytes to the Virtua Fighter series will be at huge disadvantage against some of the seasoned veterans, until they have mastered one or two fight styles. If you’ve played the series before, the characters and command sets will be familiar, and your focus should be on perfecting your skills with Eileen and El Blaze.
Games of the fighting genre usually feature some outstanding visuals and animations, and Virtua Fighter 5 continues this tradition in a big way. Every time that I thought I had found my favorite location, a new one took its place. From the beautiful Temple location with Asian pagodas and cherry blossoms, to Aurora with its northern lights, each of the environments is just short of breath taking. There are 18 locations in all that feature fantastic lighting, falling leaves, fog and snow effects that are done well and greatly enhance the visuals. If there is one complaint to be had with the arenas, it lies with the layout, and not the look. Each arena is a simple rectangle, without multi-tiered locals like Dead or Alive, and without boundary-free arenas of some of the old Tekken games. The only real variation between fight arenas is that some are walled, and some are open, allowing a gamer to score a ring out. All fight animation is as smooth as silk, and is as varied as the fighters themselves, while the frame rate stays consistent from start to finish.
The audio portion of the game is fair enough and serves its purpose well. The music tends to be the loud, attention seeking type that one would expect in an arcade game. The dubbing over to English is almost comical, as is always the case with this style of game. The characters speak in a manner that no Westerner would, and the lip-syncing is not even close. But, like a Bruce Lee movie, you’re not in it for the dialog. The fight sounds are run of the mill and almost utilitarian, as they serve their purpose without exciting. The aural portion of the game just does what it is supposed to, and nothing more.
Virtua Fighter 5 continues the series of outstanding fighting games, while standing out against competitors in a crowded genre. There are a few weak points, such as clumsy menu navigation, great but lacking online support, and reliance on the Microsoft D-pad, but overall VF5 is a very strong title, and fans of fighting games are going to love this game. Unfortunately, this game is not going to get the attention it deserves being released within mere weeks of hyped titles such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero 3, Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect and many, many others. Curse you Xbox 360 and your deep, stellar library of quality games! Just kidding. Virtua Fighter 5 is a quality game, and should not be overlooked.
