Virtua Fighter 5 Reviews \ Detail

Virtua Fighter 5 - 9/10

There has been a plethora of beat em ups over the past few years, fighting fans have been blessed with the likes of Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, Kensei Sacred Fist, Mortal Kombat, the legendary Tekken series & Virtua Fighter. So from a fighting fanatic point of view, what makes Virtua Fighter 5 any different & better than the rest if at all?

Well, im not going to lie, i still think Tekken is the greatest beat em up of all time, but thats not taking away anything from Virtua Fighter 5 because what we have here is a cracking game in its own right. When you look at most fighting games, you should judge them on what they do best, for example, dead or alive is the best looking beat em up, Tekken has the best gameplay and arcade thrills while Virtua Fighter 5 has a stronger focus on realism. So put simple, if you want the most realistic fighting game than Virtua Fighter 5 is you're best bet.

Graphics: VF5 is a stunning game to look at, little details of brilliance are abound whether its veins and ropes of muscle in the bigger characters arms, flowing clothing and so on, the characters look scarily lifelike especially Akira. Big credit must go to the arena's you fight in as well, some of them are spectacular to stare at such as the rippling murky water in the valley stage, The river, and the great wall of china which shows off a stunning sunset backdrop and floors that crack if you or your opponent falls on them. The biggest visual aspect that really wowed me was that your fighters clothes actually look dark and wet after they make contact with water, only graphical blemish would be some jagged edges that you will notice in some stages.

Sound: The audio is pretty fitting, the background music is wonderful, the sound effects crunchy and the characters vocals are natural to their language and country they come from.

Gameplay: The best part of the game, Virtua Fighter is as deep as it gets and given enough practice you will be side stepping, pulling off throws and reversals and parrying in no time, the command lists are huge and there is plenty to learn for each character. It can be very very tough indeed but concetrate on one character and their movesets at a time and you will soon be that legendary ranked player you dreamed of becoming. For the beginners choice, i would say use Aoi, as she has the most revearsals and ground throws in the game and is quite a nimble character, stay clear of the big slow fighters like Wolf and Jeffry because they arent great to start with and i should know as i got humiliated first go with them. The quest mode creates great practice as it puts you up against varied opponents with different skill levels and rankings.

Lifespan: There are 17 characters here to wade through and there is plenty of fun to be had in the quest mode, my only complaint would be perhaps the lack of online gameplay which may somewhat hamper this games lifespan, but apart from that, VF5 should keep you're thumbs occupied until Tekken 6 unleashes its fury.

Overall, if you are fighting fan, then i reckon this is pretty much a given, if you are a hardcore fighting fan then buy this ASAP. Is it the best beat em up ever? well thats up to the individual and what type of fighting you like, to me its not, Tekken is, but that doesnt stop me from enjoying this cracker.

Submitted by callan5 07/05/2007 4

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Virtua Fighter 5 05 Jul 2007 8

Comments

Kudos: 4,154

Mates: 181

Bev says:  

I also thought online play would have extended this games lifespan a lot more! Other than this there are a lot of characters and maps as you mentioned. Having now played this game I quite enjoyed it and find myself amazed by some of the backdrops.

I like the drunken fighter Shun Di, but I think Eileen has some cool moves also.

07/06/2007 Adelaide, SA

Kudos: 12,044

Mates: 192

callan5 says:  

Cheers piti & Winnie

07/06/2007 perth, WA

Kudos: 3,236

Mates: 30

piti says:  

wow Nice review man

07/06/2007 Sydney

Kudos: 1,223

Mates: 34

Winnie says:  

Good review.

Judging by those screenshots, the game does look great, but I'm not much of a fighter fan. Might get it if it goes down to a budget price, though.

07/06/2007 Melbourne

Kudos: 12,044

Mates: 192

callan5 says:  

Thanks Bev mate, atm im still using Aoi and El Blaze, they r my choice so far as they r both pretty swift movers and can fool bigger characters.

07/06/2007 perth, WA

Kudos: 4,154

Mates: 181

Bev says:  

Good Review Callan. Playing this game at the moment, I totally agree the visuals are great and plenty of moves to perform. I'm still getting used to doing different grabs and reversals.

07/05/2007 Adelaide, SA

Kudos: 12,044

Mates: 192

callan5 says:  

Cheers longarms mate

ive done one more review, This time on Genji, mainly to warn people about how bad it is.

07/05/2007 perth, WA

Kudos: 3,626

Mates: 36

longarms says:  

Nice review Callan man.
Learning moves is silly when you can pull them off just by button mashing.

07/05/2007 Central Coast (NSW)