Virtua Fighter 5 Online (Xbox 360)

The ability to fight online was worth the wait for 360 owners.
3/18/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 2

The customization screens are also feeding the addiction -- especially for completionists or those who just like to play dress-'em-up with their fighters -- as you can tweak the appearance of fighters with items that they've won or with stuff they can buy with earned money. In the PS3 version, the game could be stingy about doling out the goodies and the cash, but here you start with plenty of dough in your pocket, and Item Battles are a lot more common. The game lets you get very creative and distinct with the look of your fighter, which is very important because, unlike the PS3 release, the fighting here -- as the name would imply -- can be taken online, and no one wants to look plain-old-plain-old when facing off against a stranger on the other side of the country.

The online action here is everything that the online game in Dead or Alive 4 was not: There are no clunky and cutesy Wii-inspired lobbies and no laggy and frame rate-challenged battles. Online, fighting is just as smooth as in the single-player game. You can choose to enter a fight that will affect your actual ranking and stats or you can just fight to see how well you do against live competition. While the quest mode does a great job of simulating the arcade experience, the online game is essentially the 21st-century replacement of the increasingly harder-to-find arcade experience. Aside from the resolution jump from 720p to 1080p, the game's online capabilities are what truly separate it from the earlier PS3 version of things. And it makes a huge difference. There are few gaming moments more poignant and meaningful than virtually beating the daylights out of someone you'll never meet.

Apparently, the gaming gods have decided to throw a bone to the poor 360 owners who have had to survive on a meager diet of Halo 3, BioShock, The Orange Box and the just-released Call of Duty 4. Sega's latest fighter will finally give them a break from all those sub-par shooters... Of course, I'm kidding. These are ridiculously cool days to have a 360 -- especially if you have an equally ridiculous amount of free time. And the rich just keep getting richer. In addition to the aforementioned gems, you can now add Virtua Fighter 5 Online to the list of potential Game of the Year nominees.

This review was based on a retail version of the game supplied by the publisher. The reviewer didn't have to do anything. He just opened his door one day and there it was!