Earlier this year, PlayStation 3 owners got a chance to whack away at Virtua Fighter 5, the follow-up to 2003's stellar VF4: Evolution. Evolution may have been the greatest fighter of all time, and the next-gen sequel on Sony's console was top-notch. The problem was, almost as soon as it hit the shelf, the word was out that the planned Xbox 360 version was going to be bigger, badder and better. Xboxers have waited eight months for Sega and AM2's Virtua Fighter 5 Online to see if the rumors would be true. Happily -- at least for them -- they are. Simply put, if you're into fighting games and you have a 360, you must own this game.

Oh, and as long as you're going to go out and buy the game, you might as well also pick up a hi-def TV. The game is gorgeous in standard 480i, but unlike the PS3 version which only cranked the knob to 720p, here things go all the way to 1080p. The results are stunning. Things that have always killed some of the realism in other games -- stiff, non-moving fabric and clothing, plastic-looking hair, etc. -- are gone. Graphically, the game kicks. (Of course, for the ultimate in 1080p play, you'll need to have the snappy black Elite version of the console that comes with the HDMI port and cable.)

But fight game fans will appreciate more than just the pretty pictures; the gameplay more closely captures the dynamics of actual fighting than other fighting series. In the VF games, you can't just adopt a button-mashing offensive mindset and expect to make your way through the thing. Just like on the street or in an actual dojo, you may defeat lower ranked and unskilled fighters this way, but when you have to go up against an opponent that knows what he or she is doing, charging in with arms and legs a-flailing will usually have you eating the business end of a foot or fist. VF4:E was possibly the first fighter where I took just as much joy in evading an attack as I did in landing one, and that same joy is back in VF5O. Yes, on the offensive side of the fight, things are astoundingly deep, but all of those weapons won't help you if you can't get out of the way of a punch or kick.

It's also nice to report that the new characters this time around stress speed and acrobatics over power. In VF4:E, we got to deal with Goh and Brad. Goh was a plodder and Brad was fast, but essentially a generic striker. VF5O introduces us to Eileen, whose acrobatic style isn't quite as out there as Shun Di's Drunken Kung Fu, but she's still a fun character to fight as and can be quite difficult to fight against -- especially at higher levels. Also in the mix is El Blaze, whose flashy costumes and even flashier takedowns make him worth a look.

While you can take any of the characters through a generic run-the-gauntlet-style Arcade mode or work on some of the more complex attacks in the practice Dojo mode, the guts of the single-player game -- as it was in VF4:E -- is the Quest mode. Compared to the Story modes in most games, where you take a character through a contrived plot in which -- conveniently -- they have to fight their way through all of the other fighters in the game, the Quest mode here seems epic. Choose your fighter and then take him or her from a fresh-faced 10th kyu-level scrapper to a multi-degree level black belt. The game's leveling-up process is done at various arcades where you pit your version of, say, Pai Chan against another virtual player's version of another character. You may end up fighting four Akira Yukis in a row, but they are different versions of the same guy. They may be different belt levels or they may even be the same level, but just fight differently. The game does a great job of simulating going to an arcade and taking on a total stranger and the character as which he fights best. It worked in Evolution, and it's just as addictive here.

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!