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SEGA’s Virtua Fighter 5 has already arrived on
home consoles in Europe. Being offered as a launch title for the
PLAYSTATION3, Virtua Fighter 5 was an instant hit with the
videogames press –
 and indeed your very own Electronic Articles
team – feeling as complete a package as could be found on the
young system’s decidedly unimpressive launch line-up. However, seven
months passed between the PLAYSTATION3 and Xbox360 releases, and
seven months is a long time to play-around with an already released
game.
The version of the title that has been brought to the
Xbox360 has been heavily-touted as being a port of the Arcade Ver.3
(the final version SEGA traditionally revise for Arcade machines),
although, in real terms, this actually makes little difference to
the final package. A slight tweak here-and-there is noticeable – an
added frame-or-two on a grapple, a slight weakening of a high-kick –
but in real terms, this will only be noticeable to the few who
overuse these specific moves, weakening their resolve. What really
does make a difference though is the dramatic increase of depth
witnessed in the title’s gameplay modes.
The Dojo – a Training Mode – thankfully returns,
offering every character’s Command List as a walkthrough and aiding
those used to dedicating some time to learning the speed, weight and
balance of their chosen characters’ moves. Arcade Mode sees you
battling through a series of six characters (randomly chosen from a
possible three set strings, known as Routes) capped by Akira as the
Final Battle, and a Bonus Round after. The big additions though,
come in the form of Quest Mode, and online player-versus-player
options.
Quest Mode is an inspired addition to an already weighty
package – although, it has to be said, that inspiration has clearly
been
Soul Calibur II. The player can choose between playing at
one of seven Arcade venues, each offering a different skill level of A.I.. The player is Ranked in accordance with the experience gained
through winning fights. Beginning as 10th Kyu, the player
must work through to 1st Kyu, before moving onto 1st
Dan and working through to 10th Dan. After this comes
titles such as Guardian and Berserker. The A.I. are Ranked in the
same way, and beating opponents
 of a similar or higher Rank will
allow the player to progress more quickly. Each venue has their own
list of the A.I. fighters who play at that Arcade, and it is the
players’ goal to vanquish every one of them.
There also Tournaments – both “hosted” by a specific
venue and “official”, which are keys to the all important Xbox360
Achievements – in which the player can participate for money or
items. And here again lies an all-important addition to the
PLAYSTATION3 release; the customisation ability.
While the player could customise their chosen fighter on
the PLAYSTATION3, the Xbox360 really does push the limits of the
option far further. When the player creates Character Data, that
data can then be used in all gameplay modes, earning experience,
money and items where allowed. The money can then be used in the
shop, and the items adorned upon the chosen Character Model. Each
Character Model has a limit of ten points, and each item has a cost
(although many remain at 0). Different hair colour, hair styles,
gloves, tanktops, boots, jeans, belts; it soon becomes apparent that
it is possible to change almost every outward aspect of your
characters appearance; much like in real life, they may look like
totally different people, but will always act and speak in the same
way. While this option doesn’t intend to fall-in-line with Soul
Calibur III’s both loved-and-loathed Character Creation option,
it does add a great deal of personal flair to the game, especially
when taking your customised Character Model online.
The online gameplay was excused from the PLAYSTATION3
release as, at the time, SEGA felt the online infrastructure simply
wasn’t capable of handling such a technical One-On-One Beat-‘Em-up
in the manner it required for compelling gameplay. However, not that
much has changed in domestic European internet usage and devices in
the last seven months, perhaps with the exception of an increased
adoption rate, so when boiled down, this could almost be seen as
SEGA announcing they didn’t feel that SONY’s online
infrastructure was ready, whereas Microsoft’s most probably is.
However, it may not be quite as straight-forward as this, as,
although being a vast improvement over that of
Dead Or Alive 4’s
struggling online mode, the title still features a seemingly
incurable, game-breaking amount of Lag. Couple this with the
streamlined approach to the Menu System and gameplay options, and
the mode offers a nice distraction, but simply can’t compete
with having two players of equal ability side-by-side.
Virtua Fighter 5 on the Xbox360 is technically a
contradiction. On paper, the PLAYSTATION3 significantly out-powers
the Xbox360 in almost all respects. However, in actuality, the
Xbox360 appreciably improves on the PLAYSTATION3’s output. The
backgrounds have been sharpened and have added flair while the
Frame-Rate remains constant, lighting effects have been improved and
the Character Models – perhaps having taken note of
Electronic
Articles own criticism of the PLAYSTATION3 release – while
remaining inherently mannequin-esque in their complexion, do feature
some increased imperfections. Wrinkles and
 blemishes, as well as
increased detail on extremities, muscle and veins all appear as if
they’d simply been forgotten for the PLAYSTATION3 Character Models,
and the title looks significantly better for it. The sound, however,
is practically identical.
SEGA’s latest arrival in their Beat-‘Em-Up heritage took the floor
with the PLAYSTATION3 release. The Xbox360 release, however, has
upped-the-ante by some margin. Featuring additional modes and
extensive customisation options, Virtua Fighter 5 simply
couldn’t be a more complete One-On-One Beat-‘Em-Up package; lacking
the pressures of arriving as a launch title has obviously been good
for the development team. It may
not reinvigorate the genre as many hope a title one day will, but it
deserves to, and to those who follow the genre, that’s all that matters. |
