14 DAY TRIAL // 
The first thing you'll notice about SEGA's latest installment in the Virtua Fighter series is that the game is downright beautiful. Virtua Fighter 5 may seem a little difficult to newcomers to the series and even to those who've skipped the game's fourth installment. Although it is clear that SEGA's intentions were to provide PS3 owners with a classical and mature fighting system, those looking for a great fighting experience are going to have to polish up their skills, as VF5 is quite rigid, not leaving the player with many options when faced with a low health bar.
As you can imagine, VF5 builds upon its predecessor's gameplay system, delivering a much more realistic, yet typical Virtua Fighter feeling. Several new characters have been introduced, such as Eileen and El Blaze, who have been designed to match perfectly with the game's concept.
Character customization can now be literally taken to the max - just an example: you can strap as many as 3 different leather bras onto Vanessa's big chest and more than 20 other different accessories and suits, all this just for the upper body. Quest mode is still there, adding just a few more features, while practice mode (Dojo) has been tweaked up quite a bit, making it simpler to perform hit combos, evades and... something new! Not telling yet. To top it all, VF5 also comes with a much more solid storyline, this time revealing a stronger connection to Vanessa Lewis, part of J6's special forces. Which brings us to our next point of discussion...
Story The world's 17 best fighters begin their final phases of preparation for entering the Fifth World Fighting Tournament. They are faced with having not to repeat their prior mistakes and achieve mind, body and soul steadiness. However, J6, the organization funding the tournament, has other intentions with this contest and the company's top secret Dural program is already well underway. The organization's quest is ...obviously, world domination, as the scientists over at J6 are creating the ultimate fighting machine with human features. Fans of the series may remember that their first model was defeated in the Fourth World Fighting Tournament. This is what led J6 to kidnap Vanessa and download her skills. Fortunately, she was able to escape with the help of an insider, but her combat data had already been transferred to the new advanced Dural model named V-Dural.
Now J6 is determined to find out who the inside traitor that released Vanessa is and more importantly, if V-Dural is indeed ready to defeat the world's best fighters. Naturally, it is The Fifth World Fighting Tournament that will reveal both.
Concept As every Virtua Fighter title to date (except for the first installment, which was a 2D fighting game that had little in common with what was about to follow), the game uses a combat system allowing players to either defeat their opponent (CPU or another player) by either knocking/forcing them out of the ring, or by K.O. Fans are sure to be pleased that SEGA has stuck to the system, allowing them to experience what they'd already fallen in love with, at a much higher level of video, audio and control.
Another aspect sure to impress fans of SEGA's popular fighting franchise is of course the game's stunningly detailed environments, inspired by locations all around the world. The introduction of a Clash System is also a good addition to the game (quite frankly it desperately needed it, but let's just leave things the way they are for now), allowing gamers to actually cancel an attack with a throw (Namco's Tekken series is a good example, being chief among the games featuring such a combat system).
AI has clearly evolved with VF5, but again, it's obvious that SEGA didn't want to change the game too much, leaving its (sometimes) rigid gameplay the way it has always been, so basically, only the fiercest of Virtua Fighter fans will notice the difference. Actually, the fact that the developer has introduced only two new characters with the release of VF5 says it all: SEGA is sticking to its roots.
However, even SEGA knew they couldn't just launch a better looking Virtua Fighter 4, and so they've also introduced a more complicated, yet better established Ranking system, along with a very flexible customization feature, using an enhanced engine.
Last, but not least, the game's main menu allows players to access 4 game-modes (so to speak), aside VF.TV, Customize and the Options bar of course. Those are Arcade, VS., Quest and Dojo. While it's already obvious to everyone that Dojo stands for practice, you might want to know what Quest mode hides. Simple enough, Quest mode is the game's single-player mode providing a much deeper experience. Quest is not much different than in VF4 and even if some new additions are worth mentioning, we wouldn't want to spoil your fun exploring this game mode.
Gameplay Where to start? Again, if you're a newcomer to the series, you'll be faced with polishing up on your fighting skills. When the game's menu pops up, your first choice will probably be Arcade mode. Choosing to play as one of the game's 17 playable characters is easy enough, but just as the first match commences you'll be surprised to see that inputting a double button command (eg.: up and punch/kick) is going to take quite some time to make the character react. This may be a little frustrating at first, but you'll soon learn that anticipating what the opponent is going to do is actually the key to using this system.
So our advice is to see how Arcade looks for a little while, but then run off straight to the game's main menu and enter Dojo, choosing your favourite character. Here you'll have Command Training and Free Training to choose from. Both options will aid you in polishing up on your fighting skills.
However, if you're a Virtua Fighter fan, you'll be quite pleased to see that your player can now perform side and back grabs. Naturally grabbing an opponent from the front, sides or his/her back will result in a different grab. Not to mention that inputting a different direction on the D-pad while grabbing will also result in a different throw.
Remember that there was something in the introduction that we didn't want to comment on yet? Well, the time has come to reveal what the Clash System really does. Imagine you're fighting in V.S. Mode as Vanessa, kicking, punching and throwing yourselves around the place until you're left with just a millimeter of health. All is not lost. When initiated at just the right time, an attack can be canceled out with a throw, creating a clash and leaving both players at +0 frame advantage. Even now you can still beat your friend (well, supposedly friends shouldn't kick each other's asses but...). The instant that kick or punch is aimed in your direction, all you have to do is press X and your character will perform a counter attack.
So basically, even though VF5 is not as fast as the Mortal Kombat or Tekken series, the game is surely going to fill up those gaps that other fighting games left empty. Not to mention that the game's sheer multitude of moves is going to take your breath away.
Visuals Just taking a look at the screenshots we've made available below will convince you that VF5 is the best looking fighting game yet. You'll fall in love with the game right from the presentation, where the characters are displayed in all their splendor (especially the girls). Chances are that the game itself looks better than the screenshots (something not very often encountered).
Razor sharp textures and facial movements are also something to capture your attention, while every flying droplet of water and pouring sweat over the characters' bodies are undoubtedly, quite noticeable.
Sound From what I've experienced with the Virtua Fighter series, the musical touch has never been SEGA's top priority with the game, but this time, a great looking intro is being accompanied by a good score. As far as each stage's track goes (as you can imagine) the genre has been chosen to match the setting.
And something that goes for both Visuals and Sound, the game's Next-Gen Presentation includes 720p HD resolution (widescreen) and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround.
Conclusion Leaving aside that Virtua Fighter 5 is surely not going to appeal everyone just looking for a quick fighting experience, SEGA has seemingly achieved perfection, as far as graphics and control are concerned with the series. Undoubtedly, the PS3's sheer processing power stands as confirmation that SEGA had so much more in mind with their popular fighting franchise, yet didn't have the hardware support. Overall, Virtua Fighter 5 plays well, adds more features, deepens the plot even more than its predecessor did (VF4) and looks absolutely STUNNING!
