Review: Virtua Fighter 5 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. AM2, Sega)

Nowadays, gamers are pretty spoilt for choice when it comes to beat 'em ups. Want immediate arcade action? Buy Tekken or Soul Calibur. Looking for fast-paced explosive action with a strategic bent and pendulous breasts? Buy Dead Or Alive. But if you're after a beat 'em up with infinite depth and unparalleled finesse, there really is no other choice; Virtua Fighter 5 is where it's at.

First of all, a confession. We here at The Shed are completely green when it comes to the Virtua Fighter series. Our experience essentially boils down to a brief flirtation with the arcade versions resulting in many a lost quid and a quick dabble with the fourth instalment on the PS2. So why, you might ask have we even bothered to buy VF 5? We're graphics whores, easily lead by hype and as PS3 owners we're stuck with a console utterly bereft of high kicking, punchy beat 'em up action. Virtua Fighter 5 seemed like a logical purchase, after all, we've been playing Tekken since the beginning, we know the Soul Calibur series inside out and we could hold our own in a Dead Or Alive session any day of the week.

If like us you're VF virgins, you might find the game initially inaccessible, especially if you're used to a diet of Tekken, Soul Calibur and Street Fighter. You may find yourself especially frustrated by the pace of the action, more akin to a game of chess than an all action fighting game. Make no mistake, wade in fists flying like you would in Tekken and you'll get put down quicker than a scabby dog.

If you want to succeed in Virtua Fighter's world you'd best make a visit to the dojo first. It's there that you'll find useful tutorials to surviving a baptism of fire against the residents of the arcades that you'll battle through in the fantastic quest mode - the real crux of your VF 5 experience. Each arcade venue is made up of fighters whose data has been gleaned from actual player AI, each possessing varying skill levels. It's possible to trounce beginner and intermediate players by committing a few cheesy combos to memory and then relentlessly reeling them off. This dishonourable tactic will not serve you well against the more advanced players however, forcing you to actually develop your tactics and move set beyond just a basic handful of combos. It's tough, but it's worth it.

More than any other console scrapper, character selection is paramount as your chosen pugilist will be assigned to your profile potentially becoming a permanent extension of your Virtua Fighter self. The range of customisation options means that you can edit your character to make him or her your own, which actually adds nothing to the game unless you're playing the online enabled 360 version making your own character more recognisable (which begs the question, why is this a feature omitted from the PS3 version?).

Invest time in learning the many techniques, combos, moves and nuances of your character and Virtua Fighter 5 will start paying you back with dividends. Nothing is sweeter than mastering a fighter and subsequently vanquishing all comers. Due to the game's tough learning curve, grabbing a victory is always a great moment due to all that hard work you will have put in at the dojo and slowly working your way through the arcades. If you're good enough to win all of the numerous tournaments and reach a higher level, you may never go back to Tekken as it seems relatively lightweight by comparison.

Still in our own personal opinion, there's room for both the arcade thrills and immediacy of Namco's garish button mashers to co-exist alongside the deep, all-consuming face pulping of VF and to a lesser extent DOA. If it's longevity and depth that you're looking for, Virtua Fighter 5 really has no equal. Graphically sumptuous, flawlessly executed, VF 5 is a masterclass in sublime console beat 'em up action, which is more than worth its asking price. VF 5 is far too difficult and may test the patience of the fighting novice but is an essential purchase for all experienced fight fans seeking a genuine challenge.

Verdict: 8/10

Characters:

Virtua Fighter 5 is host to two new characters joining the roster of old favourites. Eileen uses a monkey-like technique called Kou-Ken whereas El Blaze is a Rey Mysterio-esque Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler. Below is a list of the 17 characters featured in VF 5 and the level of expertise recommended for mastery of each:

BEGINNER: For players who've never played a beat 'em up, these characters should ease you in gently if you don't know a Tech Roll from a Fig Roll.

El Blaze, Jacky, Lau, Pai.

INTERMEDIATE: The amateur VF player (like us) who've had a razz on Tekken or Soul Calibur and have an understanding of the beat 'em up basics will feel at home with this lot.

Brad, Kage, Lion, Sarah, Wolf.

EXPERT: If you're a seasoned VF veteran and you want to get better and advance further, then these are the fighters to plump for.

Aoi, Eileen, Jeffry, Lei-Fei, Shun Di, Vanessa.

PROFESSIONAL: So you've been playing Virtua Fighter since it first hit the arcades and you've become an elite fighter capable of executing combos without a second thought. You're probably sneering at this article because you already know everything there is to know about VF.

Akira, Goh.