Virtua Fighter 5 / XBox, PS3 – $12.14 or $23
Virtua Fighter 5 (89 at Metacriic) is a fighting game that specializes in quick, technical combat. There’s not much of a story, no character development (outside of buying items to hang on your fighter), no levels to unlock, no hidden bosses to reveal.
But what it does, it does really well.
It’s fast, it’s responsive, and it’s deep. It’s 60 frames per second of flying throws and controlled fury. You can take one character and spend months learning their attacks and counters — there’s a monk character who has an entire series of moves that only work when his back is to his enemy, and he’s close to a wall — but VF5 also plays well with button-mashing newbs.
You can play Virtua Fighter hardcore or soft.
You could study and adopt one of the 17 fighters, each with their distinct martial arts styles (Shaolin Ken? Muay Tahi? Lucha Libre?); hone your play during ‘the Quest,’ the single player mode, where you visit a series of increasingly-tougher opponents in arcades and tournaments (their actions are based on the play of real players); use the Dojo mode to master your moves; and then go on to the silky-smooth online play, where you’ll face players from around the world in a tiered ladder system. (The really great players, they say, are from Japan.)
You could also just sit down with a friend, pick a couple of guys who look cool, and beat the snot out of each other.
Both are fun.
The visuals are terrific, the controls are tight, and it has the deepest fighting system in videogaming. It’s good for a 20-minute break, or months of mastery. And it’s $12 for the Xbox, $23 for the PS3. (Yeah, I don’t get that either.)
Here’s the trailer:
In their review, 1up said:
If you love fighting games and want to play a fighter that continually unveils new wrinkles day in and day out and rewards dedication like no other, this is the game to get. Virtua Fighter 5 may not have kangaroos or weapons or bridges to fall off of, but it has unmatched playability as its calling card, and that’s the only thing that counts.
Awesomely, Wikipedia lists the bio and fighting style of every character who has ever appeared in the franchise.
