Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Fighter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Not being an experienced fighter, I felt rather awkward donning my “gi.” As a gamer, I haven’t tested my hand-to-hand combat skills much (unless you generously allow me to count wielding my Blade of Scorching in Skyrim). So it was with slight hesitancy that I downloaded Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown on my trusty Xbox.

I was somewhat heartened by the fact that the game, as I understand it, is effectively a re-release of the 2007 console version of VF5, allegedly aimed at those who are new to the fighting series. I was further encouraged by one of the known details about these games: they are generally accessible to all; anyone can pick them up and button-pound their way to glory. I might be teaching my grandma to suck eggs here, but for those who’ve never played a fighting game, the objective is simple: knock seven bells of hell out of your opponent without them doing the same to you. First one to reduce their opponent’s health to zero wins.

Fighting my first opponent, I found the controls to be very straightforward. Left stick or D-Pad controls movement, with down being crouch and up being jump, X is block, A and Y are punch, and B is kick. Command (move) lists are accessed from the pause menu. My confidence grew after I knocked my first challenger out. The real satisfaction came from learning the proper techniques, combos and counters, and there’s a large selection of these to keep any cage fighter purring. Ok, I lied — the real satisfaction comes from downing your opponent in a flurry of carefully orchestrated limb-based attacks.

From a graphics perspective, Final Showdown is pretty good, and as an arcade game it’s definitely comparable to a full retail product. One fighting location involves a beach, and the effects of the players moving on the sand are pretty clever. The game scores quite high marks for foreground and player animation/graphics, but lower for the background sets and interactive environments. Since players’ attention is drawn to the fighting, this does little to detract from the visual enjoyment of the game. New visual additions from previous versions include an increased range of animations and alternative costumes (including character customization).

The gameplay itself is quite engaging to start; I got hooked on knocking out various ego-led opponents. There are 19 playable fighters, with one being brought back from an older entry and only a single character being genuinely new to the series, making for only two extra characters. The fighters are actually quite dull. They hardly speak (some comical taunting or gloating would have been a nice touch). In terms of a story, there aren’t any character endings when the arcade mode is finished. Any game has to have lively characters, since these are the key focal points of player engagement. Despite various fighting environments (aboard a raft on a river, in a burning building, in a shopping mall, etc.), the game does get a little repetitive after awhile. There are various modes, such as the basic arcade mode, versus, score attack, and a license-challenge mode, to try to keep the game fresh. The arcade solo mode and the versus mode will likely draw the most interest. The challenge mode is hardly challenging, even for a new fighter like me – win a match without losing a round (40G), for example. A little bit more investment in this mode could’ve been interesting and kept even the veterans of the series engaged. Despite all this, it’s the fighting itself that’s done well. Timing, input and reactions are what this game’s really about, which should please the most ardent fighters out there. Combat is slick and fast, and you need your wits about you.

Which gamers will be interested in Virtua Fighter 5? It’s hard to say, really. The hardcore fans of the series will probably go for it, but I doubt they’ll find much longevity in the gameplay. There is a customization element, but from what I can tell, old outfits and appearance elements are all currently locked out until they can be pushed via DLC. It should appeal to anyone who’s tempted to play a fighting game and hasn’t as yet dipped their toe into such waters. The main selling point of this game is that you’re getting a retail game for an arcade price, and that should be well received by the gaming community. For 1200 MS points, Virtua Fighter 5 is a steal. I’m battered, broken and bruised; I hope you fully appreciate my dedication to gaming.

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Our Recommendation: