E3 2007 Preview
SEGA’s Virtua Fighter series has been kickin’ ass
and takin’ names for some time now, with the past few entries representing some
of the deepest and most complex experiences you’re likely to find in a fighting
game. The most recent entry in the series, Virtua Fighter 5, is currently
reigning as one of the best fighting games you’ll find, and certainly the best
available on the PS3.
Now, the game will debut on the Xbox 360 console
later this year. However, instead of simply being a straight port of the PS3
game, the 360 version ups the ante with some improvements to the formula here
and there, as well as online play, a component sorely lacking from the PS3
version. Due to this addition, Virtua Fighter 5 on the Xbox 360 will be the
quintessential version to pick up.
Virtua Fighter 5’s online play will be a pretty
robust feature, offering leaderboards, ranked matches, and many elements to make
it as fleshed-out an experience as possible.
The game will feature achievements that are
geared towards the single-player experience, with points gained for beating the
game with each character, “hitting a guy with glasses” and so on. The game will
also enable you to copy your homemade character to a memory card to take to your
friend’s 360 to pit against his creation.
While specific downloadable content will
definitely be in the game, the specifics on it are pretty slim. Chances are
these will entail more customizations to your character.
Even graphically the game has been cleaned up.
The aliasing jaggies that were apparent in the PS3 have been cleaned up, and the
experience generally looks a lot smoother on the Xbox 360.
Even without the online component, Virtua Fighter
5 would be a must-play for Xbox 360 fighting fans. However, with the ability to
fight it out over Xbox Live, the deal is only further sweetened. Look for Virtua
Fighter 5 on the Xbox 360 later this year.
