Virtua Fighter 5

"Although it offers pretty much what VF4: Evolution offered, the overall list of options (arcade mode, Quest mode, versus mode, Dojo mode, VF.TV, aka replay viewer) feels kind of bare bones in the grand scheme of things. Fortunately, VF5 doesn't succeed by throwing tons of superfluous Tekken-esque modes on a disc. It succeeds based on the merits of its infinitely replayable, highly finessed fighting engine. While "noobs" might be content to knit the same canned combos over and over, veterans will relish the ability to improvise, discover, and master new moves, combos, and strategies, day after day after day."

"We can't say that's a bad thing, though. It's a different thing, nothing more, nothing less. To complain that Virtua Fighter 5 isn't accessible enough would be like complaining that a black and white film isn't colourful enough, or that a vegetable dish isn't meaty enough. VF5 sets out to create the world's best beat 'em up for beat 'em up aficionados, and it succeeds. It deserves all the plaudits it gets; we just think that you should consider carefully whether you count yourself as a beat 'em up aficionado before deciding to pick up a copy."

"Virtua Fighter 5 should be your next PlayStation 3 game if you enjoy fighting games and can deal with its 'more of the same, but improved' syndrome. Quest mode could easily have you hooked for thousands of matches and have you searching for band-aids for gamer's thumb. The lack of online play hurts its overall longevity, but perhaps this will be attended to with the Xbox 360 version's summer 2007 release."

"Virtua Fighter 5 builds upon VF4 with new moves and characters, making for a great sequel."

"...it's a pure fighting experience that gamers who've only played Tekken, DoA, or Soul Calibur will be able to jump in and appreciate, while veterans will hop in and log in endless hours on unlocking as many items as possible. Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect game --that's entirely too subjective-- we wish that VF 5 had some online leaderboards, slightly less cheap A.I., and we're concerned that the hardcore might feel that in spite of its visuals, it's really just "VF 4: NEXT Evolution" with prettier graphics. Again, while some might disagree strongly with us, we're okay with the lack of online multiplayer in this case."