When you're not playing online, customizing your character or fighting through the quest mode, you can also check out some of the other modes in Virtua Fighter 5. Even though the quest mode is the most exciting single-player component, Sega did include the Arcade mode, which plays like a standard arcade game where you go from one fighter to the next and then face a final boss. You can also learn new moves and combos in the Virtua Fighter Dojo. Rounding out the list is the VF.TV, which is a place for you to watch saved fights. The VF.TV is a good idea, but it doesn't feel fully realized in this Xbox 360 game. These different modes are interesting, but at the end of the day the best reason to play this fighter is for the multiplayer and quest mode.
Virtua Fighter 5's amazing graphics don't hurt its appeal any. This is easily the best looking fighting game currently available on the Xbox 360, and arguably the best looking fighter on any platform (including arcade). The backgrounds (which include all the basics, like a river, mountains, city, etc.) are full of small details that make them stand out. And you can't forget about the characters, each of the 18 characters is large and full of polish. It's hard to imagine a Virtua Fighter game looking better than this, but I'm sure I'll be saying that about Virtua Fighter 6 whenever it comes out.
While you can play Virtua Fighter 5 with the standard Xbox 360 control, the best way to play an arcade fighter like this is with an arcade-style joystick control. Unfortunately this means you will probably have to invest another $60 dollars into the game, $120 if you want a second joystick for a friend. Getting everything set up can easily cost you $200, which can be a lot of money for a fighting game. But Virtua Fighter 5 is worth it, there just isn't a better fighting game on the market. And the good news is that nobody is actually forcing you to buy the expensive joystick controls, they are completely optional.
Virtua Fighter 5 more than lives up to the high pedigree of the first four games, which should be enough of a reason right there for most people to buy the game. With its amazing cast of characters, detailed graphics and solid gameplay modes (for both online and offline play), Virtua Fighter 5 is the best fighting game currently available on the Xbox 360. We can argue all day about whether it's the best fighting game of all time, but I doubt too many people are going to disagree that this is a high water mark for Microsoft's next-generation console.
A-
Released six months after the PlayStation 3 version, Virtua Fighter 5 proves to be an even better game on the Xbox 360. Not only are the graphics as good as they can be, but the game sports some of the most compelling game modes found in a fighting game. If you even remotely enjoy beating the snot out of another person, then Virtua Fighter 5 is the perfect game for you!
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