Thursday, November 29, 2007
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Arts. Etc
Page 9
Review
GAME REVIEW
Aaron Dahlstrom
News Assistant
Editor
Virtua Fighter 5 Online is the lat
est installment in the decade-old
fighting game franchise by SEGA.
The series has always been associat
ed with innovation. In fact, it was
one of the first 3-D fighting games to
hit the market.
But even after five incarnations
and countless imitators, Virtua
Fighter 5 Online provides a deep
fighting experience made all the
more rich by the addition of fully
functional online play.
Interestingly enough, the game’s
biggest strength is also its weakness.
The incredible complexity of the
fighting system ensures players,
especially those new to the Virtua
Fighter world, will spend hours
learning each character’s 60 plus
combos.
Graphics
Graphical expectations mn high
on next-gen games, and Virtua
Fighter’s looks set the bar even high
er. All 17 fighter’s animations are
fast and beautiful, and each success
ful blow looks like it really packs a
punch.
Every combatant fights with a
unique style, and their costumes can
be altered to provide an even more
distinct look. The fighting environ
ments range from inner-city arenas
to Japanese temples, and there are
enough of them to keep each one
from growing old too quick, even
though every stage is basically an
unchanging square.
While VF5 looks shiny and new,
the menu systems feel clumsy and
overly complicated. They don’t
detract from the experience, but do
slow down the pace of the otherwise
lightning-fast gameplay.
Sound
VFS’s sound provides the sort of
heavy beat techno rock you would
expect from a modem fighting
game. It serves its purpose, but that
is about it. The voice acting from the
characters is horrendous, but again
that is typical for this genre.
The characters each speak their
home country’s language, which is a
nice touch, even if it leaves the
American characters sounding a lit
tle silly.
Gameplay
The bread and butter of a fighting
game. VFS’s combat stands out as
the deepest in the genre. Each char
acter possesses dozens of moves
unique to them, although learning
how and when to use them takes
hours of practice.
Unfortunately, all that practice
means very little in single player
mode. Even on the higher difficulty
levels, the computer opponents can
be defeated using one or two com
bos. A lengthy quest mixle lets you
hone your skills and unkxik special
items and costumes, but for any sort
of real challenge, you need to go
online.
VF5 features some of the
smcxithest online gameplay found in
a fighting game. What it lacks in fea
tures (there are only two options —
ranked and unranked matches), it
makes up for in practicality.
Overall
Fans of the fighting game genre
have no need to worry. VF5 looks
great, plays great and has enough
replay value to keep you glued to
your Xbox 360 until after Christmas.
If you are not a die-hard fan of this
style of game, VF5 is probably not
the best place to start. VF5 definite
ly caters to hardcore gamers, so
those looking for a casual pick-up-
and-play experience should look
elsewhere.
('OURIUSY OF n;AMXI)OX
HEIGHTS
IBR, 2BR, 3BR, & 4BR starting at $74,000 in park like setting. Amenities to include 24
HOUR FITNESS CENTER, POOL & WALKING TRAIL, NEW KITCHENS, UPDATED BATHS, W/D HOOK-UPS &
PI_/^YGR0UND. location is 10 MINUTES FROM CAMPUS AND 1 BLOCK FROM PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
G. I
'll
: iT
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