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Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Virtua Fighter was one of my first beat um
up titles when I first got into console gaming. It is nice to see it
further down the line still able to invoke some fun and thrills in the
challenge of taking on virtual opponents. Thanks to Sega since they sent
the code over for us to check this game out, we get to go into one on
one battle again.
This
time around as the game graces us with in Xbox Live Arcade with new
moves for characters and a almost over kill in the DLC department.
Stepping in to the fighting area to go against your challenger players
will find multiple arenas and environments; all look very interesting
and pleasing to the eye as always. All though it is showing its age in
the graphics department, it gets the job done. Some arenas are simple
cage matches and there are some areas that you can win by forcing your
opponent out of the fight area. Once again there are a wide selection of
characters to choose from, 20 in all. This includes an opponent that
looks like one of the female terminators silvery body and all that has
the abilities to mimic every fighter’s moves.
The moves for each character have always been part of the fun of Virtua
Fighter, it’s no different here. With fight styles ranging from Karate
type, to Sumo Wrestling and even one of my favorites Drunken Kungfu, and
even Northern and Southern Shaolin. If you are new to these types of
beat um ups don’t let the diversity scare you away, the game is friendly
to new comers and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown even more so in its
Xbox Live Arcade form.
Just
pick up the controller and jump on in to the training Dojo. This is the
place to practice the deceptively simple control lay outs. Perhaps
deceptively is the wrong word, more like surprisingly simple control lay
outs. Commands for the game are oh so basic, launching into combos with
a simple press of the punch or kick buttons and then including the
directional button to pull of some of the coolest moves. That is why the
training Dojo is in the game….because pulling of some of the moves by
fiddling around is one thing, mastering the- oh so subtle nuances of the
perfect lock and throw of an opponent is another.
Virtua
fighter 5 final Showdown has stripped away things like back story to
bring to the arcade a lean mean fighting machine, and to bombard the
player in choices for DLC customizations of your favorite characters.
With the Down loadable content players can purchase item packs and
customize the look of characters. It’s a huge mix of items, packs are
character specific and while some items are the same for each character
and change simple things like colors, there are some items that are
unique to each character as well. It’s like playing dress up…but not.
Virtua Fighter has never been more accessible to so many players than it
is now at a trimmed down version it is great for a quick jump in and
fight a couple rounds or a whole marathon of gaming evening with
friends.
Have fun, play games.
Edwin Millheim |
