VF5 Online has some of the best fighting gameplay ever, but an overall lackluster package brings it down.

User Rating: 8 | Virtua Fighter 5 Online X360
When I first played Virtua Fighter, it was VF4: Evolution on the arcade machine. A fluid gameplay design and decent graphics made it fun to play, but I found myself playing Tekken 5 more. Now, we have Virtua Fighter 5 Online, ported from the PS3 version, offering an online mode, slightly improved graphics, and more items to change your character's look.

Now, when most VF fanboys see the score, they're going to think, "Oh, he's just a button mashing, Soul Calibur-loving moron." Well, SC2 is one of the best fighting games ever, but I have never seen such great gameplay in a fighting game ever. VF5 offers the deepest gameplay in any game, because there's so many moves to every character, and there's almost a countermove for every attack, offering very balanced gameplay. What's better is how good every character is. You will never find a match where you can instantly see an advantage over another player due to characters chosen.

What makes it better is that in this game, you just can't ring out everyone you meet, because a good chunk of the arenas have either railings, or walls preventing any chance of doing a ring out.

Another good thing about this game are the graphics. Damn, they are good. They look sharp and detailed, and it's really cool to see interesting particle effects when a character is slammed to the ground.

One more interesting point is the customizing system. The 360 version was given more items to customize with than the PS3 version, and it is very fun to use, because you can give your character so many different appearances.

But what's the problem tbat brings this game down to an 8.0? It begins with the non-existant story. There's no story in this game unless you read the manual, but the story's so horrible that you don't want to. El Blaze's story is the worst story ever made in the history of gaming.

And then there's the godawful voice acting. I'm going to make this short: These VA's make the Dragon Ball Z VA's look Oscar worthy.

Another thing that bothers me is the overall value. Basically, if Quest Mode doesn't interest you, you will get bored of this game quickly, unless you play online.

And finally, the presentation is a little lacking. It's not bad, but it's very simple and uninteresting.

In conclusion, VF5 is a good game, but it's overall lacking. Just go get VF4: Evolution for the PS2 if you want your Virtua FIghter fix.