Yes, there's no online play...
Right, let’s get the biggest bugbear out of the way first. Yes, there’s no online support. Yes, it sucks. Yes, the only way to fight another human is to have them sitting next to you. Why is this? Well, you could argue that lag over the net was a concern. You could also argue that half the fun of kicking someone across the stage is having them next to you for a decent bit of post knockout pwnage. You could even go so far as to claim that Virtua Fighter 5 isn’t a game that needs online play.So let’s deal with these in turn. First, that lag argument isn’t going to wash. I’ve recently played F.E.A.R. over the wireless on my PS3 and it was lag free... and there’s loads more info going back and forth in a 16 player deathmatch than a two player fisticuffs session. Next, I agree that having someone sitting next to you as you pummel them to oblivion is extremely satisfying, but this is a next-gen console. The older Xbox 360 has near flawless online play in all its games and has proved that people want to play online... and let’s not mention the fact that you could play online with the PS2 versions... which also deals with that last excuse about Virtua Fighter 5 not needing an online mode.
Click for larger imageSo why no online play? Well, if I was honest I’d have to say I don’t know, but the cynical side of me rather suspects that Sony didn’t get the network SDK out in time for developers AM2 to have been able to implement it. Perhaps we’ll see online play in a massive downloadable update... but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Anyway, now we’ve dealt with that one, let’s have a look at the game itself, after all, that’s why you’re here, yes?
Click for larger imageWell what can we compare Virtua Fighter 5 with? Well, um, not much really. In fact Virtua Fighter 5 is the first out and out fighting game for the PS3, so really, it has no peers. As such Virtua Fighter 5 is pretty much setting the benchmark. With Tekken heading for the PS3 and Soul Calibur not far behind, Virtua Fighter 5 is lucky enough to have the arena to itself which, if there’s any justice in the world, will give this game a wider audience than it received on the PS2. But enough of that, let’s have a look at the game itself.
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