Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything.
Virtua Fighter 5 boasts a rich array of characters, with 17 fighters (and 1 unlockable one) now under your control. The cast is built up of new faces and old, with the return of the likes of the martial arts movie star Pai Chan and the debut of the hard-hitting wrestler El Blaze.The variety of characters is one of the highlights of VF5. They all have their own unique look, animation (including poses) and boast a range of fighting disciplines. If you fancy trying your hand at drunken Kung-fu then you can choose Shun. But, if the mood takes you, you could attempt to reproduce Bruce Lee's famous one-inch punch and his Jeet June Do style of fighting by picking Sarah's brother Jacky. There's a nice balance to the roster, with sprightly characters who can be positioned quickly during a fight or slower, stronger fighters, who may be sluggish to react, but will knock out a good chunk of your opponent's health bar if they can get a strike in.
Each character has his/her unique style (made up of hundreds of moves) with each of the fighting disciplines being taken from the real world of martial arts. The fights have a nice flow to them and like a real fighting tournament you do need to think tactically if you hope to progress.
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Click for larger imageVirtua Fighter 5 is a challenging game and the vast amount of moves available may seem overwhelming for those who are just seeking a pick up and play fighting game. If you're new to the series don't let this put you off. I may seem to be stating the bleeding obvious, but the more you play and the more you become accustom to the wide range of blocking and attacking manoeuvres, the better your timing becomes, the more you begin to read the other players movements, and the more rewarding the experience becomes.
Virtua Fighter 5 basically gives you back what you put into it. You could easily jump online, get thrashed mercilessly in your first fight and then give up. But, once you pull of your first few counter attacks and throws, and begin to string moves together and time your attacks, these battles become extremely addictive; the fights in Virtua Fighter have a fluidity and rhythm to them that I've not experienced in any fighter before.
