Virtua Fighter 5 is a difficult game to judge. The fighting engine is second to none. Just based on mechanics alone, it's one of the greatest fighting games I've played. The level of character customization is exciting and can lead to some very unique looking fighters. But everything else comes up a little flat. The interface is mediocre and the AI is unsophisticated. The environments, which lack good ambient sound and graphical flare, are a bit of a disappointment. So too is the lack of online play. The absence of the network aspects that made the arcade version so cool haunts the gameplay modes. This is a game that belongs online, and part of the overall experience feels hollow without network play. Virtua Fighter 5 gets a lot right and in the places it matters most. You won't find a more technically demanding fighter on any system. Virtua Fighter 5 is a great fighter, but with the dawn of the next-generation of gaming, more is needed to make for a true classic.
