Virtua Fighter 5 REVO

SEGA'S VETERAN FIGHTER STILL PACKS A PUNCH

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Just as it seemed as though Tekken had the 3D fighting game world all to itself, Sega committed to a revival of its genre-establishing series, teasing a new game at The Game Awards back in December. However, this is not that game. Instead Sega has chosen to renew Virtua Fighter 5 for what we must presume is the final time, by giving it a new PC port with rollback netcode and a range of subtle tweaks to the game balance.

The return of a nearly 20-year-old game would be disappointing, if it weren’t for the fact that the fast, refined combat of Virtua Fighter 5 is so excellent that it feels practically ageless. It’s a classic example of a game that is easy to learn and hard to master. The series’ simple three-button control scheme is retained and there are no on-screen gauges or Super Moves to worry about, but each character has plenty of moves to learn and the game possesses a tremendous amount of strategic depth. If you’re looking for a fighting game to sink some serious competitive energy into, it’s still one of the very best.