Today's prettiest video: Virtua Fighter 5 PS3 battle footage
by Ross Miller 
{ Jan 23rd 2007 at 3:25AM }
The most downloaded video on GameTrailers, up seven spots from yesterday, is footage from the upcoming Virtua Fighter 5 for PlayStation 3. Since we remember a time when the Virtua Fighters were nothing more than wooden marionettes with painted facial features, we must say they have come a long way in technological evolution.
The early water effects caught our eye first. Like its super-powered predecessors (3DO, anyone?), Sony's technological behemoth has shown it's capable of delivering some impressive visuals. What remains to be seen, at least in this example, is if developers have become accustomed to the Xbox 360 enough to match, or even surpass, said graphical prowess.
The video is, as per our modus operandi, embedded after the break.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
alexanderwales @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:42AM
Yeah, but the gameplay is unchanged, which sucks. Next gen does not just mean upgraded graphics - it means upgraded gameplay, procedural animations, and better A.I.
Call me back when we get there.
Judd @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:45AM
Ok, off topic:
A couple of weeks ago I checked the back pages of Joystiq and found out you guys had 900 something pages. Well, this it. You guys just hit 1000 full pages!
http://www.joystiq.com/page/1000/
At 15 articles a page, thats 15,000 posts. And you guys have been around for less than three years. I've only been coming here for one year, but this went from a site I went to when there was nothing on IGN, to my gaming news source, to a site I visit daily. Now because this site has so many posts a day I find myself checking out the 'stiq multiple times a day.
I know this might sound like a suck up, and if you want to send me a Joystiq t-shirt go right ahead. But in all seriousness, despite how many angry comments can be found on this blog, realize that there are many people who goes here who know there's no better place for gaming news. Thank you.
420 @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:52AM
Nice post Judd I agree completely, I use to only visit this site once and awhile but when I can get all kinds of news here that is updated daily. Plus you can be biased all you want w/o being a major gaming site.
You can shed what you really think, and plus you guys always present news before the other sites out there. I even visit your site on my phone when I'm on the go!
fester @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:39AM
Nice enough but what's with all the arenas basically being a restricted square zone, DOA4 showed true interaction with the enivronment in strange layouts that brought the "Impressive" backdrop graphics, in to the gameplay and close enough to feel.
This looks like very pretty skyboxes with a square arena, possibly because of the bottle necks on the PS3 or perhaps due to the original Sega design. Either way can't see anything that impressive over previous fighters. A 360 version should be released as well though, if they have any sense.
samsterling @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:16AM
Seriously. Haven't we progressed beyond this? Whatever happened to the dream of dynamic environments that affect gameplay? Didn't we used to talk about how someday you'd be able to throw your opponent down a flight of stairs, then tear down a curtain rod for improvised weaponry? O how about being able to kick someone in the knee and have it actually affect how they're able to move? What about cuts, bruises, and broken bones?
I guess it'll happen next generation.
Seiryu @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:18AM
VF4:Evo was dang near perfect, other fighting games always add new mechanics because their games are flawed.VF4 really didn't need much improvement and even with that they managed to fine tune it even more.I bought a PS3 just for this game.
MoonfirePewPEwPEw @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:22AM
"VF4:Evo was dang near perfect, other fighting games always add new mechanics because their games are flawed"
You speak as if the game is perfect, which it is far from. But I guess I shouldn't expect much from a fanboy.
samsterling @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:31AM
What are you, stupid? You spent $500 just so you could get this game? I understand that to some people that's not a lot of money, but it's a fighting game that isn't doing anything to advance the genre. This besides the fact that it's not a PS3 exclusive.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/21/virtua-fighter-5-smacks-ps3-heads-to-360/
Seiryu @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:59AM
Frst of all I am not a fanboy,I just know when compared to ever other 3d fighting game VF,is the best.I honestly don't see the VF series
getting more refinements.They added a new dodge and few tweaks, but
the gameplay remained the same, and the time I didn't know it was
coming for 360.I will probably buy that version too.
NoHitHair @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:03AM
@1 & @5:
Companies care about what's easiest and most cost effective to produce. Hiring creative, innovative and imaginative people is far more expensive than hiring a league of straight out of college graphic artists bent to adhere to 80 hour weeks (EA anyone?). Additionally, why attempt to create a game that has a chance of being financial ruin? As long as Sony and Microsoft continue to tout graphics as what defines a next-gen system, and we listen through our wallets, we'll get lucky to see new or evolving gameplay in maybe one or two titles a year (if that).
Dustin S. @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:09AM
no way in HELL is this game that wonderful! the gameplay is frustraiting at BEST! (assuming it stays the same as the last 4. and from the looks of it my money says yes)
other fighters add new gameplay mechanics because this simplistic shit gets boring QUICK! the best hand to hand (read quasi-realistic) fighter has to be DOA. but the best overall fighter is probably Street Fighter II! and dont forget mortal kombat either. it traunces most fighters as well. the VF series needs to either change drastically or die completely!
Seiryu @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:19AM
Comparing 2D fighters to 3D is like comparing apples to oranges.VF is not simplistic,actually it's only flaw is that it is too deep.A lot of people will take the quick way out and play an inferior 3D fighting game(DOA?Tekken)to get instant gratification.I'll admit you will have to spend time with it to start having fun,but if you can't take the time then you're probably better of with another 3D fighting game.
paul gandersman @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:59PM
i'll take DOA4 thank you very much
Pulse @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:18AM
Looks mediocre, I'll wait for Tekken 6. This does little to get me excited.
Monster @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:41PM
OK, I'm ready for a new-gen version of Tobal No. 1.
WizarDru @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:30AM
Well, this was....not that impressive, to me. The arenas are all square-boxes with no interactivity at all. Didn't VF4 have things like stairs and snow and so forth? This looks like a prettier version of a much older fighter. It may or may not be deep, I have no idea...but it doesn't even look that impressive, graphically. I was hoping we'd be seeing more than just some reflective textures and improved cloth physics this time out. It all feels very obligatory and formulaic. "Well, it's a new console...better release a new version. Guess we can add a new character or two....better make it a schoolgirl or maybe a goth...hey! how about a goth schoolgirl who's super-kawaii? Score!" Perhaps it's just the trailer not really highlighting the features.
What actually makes a 3D fighter "deep", while we're o the subject? Do we define that as skill beating button-mashing? Is it being able to use various styles and combos that require a lot of practice to learn? I'm not being facetious here, I'm actually curious what defines that term in the this context.
soul4sale @ Jan 23rd 2007 8:34AM
Dustin, you are a brave man for talking smack about the most holy VF series. I admit, I don't get it either. But I do know that, among those who eshew women and hygeine in order to perfect their fighting "skillz," VF is The One to Bind Them All. I really don't get DOA either, but I still play it for the tits...
Borat @ Jan 25th 2007 11:08PM
Judd:
That's because you haven't checked News4gamers.com yet. It's much better than Joystiq. Especially since you don't get the fanboyish opinion of editors.
sheppy @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:02AM
You know, I used to be all about the "VF sucks... no changes game to game" as well. My only problem is some of my favorite franchises either went to hell or went away and in their place? Pretenders.
Tekken was an interesting distraction but it didn't take long to learn a character.
Mortal Komabt? Mortal Komabt always has been and alway will be shallow. No matter how many fighting styles they throw in (incidently, no one else thought it was ridiculous that it wasn't until the fifth goddam game that more than specials and fatalities differentiated the characters?), it's still dial-a-combo dynamics requiring no skill on the timing of attacks, but rather skill on the remembering of a sequence.
Street Fighter? Three sold horribly and they even had to drop Ken and Ryu in last minute just to get people interested. I don't expect Capcom to risk a Street Fighter IV anytime soon.
King Of Fighters has gone 3D and sadly, has added nothing to replace what it has lost... aside from particles.
Battle Arena Toshinden is gone as well.
DOA? Rather than fixing their massive gaps which make them the joke of the fighting game scene, they continue the worthless pursuit of "better breast physics." Reversals are just as easy to pull off nowadays as they were in the very beginning.
Soul Calibur? No complaints actually.
But as time marched forward, the more I realized, Virtua Fighter was very, very deep by the second one and all the other fighters were playing catch up.
And seriously. Name the last time a company changed the fighting game genre to include all those "next gen dynamics" and it didn't fizzle to shit? The idea of being able to pick up any item and use it as a weapon sounds cool, until you play it and realize it's a lame gimmick to replace a deeper fighting system. Likewise, the idea of having to change up your fighting style because your opponent has you slammed against a wall and holding you there sounds intriguing, until you realize your ability to escape is dependant entirely upon how fast you tap X.
Let's let the fighters be fighters, shall we? Let's leave the breaking of the genre conventions to deliver broken games up to EA, not Sega.
shiny mcgee @ Jan 23rd 2007 10:11AM
Uh, they're shiny. Is that all Next-Gen means? Shiny people?
anonymous @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:12AM
It looks pretty good, but other than the cloth and other graphical flairs, what couldn't be accomplished on last-gen hardware?
(Thunk!)
That was the sound of me tripping and falling off this next-gen bandwagon.
Dave @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:29AM
Actually, I don't even see anything about the graphics that couldn't have ben achieved with last-gen hardware. It looks like DOA3 in a box.
acm @ Jan 23rd 2007 11:32AM
OK, I'm ready for a new-gen version of Tobal No. 1.
Posted at 7:43AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by Monster
did you somehow miss the infinitely superior tobal 2? and sadly, dream factory seemingly have no plans for tobal 3
Jon @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:44PM
We are all forgetting the best fighting game of all time. A game which trounces the competition in it's simplicity of design, the initial ease of gameplay mechanics, and the difficulty required to truly master any given character, and the fluidity of combat due to a fighting system which bases effectiveness on balance, distance, and timing instead of a memory based combo system, interactive and self altering areas, a vast arsenal of optional weapons and items all perfectly balanced, and more game extras then you can shake a stick at. A fighting game infused with the true spirit of combat...
Smash Brothers Melee!
No... Seriously... Best fighting game ever...
With that said; I really miss Tobal #1 (another non-combo system game with fluid movement) and I really wish #2 would have come stateside. Anyone remember Powerstone?
As for VF5, it looks like another ping-pong fighting game.
WarDog @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:07PM
When are they going to give you open environments and breakable scenery link (Dead or Alive series). Stop keeping the fighters boxed up in an arena
joe smith @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:50PM
Nothing new here. Looks OK, but appears to have the same old VF mechanics. Nice to see a new PS3 game that doesn't suck, but it doesn't really blow me away either. And what's with no on-line play?
iLLwiLL @ Jan 23rd 2007 1:44PM
I can't believe I was just reminded about Tobal #1, and Battle Arena Toshinden. Funny how time flies. Any way, I'd love to see a Real next gen Killer Instinct.
Btman @ Jan 24th 2007 12:46PM
3DO was the best! I want a battle tanks 3!
Jose Miguel @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:07PM
"the best hand to hand (read quasi-realistic) fighter has to be DOA."
Oh my god give me a break. Buttom mashing boobs can't replace VF's godness. Vf is just perfect. Anyone can play it, and the more experience you get with it the more you like it. That's how deep it's. All other fighters are just a revision of PS1 tekken 3 days, but VF4 really changed everything.
MoonfirePewPEwPEw @ Jan 23rd 2007 9:59PM
"9. Frst of all I am not a fanboy,"
Then don't sound like one, dumbass.
Leobebes @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:08PM
This looks no different graphically and gameplay wise than the DOA fighting game for the 360. The other thing that bugged me is that Akira has always looked like a knockoff of Ryu. Hell maybe I am ignorant and it is the other way around. Every time I see a pic of Akira I get all excited thinking a new SF game is about to be released.
This game does nothing to make me run out and buy a PS3, I am seriously in gaming nirvana playing Gears of War, Rainbow Six, and Dead Rising.
jopojelly @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:31PM
That actually looks pretty lame. The snow was sorta impressive, but then I looked closer and saw how it actually was. The Muddy water was lame because it didnt do anything...anyway, why are people fighting in square pens with random things filling the square? It's stupid.
pacman @ Jan 24th 2007 12:40AM
I never played virtual fighter b4 but i know a fun ass-kicking when i see it. This looks like a nice fighter me n' my bro could play multiplayer all day, sorta like soul caliber but more prettier and smoother gameplay. Im just saying i'd buy it....$cha ching($60 bucks woot, better get my piggy bank savings)
Goliath Slayer @ Jan 26th 2007 8:06AM
OK newbs...
- The square, fenced rings were purposely designed to be that way. For all of you new to gaming as, seems to be the case based on the comments above, VF3 in fact featured open terrain with undulations. But guess what, in arcade and tournament play, the vast majority of players picked the square, fenced rings. Sega realized what hardcore players want, and they are delivering it.
- VF is deep because when it comes to gameplay variables (i.e. guessing game opportunities) there is no peer. It's also fun as hell once you learn what those variables are. Shame that most gamers don't know those variables.
- Whoever was playing in the featured clip...is bad, horribly bad. I'm not surprised people were unimpressed.
- VF5 is designed for hardcore fighting game fans. Those who are, appreciate; those who do not, criticize without basis.
Dustin S. @ Jan 24th 2007 7:30AM
WOW! i totally forgot about Soul Calibur please someone slap me! i loved that game!! still have it on my DC i believe. i will have to agree with whoever mentioned it that there are NO complaints what-so-ever about this game. it is, in fact, the closest to perfect a fighter can get
say what you will about DOA's joke that is breast physics, it offers great, fast paced, fighting to keep anyone on their toes. trying to dismiss it as a simple button masher is silly. any fighter becomes a button masher in the wrong hands!
and yes the combo system in MK is a bit flawed in its dial-a-combo nature. but i would rather play it than be stuck in a box with VF.
i think WizarDru said it best...
"This looks like a prettier version of a much older fighter." the video just looks like they took VF2 or even 3 and slapped a few new plolys on the models and threw them into pretty backgrounds. nothing fresh about it. same with the gameplay... if i wanted to play those games i would dust them off from my PS1 collection.
and who ever mentioned power stone ROCKS! i still play that damned game. its addictive.
as for Smash Bros... it too is great but again super simple!
t_m @ Jan 25th 2007 9:39AM
maybe its the low res videos, but those graphics look rubbish.
Sure the backgrounds look nice.. but you never really notice things 2 miles away in a fighting game. The characters don't look like any kind of improvement over Soul Calibur 2 on my gamecube.
The skin in particular looks really old school..
archalien @ Jan 29th 2007 6:19AM
I was ready to jump on the VF bandwagon!
But after seeing this video....well guess not
That is about as graphically as unimpressive as it could get.
Ive got the Jap version of T5:DR which is quite old but has a nice HD update for PS3 and looks wise it Blows VF5 away....
Im not saying which game is better than which, I know the Tekken/SC community is ready for a mass Exodus due to a lack of online play, but VF5 is just a poor offering that wont attract anyone!
jmf @ Feb 5th 2007 8:39PM
Honestly, this is or the Soul Calibur series are the closest to the best fighters ever, except Tekken, which holds the crown. As of Tekken DR there has never been a game more fine tuned, complex, fast paced, satisfying and refreshing to hit the game scene. Tekken DR on PS3 WILL sell systems for Sony, there is no doubt. Anyone who has picked up Tekken DR for the PSP will admit that it is by far the best game on the PSP as well as validating the money spent to own the portable.
Virtua Fighter's problem now is it is not advancing enough, as the Tekken series has done through its various iterations (Namco learned from their mistakes in Tekken 4). The game play in VF is deep and complex but seriously they need to do something about the sound effects and animations. It just seems like the same old recycled stuff that sold the Sega Saturn. Also its difficult to relate to or become beholden to any of the characters in VF. They are plastic and hollow. Tekken on the other hand has some very memorable characters, despite their birth from their respective inspirations. I was a big fan of VF, but they need to give more to those of us that are still playing their games.
Oh and DOA is a joke :D Its like playing one of the WWE wrestling games. Though Yuke's has been increasing their complexity, arguably further than DOA has with their games...