Virtua Fighter Toughens Up for PS3

Sega is gearing up for its first major release of the year, in the shape of VF5.

Sega is gearing up for its first major release of the year, in the shape of Virtua Fighter 5 - the first major fighting title for the PlayStation 3.

More than a decade old, the Virtua Fighter series sparked the 3D fighting game boom in the early nineties, and has evolved the genre further with each new instalment of the game.

However, it was only with Virtua Fighter 4 on the PlayStation 2 that the series gained the kind of broad attention and success that it has always enjoyed in its native Japan market.

This time, with VF5, Sega is in an even better position to make the technically and visually polished game a force to be reckoned with. Anticipation for the launch of the game in Japan next week is reaching fever pitch, and the availability of classy, official Sega arcade-style joysticks for the PS3 game are also likely to help the system's popularity.

However, this official accessory, called Virtua Stick High Grade, is unlikely to see release outside of Japan, which has encouraged serious players to seek out the £40 sticks on import gaming sites or eBay - not such a bad idea when you consider they can also be used for other fighting games, like Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection HD - a visually upgraded version of the arcade and PSP game available for download-only on the PS3 network service.

The game launches in America on 20th February and is set for release in the UK at the same time as the PS3 itself, on 23rd March.

Kikizo Staff