Making a return is also the series' quest mode - in which you'll journey from arcade to arcade, taking on fighters and entering tournaments. It sounds complex, but it's a simple map menu. At least it's quick that way; this is a practical way to practice your game, and you can track your win/loss record, too. You can also customize your fighter with items and money you earn from the fights. None of this is going to excite you - so it's up to the action to carry the day, and it certainly has the chops to. But we'd like to see more.
If you feel like you've already mastered the cast from VF4 - you're crazy, by the way - you can throw down with speedy Mexican wrestler El Blaze and Chinese monkey-girl Eileen. These two characters are beginner-friendly and a lot of fun; they're both agile and stylish, while their moves hard for opponents to predict, making for two very solid new contenders.
In fact, if there's a complaint to be had with what we've played of VF5 so far, it's that there doesn't seem to be much besides a truckload of visual polish to separate it from Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. But that was one of the best on the PS2; and the PS3 isn't going to have a fighter that can touch this one for the foreseeable future, either. We look forward to that day, because any game that can take VF5 on will be a mighty one. The action is as polished and addictive as ever.
