Virtua Fighter 5 [PS3]

Fighting games: You either love 'em or hate 'em. And if you love 'em, you probably have a favorite series you stick with, and a character in that series you've perfected. Such is the reason the genre has struggled to regain popularity -- even in the face of growing attention for real-life fighting such as UFC and PRIDE. Virtua Fighter has long been considered the fighting gamer's fighting game, and Virtua Fighter 5 proves why that is, for better or worse.

If you want deep gameplay with smart strategy, this is the series you embrace. It's as true today as it was when Virtua Fighter 2 took the Sega Saturn by storm. You won't see flaming projectiles or gaudy finishing moves, just perfect pugilism paying the highest respect to the actual martial arts. It's more of a fighting simulation than anything else out there. This is great for those with discriminating tastes, but VF gets a bad rep for not being n00b-friendly. In truth, it's relatively easy to pick an intriguing character, study up in the manual and the in-game dojo, and become a formidable adversary.

Part of what makes Virtua Fighter's learning curve so manageable is Quest mode -- a brilliant idea started on the PS2's Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and expanded here. Go from arcade to arcade with your customizable character, building up your rank while competing in tournaments and earning new items to wear and emblems to display. It's an odd duck if you compare it to most fighters' money modes in that it's simulating a fighting-game player rather than the character itself, but it's got near-limitless replay value and a very gradual difficulty ramp-up that makes the too-tough too-quick Arcade mode, with its nonexistent story, nearly obsolete.

Joining the roster are two new characters, El Blaze and Eileen. Both try something new, and both instantly shot near the top of our favorite picks. In the past, wrestler characters have always been big brutes, but instead El Blaze portrays the acrobatic, athletic Lucha Libre style made popular in Mexico. He's got his share of suplexes and slams, but also flies through the air with the greatest of ease. Meanwhile, Eileen uses animal-based kung-fu techniques usually reserved for the old man characters, but makes them "cute." What would've been considered tiger style is now more aptly called kitty-cat. No matter whom you select, though, you'll find enough moves and technique to spend hours getting acquainted with your avatar.