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[Deftech]

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Mags of the Orient state "no online play" for the fifth VF but two new characters revealed.

12:26 In a recent interview with AM2, overall director Makoto Osaki and game director Daichi Katagiri of the upcoming successor to the greatest 3D fighter of our time - VF4:Evolution - stated flatly that online fights would not be a possibility in Virtua Fighter 5.

The reason cited by the team was simply, "it wouldn't be Virtua Fighter". As die-hard VF fans ourselves, we could interpret that the complete and utter necessity for split second and to-the-animation-frame perfect reactions means any possibility of lag would simply be no option.

For those not in the know, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution is simply the most technically accomplished - in design terms we mean - arcade fighting simulation in existence today, that's more fist and foot chess than button-bashing.

Although we can support this offline-only reasoning based on our personal experience of the game, Itagaki-San is not so convinced. In an upcoming interview with Kikizo, Itagaki-San confidently suggests that the reason Sega has chosen to not go online with VF5 is simply because it will take revenue away from the arcades, which is where VF makes the bulk of its business, with the series scoring top grossing arcade title in Japanese arcade for two years running. The man has a point.

As for the two new characters, one of them is El Blaze - a masked Mexican wrestler who fights using the kamikaze Luche Libre style that WWE fans may have seen used by 'actors' like Rey Mysterio Jnr. The other is a mysterious girl character who is said to be a cross between Akira - hard karate-influenced style - and Lion - mantis style - and has been spotted in some online videos but none we could find at time of going to press.

The directors also bragged new enhancements to the fighting system. Heaven knows the grappling system needs to be evolved and if the style of El Blaze is any hint - lots of grappling and unusual leaping - there could very well be some hope there.

As for those residing in Japan, you can get your first tumescing experience with VF5 at the "SEGA Private Show Autumn" in the 1st, 4th and 7th of November. Probably somewhere in Japan, usually Tokyo.