For hardcore fighting fanatics, Virtua Fighter 5 is justification enough for owning the PlayStation 3, at least until the Xbox 360 version debuts this summer. Sega's flashy 3D brawler dazzles with gorgeous visuals and lightning fast combat. Cloth realistically flutters in the breeze, the sun casts its warm, red glow across the Great Wall of China and hundreds of spectators pack an arena, eager to catch a glimpse of the next fight, one where the artificial intelligence has a better than excellent chance of winning.

Unlike other fighting games that allow gamers to reach the final battle before kicking their butts, Virtua Fighter 5's AI ups the ante in beat downs. Players expecting to lay the smack down using the cheapest character are in for quite a shock, as AI opponents bust out moves worthy of Bruce Lee. Back off, even a little, and the computer rushes in, invading one's personal space and delivering a flurry of rights, lefts and kicks. True, early opponents let players smack them around just to build up their confidence, but after a few rounds, the game forces its cocky adversary to do more than just press the Square button. This normally results in numerous continues until gamers wise up and change their tactics, or just chuck their SIXAXIS controllers at the nearest wall.

While the AI poses quite a challenge, Virtua Fighter 5's graphics highlight the PS3's horsepower, sporting more eye candy than Ferrari. The game's combatants come draped in realistic textures. Sweat makes skin shine, body hair sways and chiseled muscles ripple. Meanwhile, the jaw dropping environments feature birds in the distance, fog, excellent water effects and crumbling stone and snow capped mountains. Watching people fight in a cage in the middle of a deserted canyon looks ridiculous, but this game -- potentially -- signifies why Sony's machine remains a serious competitor. Again, at least until Sega unveils the Xbox 360 edition.

To keep fighters busy, Arcade mode pits gamers against a series of opponents, VS. mode lets two people fight against each other and Dojo mode allows gamers to train; all pretty basic stuff. However, to maximize their Virtua Fighter experience, people need to play Quest Mode. Here, they visit locations on a map, such places as Sega Arena Coast, Sega World North and Club Sega, among other hot spots, battling opponents and participating in tournaments to unlock all sorts of items including gold and outfits.

On the downside, Sega fails to include levels from any of these Quest mode locations. Instead, players choose to visit Club Sega and then compete in Virtua Fighter 5's environments. The developers intended to replicate the arcade experience, giving players the feeling of playing VF5 while inside one of these parlors. Sadly, it doesn't feel like that at all with, the idea of unlocking one more item being the only reason to play.

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