Virtua Fighter, one of the biggest fighting franchises going, has finally arrived on the Xbox 360; and to that we say hurrah! Albeit it's a triumphant exclamation punctuated by a shower of shattered and bloodied teeth, because a tenth-dan Pai-Chan (the game's mad, oriental, martial arts actress) has double-punched us in the head. Again.

Sega's famed beat-'em-up is bare knuckles, bare bones fighting. The controls are kept simple: punch, kick, block and that's your lot. Well, not quite, because there are also the trigger buttons that can launch combo attacks, such as a grab move that can be used to throw an opponent. But the basics are extremely basic, and Virtua Fighter 5 is easy to pick up and play.

While outwardly it's very straightforward, there's actually considerable depth to this fighting experience. By watching your opponent carefully and learning the initial animations of their moves, you can anticipate whether a high or low attack is coming, and react with an upper or lower block, then work on countering.

The more you play, the more you recognise and instinctively know what's coming and how best to react. There are also spectacular combos to learn and master, and with seventeen characters boasting widely varied fighting styles, the depth of Virtua Fighter's combat dynamics is undeniably the game's most attractive facet.

What's also important for a fighting game is a suitable selection of human opponents to hammer, and if you haven't got any friends round, the fifth incarnation of Virtua Fighter adds online play via Xbox Live. This is well implemented and most bouts run pretty smoothly, although (almost inevitably) the odd patch of lag will strike now and then. Despite the occasional bad connection, you simply can't underestimate how much fun it is to jump online and test your mettle against the rest of the Virtua fighting world.

On the single player front, there are the usual 'practice' and 'versus' mode battles, alongside a more interesting campaign game. The idea here is that you visit various virtual arcades, pick an opponent on a machine, then try to win and stay on, defeating all challengers. Victories promote you through the ranks, earning cash to spend on customising your character with snazzy threads and designer sunglasses. It might sound a little superficial, but we found this a refreshing change from the standard beat-'em-up action.

Virtua Fighter also impresses graphically in high definition, with some smooth animations and beautifully rendered backgrounds. This is backed up by some reasonable bone-crunching sound effects, although the music's the usual cheesy rubbish, and whatever happens don't turn on the fight commentators (you'll end up wanting to flying elbow-chop them in the face, never mind your opponent).

On the face of it, Virtua Fighter 5 is accessible enough, yet its combat engine has a depth that'll make hardcore fighting fans drool. The campaign mode is quite novel and jazzes up the single player mode nicely, but the largely smooth online play is where the real competition's at. A classy fighting game indeed.