If you hung around the then-living arcade scene in the mid 90s, you would have come across Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, a Sega developed mech-based fighter with a unique dual joystick control scheme. Sega followed it up with a sequel, Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram which featured greatly improved graphics and a lot more playable Virtuaroids. For some reason or another, Sega decided against releasing Oratorio Tangram outside of Japan – Activision picked it up for the US, but it never saw a PAL release. Now Sega’s had a change of heart, and decided to release it on the Xbox 360 for all to enjoy, with a couple of new features for good measure.

In exchange for 1,200 Microsoft Points ($AU19.80 in legal tender), players are treated to a slightly more enhanced version of the 5.66 version of Oratorio Tangram, which hit arcades after the release of the Dreamcast version. This version saw the game switch from the older Model 3 arcade board to the NAOMI board, which shared more in common with the Dreamcast hardware. There’s also a bunch of bug fixes, balance changes, a new character, three new Virtuaroid variants and a noticeable improvement in music and sound quality. The Xbox Live Arcade version takes this game and adds in one-on-one online play and a host of graphical improvements, the least of which is an increase in resolution up to 720p. It’s a pity Sega AM-2 couldn’t improve the frame rate; it still has a tendency to dip during intense battles.


Oratorio Tangram features fourteen playable Virtuaroids and three non-controllable boss/hidden fighters. Each Virtuaroid’s design is unique (except for the variants); they come in all different shapes and sizes, and have various strengths and weaknesses associated with power, speed and armour strength. Every Virtuaroid has three attack moves, one left, one right and one centre. The right weapon is your Virtuaroid’s main weapon, and in most cases packs a good range or firing rate. The left weapon is a support weapon, usually an explosive with a large blast range or some homing capability. The central weapon is a Virtuaroid’s most powerful attack, but can only be used a few times consecutively before it drains your weapon energy. Attacks can also vary based on what your Virtuaroid is doing at the moment you fire the weapon; Temjin will fire a single shot from the right weapon if you’re standing still, but if you’re jumping or dashing, he’ll fire a burst shot. Your final and most deadly move is a melee attack which comes when you’re in close with your opponent – the right weapon acts as a stabbing strike, while the left serves as a big swing. Melee moves can be dodged quite easily, but the high level of damage they cause can make them worth the risk at desperate times in the match.

Virtual-On’s most distinguishing feature in arcades was its dual stick control system; obviously Sega’s not going to bring out a new 360 compatible dual stick controller, but the solution is enough to capture the feeling of the original arcade version. The game actually defaults to a more modern first person shooter control scheme, but one cannot change the sensitivity on the right stick, so movement is pretty slow. You can set the game up to mimic the arcade controls on the analogue stick – move both sticks left to move left, move them in opposite directions to turn or jump and so on, which will feel a bit more natural to those who’ve played the game before. You can’t manually map all of your buttons, but it’s recommended that you choose the control scheme that puts the dash moves on the left and right buttons, as it doesn’t feel right having these actions on the face buttons.


Online play is the main point of appeal for this version of Oratorio Tangram; fortunately Sega AM-2 has done a fine job of implementing an online system. The game lets you search for matches or join player lobbies, though if you aren’t able to join a lobby, you get kicked two menu screens back rather than to the list of lobbies - a minor problem, but it can be pretty annoying if you’re having trouble connecting. For some reason or another, the game kept rating our opponent’s connection as a single reception bar, yet the game performed quite well when in action. There was an occasional lag spike when playing with opponents from America and Japan, but the game seems to handle latency issues well, particularly when compared to other online efforts from Sega. The level of competition online is fairly fierce, so find a mech you like and familiarise yourself with all of its moves, otherwise you’ll cop a savage beating.

Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram is a fine mech-based fighting game, and the Xbox Live Arcade incarnation is the best version yet. The game is pretty easy to get into and gets more exciting as you get better at it, particularly if you’re fighting opponents with similar skill levels. Online play is really the focus here, and Sega AM-2 has done a pretty stellar job polishing up the net code. The price tag might seem a bit steep, but if you learn the ropes and get into the online side of things, you’ll get more than your money’s worth.