Virtual On Coming To XBLA Next Week

Sega's giant robot arena combat game will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade next week for the hefty amount of 1200 Microsoft Points.

Thank goodness for things like Xbox Live Arcade - if it weren't for services like this, I doubt Sega would ever have reason to release arcade classics with HD facelifts like the recent Outrun Online Arcade and, on April 29, the previously Japan-only Virtual On: Oratorio Tanagram. No, I can't think of a more ridiculous game title right now. I bet you can't either.

You might remember Virtual On: OT if you were a giant robot fanatic who also happened to owned a Dreamcast - there was a port of the arcade original that appeared on Sega's tragically doomed console in 2000. If you didn't, well, Virtual On: OT, a sequel to the first Arcade/Saturn game, is essentially this: two cool anime-tastic robots enter an arena, lasers fly, swords are swung, and only one of them leaves. There are various robots, or "VRs," to choose from with different techniques and maneuvers, not unlike a roster of characters in a fighting game.

There were actually multiple versions of Oratorio Tanagram, with three arcade versions and the Dreamcast one. The version that'll be released on XBLA next week is the most recent, 5.66, which has more VRs than any other and is presumably the best balanced.

Like Outrun Online Arcade, VO: OT features upgraded current-gen quality visuals, online multiplayer, achievements and more. The major downsides? It costs a hefty 1200 Spacebux, which is bad. Even worse is the fact that you'll have to make due playing Virtual On, which was designed with a twin stick set up in mind, on the 360 pad.

Of course you could always make like this guy and fashion your own setup with some wires and a few candy boxes.