Guilty Gear X2 #Reload

"Give it a try and you will see..."

As most people have noticed, most fighting game genres are all going 3D; 2D fighting games just don't cut it anymore. There are just so many famous 3D fighting games such as Dead or Alive 3, Virtua Fighter 4, Soul Calibur II, just to named a few. Therefore, most people won't even give 2D fighting games a second look. However, Guilty Gear XX developed by Capcom with its single and multiplayer feature and 3rd person perspective will surly bring fans of fighting genre back to appreciate 2D fighting games with all it has to give.

The first thing that Guilty Gear XX gives is a great introduction. The introduction is animated just as the characters are within the game, which works great with it. The intro didn't tell player what the story will be like or what it is about it just tells us a little bit of each of the characters' background as well as what fighting skills/moves they have. Thus, it is a great way to let the player get in touch with the characters, and at the end of the intro, of course, the title of the game shows up. The cool animated intro just makes people wonder or want to know more about the characters' background or their fighting skills. Thus, the intro is great and all, but it will be even better if all of the playable characters are in the intro. A few characters isn't in the intro, but that won't stop player from playing this game because there is enough characters in the intro to cause player to wander and that will keep those quarters going in.

The second is the details and selection of characters. Every single thing within this game is greatly detailed. From the background to its characters, there just isn't one single big space that is cover in a single cooler or one simple object. As player is able to see the picture on the left, all space are used up and the colors are done nicely, which is very appareling and pleasing to player's eyes. Also, there are a total of 20 different characters to choose from for play and to master. Having a lot of characters is a very nice thing, but details can be a problem in this game. When in fighting the details of the characters attack can be too distracting for the player's eyes. Thus, too distracting can cause the player to wonder off the screen a bit without knowing what attack to put off or where their character at and maybe even the defend of their chosen character because of that. All in all, that is not too much of a problem and this game will still have a player keep those quarters going.

The third is Guilty Gear's wild looking characters. The characters are something that no one would expect. Each character is very unique. Characters from a sweet little pirate girl with an enormous anchor as her weapon to a normal looking girl with her hair as her weapon. Also one can see on the right picture what seems to be a little girl is actually a boy and on the left no one really knows what he is suppose to be until a player plays the game to find out. However, like most fighting games even if the player beat the game with their chosen character the player might not even know much about their characters background and history. Even if is like so the character design will still have a player playing the game for hours to come. After the game a player might even look their character or characters on-line to find more about them and that adds great values to the game.

The fourth is gameplay. It really doesn't matter much how good the game looks if the gameplay isn't just as good. It will be like a very beautiful girl with half of a brain or no brains at all. Of course, most guys will love that, but that don't work too well in the gaming industry. However, the look of the game matches its gameplay. The control and gameplay is very smoothly done. All characters within the game can jump very high, dash forward or backward on the ground and in the air at a remarkable speed. This gives Guilty Gear XX a fast-paced feel. There are four main attacks buttons, two kicks and two pouches as well as a “Dust Attack” button to launch your opponent into the air for air combos. The great gameplay is easy to grasp because the concept is just like all another fighting game genres. Put in one or two quarters, press the start button, pick a character, watch what stage and opponent the player is facing, wait for the fight call, and press those attack buttons like mad or in order to put off combos. However, the only bad thing is that it takes quarters to play, but it will have players constantly coming back for more when a player has quarters.

The fifth is the audio. Without good music that matches the gameplay, background, characters' movement, and characters' dialog, it would just make the game seem like a beautiful flower that smells like a wet dog on a hot summer day. Nevertheless, the music, sound, and dialog in this game work great with its levels, backgrounds, characters, and graphics. Not only that, the sounds that characters make with their weapons, moves and damages is very well defined and what it should have been. The music it plays is very pleasing to a player's ears and that might not be for all players because the music is mainly heavy metal like. Not all players likes that that too well, but of how the music is like, it shouldn't really affect the gameplay much. Therefore, players will still continue to enjoy what another elements that Guilty Gear XX has to give.

Finally, Guilty Gear XX is a great 2D fighting game with its own strengths and it tells that not all fighting games have to be 3D in order be good. Thus, it is easy to recommend such a great game to just about any fan of the genre or just about anyone. Any fan of the genre or any gamer will be greatly amazed by its animated introduction, details, selections, characters, gameplay, and audio; with all that Guilty Gear XX has to give and show. It also tells people that it is not the end of 2D fighting games. Guilty Gear series and 2D fighting games will live on.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/05