Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Sammy Corporation, Microsoft Game Studios, Sega Corporation, Majesco Games, Zoo Digital Publishing
Platforms: PC, Arcade, Playstation 2; Xbox, Playstation Portable, Xbox 360
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload – Review
As one of the most popular and well received fighting games of all times, Guilty Gear X2 has received a rerelease on Steam and allows fans of the franchise to once again enjoy the immensely popular fighting game. So bust out your fighting skills, jam together with the amazing soundtrack and rock away!
Story
A few weeks after the events of the second game, Dizzy, a pacifistic Commander Gear that is half human half Gear, has joined the Jellyfish Pirates in order to take refuge. The game follows different paths of plots depending on what character you play, however most of them end in a conflict with I-No, a servant of That Man that manipulates the various characters and causes conflicts between them.
Other characters meet That Man, the main antagonist of the Guilty Gear franchise. He is the creator of the Gears (which are artificial magical creatures that try to evolve further and further) and is the target of the main character Sol, who acts as a bounty hunter aiming to destroy all the remaining Gears.
The main plot of the third game in the franchise shows the player how I-No manipulates the events and causes conflict between the other characters. Ky Kiske, captain of the international Police Force, learns about the existence of Robo-Ky clones and I-No attacks the Mayship where Dizzy is thrown overboard. May and Johnny, members of the Jellyfish Pirates, go and search for Dizzy. Aside from this event, Millia, who is an assassin, goes on a quest of revenge and eventually almost all of the characters get involved with the plot related to I-No. The plot reveals quite a lot of information about the Post-War Administration Bureau’s intentions.
Graphics
As this is a simple rerelease of an older already updated game, not much has changed about the graphics. The graphics look great, the characters each have their unique and interesting design and the frame rates are very fluent. The Stages also look very unique and good. Everything looks very clear and no issues are present.
Sound
The music in Guilty Gear is probably one of the main points that made the franchise so popular in the first place. The game is fully voiced in Japanese and the music is pure metal. The songs in the game are amazing and really fit together with the storyline. The songs also give a good feeling of excitement when playing a match. This game is really recommended to all the metal fans.
Gameplay
Guilty Gear may look as a normal fighting game to most people, but the game is easy to pick up and difficult enough to master. The game features a total of 19 characters from the get go, and go up to 21 if you unlock the last 2 characters (Justice and Kliff Undersn).
Most of the mechanics are similar to that of the previous games, though some elements have been added. Firstly you have the Air Dust and Air Throws, which allow you to grab you opponent in the air or perform your dust attacks (special unique attacks) midair. Secondly we have the Force Roman cancels, which offers the player the opportunity to cancel a non-connecting move for 25% tension (special energy you need in order to perform special attacks) and perform even more complex moves. Next up there are the Psych Bursts. These are moves that cause an aura burst that repels the opponent with no damage and disrupts the combo. This uses up your Burst
Gauge, which will refill throughout the fight. Overdrives or throws cannot be bursted.
Aside from this we have the EX versions that can be unlocked for most of the characters, excluding Kliff, Justice and Robo-Ky. These EX versions have altered gameplay. We also have the Gold versions, which are overpowered versions of the EX characters (these are available on Kliff, Justice and Robo-Ky).
Nothing much has changed with the rerelease, except a few balancing and a HUD rework. There are now also Shadow characters available, which are akin to the Gold Characters.
The game features a total of 8 different modes. Firstly we have the Story Mode, where you will follow the plots of the various characters. Secondly we have Arcade mode, which is just like any other fighting game a series of battles one after the other, eventually reaching the final boss. Next up we have Survival Mode, where you’ll fight one enemy at a time, until you either die or reach the final level. Thirdly we have the unique M.O.M Mode (Medal of Millionaires), in which the player earns medals by performing and chaining together combo’s. You do not regain life after a battle in this mode. Aside from that we have the Mission Mode, where you’ll need to complete a total of 50 challenges such as handicaps against a predetermined opponent. Training Mode allows the player to practice and hone their skills against a customizable CPU. You also have the standard VS 2P and VS CPU modes that are present in all fighting games. Finally you also have a gallery where you can look at different artworks, endings and events that you unlock when playing the other modes.
Conclusion
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is a solid rerelease of the third game of the franchise, by fixing a couple of the balancing issues. Aside from the Shadow Characters, no real new content has been added, which is kind of saddening. However, the game is definitely a fighting game that is recommended to all fighting game fans, especially if you also love metal as this game offers you tons of amazing soundtrack. The gameplay is solid, simple enough to begin with and has more than enough depth for those fanatics that like to play a competitive fighting game. As no real issues are present in the game, you should definitely consider this game.
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload - Review,
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