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Platform: Xbox
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Guilty Gear X2 #ReloadScore: 8.5 / 10 |
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Pros: -
Creative and wacky characters -
Rock solid control - Play over Xbox Live
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Cons:
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Related Links: Review: Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2) Review: Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2)
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"At $20US Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is a steal for those that are passionate about their fighting games." |
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Two-dimensional
fighting games will probably never completely die. Most fighting franchises have moved to 3D, some with less
problems than others. Guilty
Gear X2 #Reload sticks with 2D and keeps the fighting extremely
whacked-out character design.
Among
the 20+ characters we get an anchor-wielding teenage pirate called May,
a witch with a guitar, a slickly dressed character with a paper bag on
his head and a big robot with flowing red hair.
There are some “standard” characters but even then there’s
a lot of creativity on display. Even
the moves are named creatively: Stroke the Big Tree, Aerial Divine
Blade, Arctic Impaler, See? I’m a Flower!, Volcanic Viper, Mr.
Dolphin!, and my favorite, Kickstart My Heart Discharge.
Not only are they pretty funny but most of the moves on-screen
somehow match their official names. For
the most part, the graphics are awesome; a detailed 2D extravaganza!
Like many more recent 2D fighters, the action moves at a very
quick pace.
This
pace and speed of the action can make acclimatizing to the Xbox controls
a little harder, especially if you’re familiar with the Playstation 2
version. I wouldn’t
classify the controls as sluggish, but the D-pad certainly makes it feel
that way at times. The left
stick can be used for movement but using the control stick with a 2D
fighter feels somewhat… blasphemous.
Or at least, not right in this writer’s opinion.
Button response is good and nuanced combos for the hardcore
fighting crowd are present and accounted for (even gauges to fill and
unleash at the right moment). Button
mashers have a fair chance of cutting down the computer-controlled
opposition, but the odds of winning while playing over Xbox Live
dramatically plunge for button mashers.
If
you’re not connected to Live, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload has enough modes
to keep you happy, particularly if you have a fighter-loving buddy.
Arcade mode, Vs. 2-Player, Vs. CPU mode, Training, Survival,
Mission and Story mode are here but the real test seems to be in M.O.M.
mode, which awards big points to those that are proficient at performing
combos. Survival mode can
also be a real challenge – taking an opponent after opponent in a
cycle that only ends when you lose a round. I
must give a thumbs up to all those involved in Guilty Gear X2 #Reload
for keeping the original Japanese dialogue intact.
If Japanese animation has taught me anything, it’s that
subtitles are way, way better than firing cut-rate voiceover artists to
deliver extremely fast dialogue. Occasionally
some of the translation makes little sense but it doesn’t happen
often. At
$20US Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is a steal for those that are passionate
about their fighting games. Snatch
it up! - Omni (October
18, 2004)
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