
	Platform Xbox Genre Fighting Publisher Majesco / Sammy Developer Arc Developments ESRB T (Teen) Released September 2004

- Great presentation - Creative and wacky characters - Rock solid control - Play over Xbox Live

- Only the most hardcore fighter will milk everything from this game

Review: Guilty Gear X2 (PS2) Review: Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2) Review: Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2)
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Guilty Gear X2 #Reload

Score: 8.5 / 10

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!,

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- Xbox Game Reviews
- Fighting Game Reviews
- Games Published by Majesco

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

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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)