The Armchair Empire - Playstation 2 (PS2) Reviews: Guilty Gear X2

<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com"> <td height="189" width="152" background="../../images/site-essentials-2k5/blue-vitals-backing-small-d.jpg">   Platform Playstation 2   Genre Fighting   Publisher Sammy   Developer Arc System Works   ESRB T (Teen)   Released Q1 2003 <o:p> </tr> <tr> <td height="32" width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="../../images/site-essentials-2k5/the-good-tag.jpg" width="300" height="30"> </tr> <tr> <td height="1" width="298" colspan="2">   - Beautiful hi-res graphics - Nice music - Characters have lots of personality - Lots to unlock - Combos are fun!   </tr> <tr> <td width="298" colspan="2" height="13"><img border="0" src="../../images/site-essentials-2k5/the-bad.jpg" width="300" height="30"> </tr> <tr> <td height="11" width="298" colspan="2">   - Not enough frames of animation - Controls a bit rough on a gamepad   </tr> <tr> <td height="32" width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="../../images/site-essentials-2k5/similar-games.jpg" width="300" height="30"> </tr> <tr> <td height="1" width="298" colspan="2">   <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/ps2/capcom_vs_snk_2.htm">Review: Capcom vs SNK 2 (Playstation 2)</a> <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/Dreamcast/tech_romancer.htm">Review: Tech Romancer (Dreamcast)</a> <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/GameCube/super-smash-brothers-melee.htm">Review: Super Smash Brothers Melee (Gamecube)</a>   </tr> <tr> <td height="15" width="298" colspan="2" bgcolor="#808080"> Newsletter </tr> <tr> <td height="110" width="298" colspan="2"> Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: <form action="/cgi-bin/mailinglist/mailmachine.cgi" method="post"> <input type="text" name="address" size="20"> <input type="radio" name="action" value="Subscribe" checked> Subscribe | Unsubscribe <input type="radio" name="action" value="Unsubscribe"> <input type="submit" value="Update"> </form> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="500" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" height="172" colspan="2"> <h1 style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">Guilty Gear X2</h1> Score: 8.8 / 10   It’s nice to be able to play a fun 2D fighter on the Playstation 2, as it seems that usually I have to fire up my Dreamcast in order to get my fix of that sort of game. Guilty Gear X2 (GGX2) is a sinfully fun fighter well worth investing some time in. Gorgeous visuals, a generally very nice soundtrack, plenty of play modes, and a nicely laid out control scheme make for hours of good times with this game. There are a few minor sticking points, but nothing serious enough to ruin the experience.   From the minute the first match starts GGX2’s graphics really leap out at the player. Sharp and colorful, the characters are riddled with detail and more impressive is how rich and beautiful the environments are with lots going on in the background. The character design and animations go a long way to present the personalities of different characters. The way Faust, or Potemkin, or any other member of the cast carries themselves really adds to the game’s presentation since it’s a lot more than a number of fighters out there who seem to be content to simply go through the paces, prescribing far more to the archetypes of the genre. It really is a sight to see, even more so when unloading special attacks or juggling an opponent as lighting effects and motion lines come into play to emphasize a strong kinetic experience. On top of this the game is peppered with some very nice anime scenes that look quite lovely on a big screen TV. The only noticeable problem the visuals suffer from is that there aren’t enough frames of animation. Watching the characters breath, or someone stroll along in the background it is blindingly apparent that GGX2 is lacking some frames to give that silky smooth visual polish. A minor quibble, and nothing more.   From an aural standpoint GGX2 is equally impressive. Usually when a game’s soundtrack has a lot of metal in it I run for cover as fast as I can since you’re almost guaranteed to have your ears assaulted by hot guitar licks from the 80s with one wanker guitar solo after the next. Not so here, as the game’s music does a good job of side-stepping all that was wrong with heavy music from the 80s and throws a lot of very nicely written riffs at players. Sound effects are more than serviceable here as they have punch to them that really helps add oomph when landing blows. On top of this Sammy has kept the voice acting in Japanese so Western gamers can’t tell whether or not the acting is any good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.   </td> <td width="174" bgcolor="#808080" rowspan="3" height="439" valign="top"> <div align="left"> <table border="0" width="170" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="170" valign="top" bgcolor="#808080" align="center"> Advertisement</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="170" valign="top" bgcolor="#808080" align="center"> <script type="text/javascript"> e9 = new Object(); e9.size = "160x600,120x600"; e9.addBlockingCategories="Pop-under,Pop-up,Floating,Full-page,Expandable,Survey"; e9.noAd = 1; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/TheArmchairEmpire/ROS/tags.js"></script> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="170" valign="top" bgcolor="#808080" align="center">    <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://affiliates.sideshowtoy.com/JsTracker.aspx?aid=228&cids=869&size=120x120"></SCRIPT>  </td> </tr> </table> </div>   <table width="160" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" width="160"> <img border="0" src="../../images/site-essentials-2k5/related-topics.jpg" width="160" height="35"> <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Review-Subcategories/playstation-2-game-reviews.htm">- Playstation 2 Game Reviews</a><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Review-Subcategories/fighting-game-reviews.htm">- Fighting Game Reviews</a> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="160" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" height="202"> Controlling everything on-screen is a simple affair. The control scheme picks and chooses from popular fighter series and does a good job meshing together maneuvers so it doesn’t feel clumsy or forced trying to setup combos or juggle opponents. The moves themselves are a mix of old standards and some very interesting attacks (just play as Faust for an exercise in the unconventional). The instant kill moves, a veritable staple of the Guilty Gear series, are back once more as well. They’re definitely fun to  </td> <td width="340" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="middle" height="202"> Advertisement <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tags.expo9.exponential.com/tags/TheArmchairEmpire/ROS/tags.js"></script> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="500" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" colspan="2" height="65"> look at, but if you’re playing a seasoned veteran of the game they aren’t of much use, as your attack will likely be shut down right quick, followed by a liberal pummeling. They are quite fun to unleash on an unsuspecting newbie however. The only recommendation I can make in terms of control is to consider playing the game with an arcade stick, as the gamepad can get quite frustrating when playing GGX2. Nothing spells aggravation like missing a simple move just because your thumb is trying to work its way around a tiny little controller. It’s not the end of the world, but can definitely be a thorn in your side if you’re trying to master big 10 hit combos and such.   Most of the fun to be had in GGX2 will come from competing with friends, but there’s still plenty of good times to be had from the single player mode when there’s no one around to challenge. There’s straight arcade mode, but story, survival, and challenge mode are by far the best of the single player options here. Going through the various play modes also unlocks a small army of extras as you progress through the game, ranging from things as simple as new costumes to hidden characters, there’s plenty of nice goodies to get your hands on as you progress through the game. All the while the difficulty is scaled wonderfully, as GGX2 gets tougher and tougher at a very nice pace as you pass from one opponent to the next. However there is the occasional highly annoying miracle comeback that the CPU will pull off as it begins to mercilessly unload on the player. It’s annoying, but not the end of the world since it makes kicking the computer’s ass that much more satisfying in the next round.   The Playstation 2 has really become a bastion for 3D games, it’s not often that its library veers from this course, making it a very nice change of pace to have a game like GGX2 on it. If you’re in the hunt for a 2D fighter for your PS2 you can’t go wrong with Guilty Gear X 2, highly recommended.   - Mr. Nash   (March 22, 2003) </td> </tr> </table> </center> </div> <div align="center"> <center> <table border="0" width="970" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="970" height="25" valign="middle" bgcolor="#0090DD"> <a href="http://digg.com/submit" target="http://digg.com/submit">Digg this Article!</a>  | <a href="http://del.icio.us/post" onclick="window.open('http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'delicious','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;"> del.icio.us</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="970" height="88" valign="middle" bgcolor="#7EB3F1"> <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/5e103dlurlt8CDAEGCA8A9DCHBDE" target="_blank" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.ddrgame.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;"> <img src="http://www.tqlkg.com/ca110r6Az42OSTQUWSQOQPTSXRTU" alt="DDRgame - Where exercise gets fun!" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/d074y1A719PTURVXTRPRQTQYUZZ" target="_blank" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.gamefly.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;"> <img src="http://www.awltovhc.com/pc98drvjpn8CDAEGCA8A9C9HDII" alt="Video Game Rentals Delivered" border="0" width="120" height="60"/></a> <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/1681kjspjr6AB8CEA8687BGF7CE" target="_blank" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.redoctane.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;"> <img src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/lb77fz2rxvGKLIMOKIGIHLQPHMO" alt="Buy Guitar Hero III at the RedOctane Store" border="0"/></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="970" height="25" valign="middle" bgcolor="#0090DD"> <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/advertising.htm">Advertise</a> | <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/site-map.htm"> Site Map</a> | <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/staff_masthead.htm"> Staff</a> | <a href="feed:http://www.armchairempire.com/News/?feed=rss2"> RSS Feed </a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="970" height="70" valign="middle" bgcolor="#003399"> Affiliates: <a href="http://www.bdgamers.net/" target="http://www.bdgamer.net/">- BDGamers -</a>   <a href="http://www.cncden.com/" target="http://www.cncden.com/">- CnC Den -</a>   <a href="http://www.civfanatics.com/" target="http://www.civfanatics.com/">- CivFanatics-</a>   <a href="http://www.creativeuncut.com/" target="http://www.creativeuncut.com/">- Creative Uncut -</a>   <a href="http://www.darkstation.com" target="www.darkstation.com">- Darkstation</a> -   <a href="http://darkzero.co.uk/" target="http://darkzero.co.uk/">- DarkZero -</a>   <a href="http://www.devilmaycry.org/" target="http://www.devilmaycry.org/">Devil May Cry</a>   <a href="http://www.dreamstation.cc" target="http://www.dreamstation.cc">- Dreamstation.cc</a> -    <a href="http://www.projectego.net/" target="http://www.projectego.net/">- Fable 2 -</a>    <a href="http://www.gamezone.com" target="http://www.gamezone.com">- GameZone</a> -   <a href="http://www.mario-kart.net/" target="http://www.mario-kart.net/">- Mario-Kart.net -</a>   <a href="http://www.ps2fantasy.com/" target="http://www.ps2fantasy.com/">- PS2 Fantasy -</a> <a target="http://www.psu.com" href="http://www.psu.com"> </a><a target="http://www.psu.com" href="http://www.psu.com">- PS3 -</a>   <a href="http://www.talkxbox.com/" target="http://www.talkxbox.com/">-TalkXbox -</a>   <a href="http://www.zeldadungeon.net/" target="http://zeldadungeon.net/">- Zelda Dungeon -</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="970" height="19" valign="middle" bgcolor="#0A96CC"> All articles ©2000 - 2008 The Armchair Empire. 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