Guilty Gear x2

Just to warn you, this review is pretty beefy.  I pick apart nearly everything in this game.  I did it because this game, of all others, deserves that kind of treatment.  That, and this is a thanks to Shane, who believed in both me and Netjak so much that I just had to join the staff.

Perhaps the most notable difference between your average "hardcore gamer" and myself is my obvious boredom while playing a fighting game.  I'll play Street Fighter about once a season, Tekken is in my house for my fiancée only, I'll play a friendly game of SoulCalibur on occasion in arcades, and I’d rather drink molten glass than play Mortal Kombat.  Generally, I'll admit, I won't really bother with a fighting game.

That's why my fondness for Guilty Gear X2 (read, "Guilty Gear X Squared") is more puzzling than the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Sure, it has all of the basic elements I require from a video game in general... but yet, it has me addicted like few games do.

The game really begins with its story, solidly building on the previous games. Previously, a fighting tournament was made to draw out a self-aware Gear, a humanoid biological weapon.  It drew quite a crowd - the entire lineup that fought in the tournament set up by the homicidal Gear Testament and many others.  In the end, Dizzy, the self-aware Gear, calmed enough to go off with May and Johnny, two of the fighters, peacefully, while giving the reward money for Dizzy’s capture to Jam Kuradoberi.  Newcomers, fear not, for the basic plots of the first two games (expanded from the brief mention I give here) is even in the instruction booklet.

Guilty Gear X2 picks up where that peace begins to shatter.  Dizzy disappears, and at the same time someone or something seems to want to hunt down the competitors in the previous tournament.  This mysterious entity has even called in new fighters, who are interested in involving themselves for fortune, fame, and other personal reasons.  Instead of the tired "fighting tournament" storyline that most fighting games (indeed, even the first two installments of the series) use, this one is simply street fighting for survival and personal gain.  This began to rope me in.

Each character relates to the others in a different manner, though, and that held me in beyond just my interest in the story.  This is reflected in various ways - from which characters are mandatory to fight in the arcade mode to the victory quotes after each battle, unique depending on which two fighters were present and which won.  What really impressed me, though, is how this unfolds in Story Mode, which I'll explain shortly.

First, though, to describe the main game play.  Supposedly, you can’t make a good two-dimensional fighter anymore, and you’re going to have to imitate Namco or Virtua Fighter if you want a fighting game to be fun.  Mercifully, nobody told Sammy that, because this game flows like water from the tap, and yes it comes in hot and cold running beatdown.  The controls are fluid and easy to pick up, and the moves are varied and fierce.  Moreover, each character has a wide variety of moves, some of which are easily executed so that anyone can get started with a character and others which are trickier to reward more skilled players.

Part of what makes the moves flow well is that the game continues its predecessors' tradition with the Gatling Combo system.  Basically put, if you can initiate the move while the last one is going off, you'll do it.  And if you can get in another move during the animation and recovery time, then you can keep the combo moving along.  This moves much better than other fighting games, which require you to cancel your moves before pulling off rapid combos.  Thus, while there is a huge gap in knowledge between a master and a beginner at many fighting games, Guilty Gear X2 has a much more easily distanced space.  Even the Roman Cancels, which immediately stop a move in mid-action, is relatively easy to perform and are balanced out.

Never let it be said, though, that the game doesn't reward skill.  While quite a few moves are simple to execute, every character also has a series of progressively more difficult maneuvers, including flashy super moves, called overdrives, and Instant Kill maneuvers.  However, the game sets them up to be equalized - you can still get out of the way and avoid them, much different than, say, Morrigan's Darkness Eraser in the Capcom versus games.  Knowing when to use them is much more important than simply knowing how to use them.

Even if you manage to hit with a string of bruising moves, the game’s AI compensates by having each successive move do less damage.  Similarly, the more you successfully block, the more damage you’ll take when your guard finally drops.  This helps equalize both combo mashing kings and their 50 hits of doom and people who turtle through half the match, both of which lead to very dull fights.

The game also continues the use of Faultless Defense, introduced in the previous game.  This way, if you block and press for attack at the same time, you manage to avoid most blocking damage as well.  Plus, you are better positioned to strike back at your foe.  Since this maneuver is easy to do, it also helps balance the game to help novices out.  The catch with it is that it’s almost too easy to do; if your opponent isn’t even close to you, and you’re doing the right combination for Faultless Defense, their attacks (even weak jabs that couldn’t possibly hit from that distance) will activate your Faultless Defense.  This is actually a sneaky tactic because it hampers their use of other special abilities.

This works because Faultless Defense, along with Overdrives, Instant Kills, and Roman Cancels, all take their power from the Tension gauge.  Thus, you can't simply hide from your foe using Faultless Defense, wail away with a huge combo, Roman Cancel out of it, and then lay in with an overdrive.  Depending on how much you use your meter, you might not be able to perform the Roman Cancel.  Even more interesting is how it affects Instant Kill moves.  The Tension gauge becomes a timer.  If the Instant Kill move doesn't connect before the timer runs out, the match continues - and that person has no more use of their Tension gauge for anything else.  So you better feel pretty sure of your chances of landing that Instant Kill.

One new ability that the game introduces is the Burst Gauge.  This is another meter that builds up, but its only use is to counter with a burst in mid-air.  It does negligible damage and can’t be the final blow of the match, but it does two useful things - it ends your foe's combos, and it instantly refills your power meter.  It can be totally ignored, or used (and countered itself) to notable effect.

Of course, what really sets the game apart is its array of modes.  Of course, you have your classic fighting game "take on all comers" mode, which as tradition dictates is known as arcade mode.  This mode is a good intro to the game; giving you a taste of the action the game includes, and even some of the power available in the game in its final enemy, the deluxe version of the new character I-No.  It’s pretty vanilla in terms of set-up, and it’s nothing new compared to other fighting games, but that’s why there are other modes too.

Of course, after seeing what kind of unholy smack I-No DX can lay down, any gamer worth their salt is going to wonder, "How can I unlock that?"  Simple enough, you just have to gain enough levels in Survival mode.  Like most Survival modes, you take just one life bar, with small refills, against as many foes as you can work through.  What's different, though, is that how well you fight will give you a level which rates your prowess.  When you hit plateaus divisible by 10, your fights will be interrupted by special versions of the regular characters and new unlockable characters.  All it takes is one victory, and you've unlocked that character.  However, this mode's difficulty is ratcheted up rather quickly, so this is where the game's challenge really appears.  Moreover, once you do unlock the special characters and the hidden characters, they can even appear during the non-challenge fights.  It isn’t easy, but rather worth it, especially once you hit the Gold levels.

What I find most worth playing, though, is the game's Story mode.  In this, you pick one character as they meet up with the other characters, and see how their fates unfold.  Between each fight, your characters get to interact with the others, and the puzzles of Guilty Gear X2 start to unravel while others tangle up.  This remarkably develops each character, from Eddie's search for a new host (having nearly completely consumed the life of Zato-1 from the previous games) to Dizzy's search for some peace.  This also serves to connect the four new characters in the game to the others, including expanding on the backstory of each of them and connecting the new characters to the old ones.

The best part of the Story mode, however, is that the story has different branches depending on what has already been done.  Some parts of the story branch depending on whether or not you won your last bout with a particular move, or in a certain amount of time.  Certain endings can't even be unlocked unless you clear Story mode for certain other characters connected to that one.  For example, the possessed man, Zappa, seeks out the doctor Faust.  When you earn one of Zappa's endings, another opens up for Faust.  In all, each of the basic characters has three endings, which expand on the game’s playability and conveniently set up a sequel.

The game also has a much more interesting take on the "fighting tournament" style of play called the M.O.M. mode. In this one, each hit that either side scores releases medals.  Picking up these medals is vital, because collecting enough medals opens up more points and healing items during the match.  After eight rounds, the game tabulates your medals and ranks you on how you did.  While this mode doesn't hold interest long, it is interesting to give a try.

Of course, the game wouldn't be complete without a Mission mode.  Just in case you felt that reaching a high level and unlocking Gold Justice was too simple, here's where you fight in scenarios set up by the computer which really tax the skills of the player.  Sometimes, you have to deal with a continually regenerating foe.  Others, you simply have to avoid taking any damage whatsoever for 99 seconds.  You even get a chance to fight against all three unlockable characters in this mode.  It's worth it just to see them, even if you end up getting wrecked in the process.  And trust me, the first time you run into Gold Kliff, you will be Ginzu’ed.

Of course, through all of the other modes, you see pictures during endings, and other artwork of the various characters.  The game stores this in the now mandatory Gallery mode.  Here, you just look at the pictures you've already unlocked, and not have to worry about running against the various foes you spent forever pounding.  Really interesting to note is the gallery also contains two videos - the opening video for the game (which is pretty well done in the first place) as well as an incredible anime trailer for Guilty Gear X.  On one hand, I wonder why they would bother advertising that game (admittedly an excellent game) considering that this, the sequel, has everything that has and more.  But when you watch the trailer, you can appreciate how much work went into that, and it helps get a better grasp on the story.  The only thing that might throw a newcomer to the series is that they still mention Zato-1 in the GGX trailer, who has become totally possessed by Eddie in this game.

Fortunately, the game has great graphics outside of the trailer for the second game as well.  The game's graphic design is excellent, with a mature and clean anime style that gives each character a refreshing amount of detail.  Any sufficient fighting game allows you to tell view each move cleanly.  That you can tell that Ky's belt buckle says "hope" during play is another thing entirely.  Moreover, the backgrounds are detailed to the point where you can see fire flicker, ichor ooze, and leaves tumble in various environments.  The only problem you might have is that there aren’t nearly as many backgrounds as characters, and they aren’t afraid to palette swap several of them, but this is a point of quibbling.

Perhaps the only graphical warning I should give is that the makers of the game believed that the female characters should have comic book proportions.  Or, in more crude terms, boobs from here to Manhattan.  On top of that, the female characters certainly aren't on the modest side.  Other than one of I-No's victory poses, though, there's nothing in the game you wouldn't see at a beach or in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue.  So yes, while you can see the outline of Dizzy’s nipples, you don’t get to see any nude pics.  Honestly, it doesn't matter to me, but I figure some people might appreciate the fair warning.  (Author’s note: this paragraph was inserted in the review to shamelessly get pinged more on Google.)

What may amaze people the most is the sound quality in the game.  The game's designers were of the opinion that video games don't have enough hard rock and metal in them, and I'll be, they were right.  I suppose it's of no surprise that such edgy material works well with a fighting game, but the quality of the choices just enhances the game.  You want to press the attack partly because the music is practically egging you on.  The track selection is excellent, and only this game's relative anonymity is keeping the soundtrack from record stores.  I’d recommend bugging your nearest import store until they have the decent sense to start selling it themselves.

For the most part, the voice acting is similarly strong.  Sammy was quite wise for the most part in sticking with the original Japanese voice actors and not creating an English dub.  In most cases, except for the Oriental characters (who are supposed to sound that way to begin with), the characters don't have Japanese accents.  The only glaringly obvious one I can note is Ky Kiske when he uses his overdrive, "Ride the Lightning."  I mean, he’s supposed to be French (as I say this, everyone reading this review refuses to play Ky ever again), and the Japanese are often better with the French accent than they are with an American one.  How that got fouled up is beyond me.  But other than that, the sound is completely solid, from the pre-round shout of "Heaven or Hell! Let's rock!" to Johnny's Mist Finer.  The only complaint is the deep and semi-robotic voice used for Potemkin.  I know he's huge and should be deep, but I think he should sound Barry White deep, not like a TI 99-4A running a voice module at quarter speed.

Finally, interesting to note is the different references that the game makes to other media that the designers enjoyed.  You can easily find references to Metallica (Ride the Lightning and Testament's overdrive Master of Puppets), movies (other than his name, Zappa is a huge reference to the Japanese movie, "The Ring," recently remade here), Rage (Eddie's Black in Mind), and Space Battleship Yamato (May calls out for her ship, named after it).  There are numerous other references in the game that I'm not mentioning, because it's more worth it to find them on your own.

Quite simply, Guilty Gear X2 has something for nearly everyone.  The action is fast and intense, but anyone can easily pick it up and understand it quickly.  The game builds on the previous story without ruining the other games and yet is easy to jump into.  (You'll have to play the first game, at least, to find out who the guilty Gear is in the first place.)  The game also has additional modes and challenges for anyone who tires of the basic mode.  Finally, it's balanced so that while a more skilled player will generally win, a novice won't feel like they've got no chance.  Really, it's the second fighting game (though some might grit their teeth to know that Super Smash Brothers is the first) that has me anxiously awaiting a sequel.  It’s not often that I unequivocally recommend a game for everyone, but Guilty Gear X2 deserves it.  Even though I doubt enough people will be sensible enough to give it a whirl, it’s clearly one of the best games you’ll ever see on the Playstation 2.