Guilty Gear X
For the PS2, Dreamcast, and GameBoy Advance
(screenshots shown from PS2 version)
When
magic was finally harnessed, it created uproar.
But when Gears received free will, it created an uprising.
Welcome to the 22nd century where the battle line between
human and Gear has been drawn. In
an epic tournament that will not only test the skills but also the will of those
bold enough to enter, only one race can survive the pain.
This is a 2-D fighting game from Sammy and plays more like an upgrade of Guilty Gear. Guilty Gear was only released in Japan and was a big hit. Now that Guilty Gear X was released in the US, more gamers can experience this great title from Sammy. GGX rivals even the best fighters around from Capcom and SNK.
There are 14 characters to choose from, excluding the final bosses. All characters are finely detailed and are fairly different from one another. Unlike Capcom’s Versus series, there are no characters that mimic each other. For example, Ryu and Ken, both some of the main characters of most Capcom’s fighters, have almost all the same moves. In GGX, the two main characters are Sol-Badguy and Ky Kiske and share the same type of rivalry as Ryu and Ken do. Both are very different from each other, in looks, personality, and fighting style. That’s how all the characters are in GGX.
The way the controls were setup were very simple and easy to use. There are no High or Low Punches or kicks in this game but instead you have Punch, Kick, Slash, and High Slash.Now in every fighting game, control is a very big issue. GGX’s characters respond very quickly and controlling them was a breeze like when you run and dash in the air. Combos were sort of difficult but after a little practice you can start doing combos with ease. You can also perform air combos. You also have a Tension bar which works similar to the Versus games. When your attacks contact your opponent, it slowly goes up. Once you have the bar at halfway or more, you can perform a Super Move that take’s up 50% of your tension bar. Super Moves were also easy to perform after a little practice as well. One of the coolest features was the ability to perform one-hit kills. Though they looked awesome, they were very difficult to do because they take time. This is a good thing because if you could kill someone in one hit very quickly and easy, it wouldn’t be any fun.
As for the sound goes, they were excellent. All voices were clear and sound effects were very sharp. The rock/heavy metal soundtrack was one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard for any fighting game. The cooler thing is that the Dreamcast version can actually be heard on your everyday CD player! I don’t know if the PS2 version can do this because I only own the Dreamcast and Gameboy Advance versions of GGX. GGX’s graphics were beautiful. It has all characters and backgrounds in very high resolution, which means that they look very sharp and everything is smoothly animated. The characters actually blend in with the background. I think GGX has better graphics than any Capcom or SNK fighting game ever made. I can’t even describe how good GGX looks because the graphics are so superb. You just have to play the game and see for yourself.
The only flaw I found in GGX was that it was too hard. Even on Easy difficulty, I still couldn’t beat the game without continuing once. Some characters were unnecessarily hard when others were too easy. Other than that, Guilty Gear X is one of the best fighters around and if you’re a fan of fighting games, this is definitely a must-buy for you. With cool characters, superb graphics, responsive controls, and an excellent soundtrack I give Guilty Gear X a 9.
