Guilty Gear X2 - PlayStation 2

Guilty Gear X2 is a simple, fun 2-D fighting game with quirky characters and a variety of options that allow for a customized gaming experience. A perfect blend of old-school 2-D gameplay (think Street Fighter) and responsive controls makes it very easy to get started. You get to control a host of oddball characters (20 different fighters are unlocked at the start) who all have detailed profiles and continually animate during the game. Some characters come with guest characters that make appearances during or after the fight. Backgrounds contain detailed animations and changes in weather. A decent selection of generic fighting-game music rounds out the title.

GGX2 offers nine different game modes: arcade, Medal Gauge, vs. 2P, vs. CPU, training, survival, mission, story, and gallery. All modes are available at the beginning of the game. Story mode adds anime-style background and unlockable cinemas that can be saved to a memory card. Mission mode offers up a fully detailed system to control all aspects of battle, and Medal Gauge allows for new combos by building up a collection of medals.

Aerial battles are similar to a Marvel vs. Capcom-style game and allow for some amazing combo possibilities. A return from Guilty Gear X is the Gauge meter, which allows for explosive attacks that will sometimes fill up the entire screen. Instant Kill is also back in this version and is similar to a Mortal Kombat fatality--but occurs during the match.

Guilty Gear is one of the premier 2-D fighting-game franchises, and GGX2 lives up to the legacy. Instead of the series entering the world of three dimensions, we are given a two-dimensional feast of options, great graphics, and gameplay. --Carlos Rodela

Pros:

• Zany characters
• Great 2-D graphics
• Wealth of options

Cons:

• Story mode a bit confusing
• Lack of save points
• Instant Kills difficult to execute

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