A visually impressive game that is also fun
Guilty Gear Xrd gives a old fighting game franchise a impressive visual overhaul while still keeping the somewhat complex fighting system intact. Most of my reviews start with a few lines of text on the story but lets skip over that for now and talk about the mechanics. This is a mainly a 4 button game with a extra Dust button to knock opponents into the air. In traditional fighting game form this is augmented with a selection of special attacks performed via actions like a Hadoken in Street Fighter. Although quite a few moves are more complicated than that, most of the fighters have similar commands for special attacks so even if your starting a new character it isn't to hard to figure out a few moves. Stringing together a basic combo into a flashy special is fairly easy and it always makes you feel awesome when you do pull it off.
Visually this game blows every other 3D animated game away. Normally the action is on a 2D plane so it looks like every other fighting game you've ever seen. Yet once the camera starts moving around it becomes evident that this is actually a 3D modeled game. Which is really impressive since it looks like I'm playing a 2D animated fighting game. Story wise this game starts out with Ramlethal trying to destroy the world in the arcade mode. The "playable" story mode goes beyond this and focuses more on expanding on the different characters personalities. While still having a crazy over the top narrative that is told via one big visual novel. Which was a fun time even though I had to wonder if adding in battles would make it a little bit better. After all I do like to play video games that are all about the gameplay.
Although the story mode may be lacking in fighting the rest isn't with the standard amount of online related modes. Along with M.O.M. which is just a selection of challenge battles that let you upgrade your fighter by using medals. I didn't spend to much time with either of these modes since I was mainly playing through the arcade mode multiple times or learning a new character via the different practice options. Overall this is a great fighting game that can be enjoyed by anyone. Sure some of the gameplay systems like how to use a blitz shield or a roman cancel may be complex but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it. If your looking for a great looking fighting game with a unique cast of characters this is the game for you.