Diving in almost 12 years since Guilty Gear X2, Arc System Works has finally released their newest and fifth installment to the Guilty Gear series, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign. Along with the nostalgic feel I had when I played it in the arcade so many years ago, this game just doesn’t disappoint. It comes back with its hectic fighting gameplay that will keep you hooked on your TV screen.
Guilty Gear Xrd kicks things up a notch and uses the latest Unreal Engine 3 for graphics. It’s beautiful seeing all the characters I used to play in the arcades now having cel shaded graphics with fluid movement instead of having hand drawn sprites. Despite all these upgrades, it still feels and plays like any Guilty Gear.
The game doesn’t just throw you into fights without any notice–new players have a very instructive tutorial mode so that they can get a hang of the game at their own pace. The game is definitely easy to learn but to master it is something else. While Guilty Gear Xrd does have a steep learning curve to get really good at it the difficulty is well balanced that welcomes the casual players as well as the pros.
New fight mechanics such as attack cancels, to get you out of any combo you’re stuck in or, the blitz shield to counter attacks from extremely aggressive opponents and then there’s my favourite–the ability to instantly kill anyone if you time it right. Just imagine you could be winning all the way and an opponent just pulls off an instant kill and boom! GAME OVER. How very exciting indeed!
While most fighting games never work on a real story, Guilty Gear just happens to be one of the exceptions. With a story mode to clue you in, it makes players feel like it isn’t just a fighting game but one that wants to tell a story–adding layers to the characters and their background.
Of course with every new game come new characters as well as mechanics: 4 new guys join the fight bringing the total roster to 17 (including DLCs). with new Multiplayer is like any other multiplayer–either play with your friend beside you or go online and beat up someone else anywhere around the world, same old same old.
Guilty Gear Xrd is a brilliant addition to not only the Guilty Gear series but the fighting game genre as a whole. If you’re a fighting game fanatic or someone who’s looking for a challenge this is definitely a must buy!