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| Developer |
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Arc System Works |
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Sammy |
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Fighting, 1v1 |
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| System |
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Playstation 2 |
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| Release Date |
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Japan - 12.12.02
USA - 02.04.03 |
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Guilty Gear XX/X2: The Midnight Carnival (PS2)
Review by: Ben Cureton (01.29.03)
Throughout my years writing about games, every once in a while an opportunity has presented itself to cover something
I'm genuinely interested in. Not to say that I make any less effort on titles that come as part of the job, but being
able to write about a franchise that has become my hobby is just one of those well-deserved perks.
Thanks to the fine people at Sammy Studios, I received the reviewable copy of Guilty Gear X2 in the mail with the
go-ahead to give it a full once-over... or twice-over. Actually, if you count playing the arcade import, the PS2
import, and the Sammy preview code for the last 3 or 4 months non-stop, I've pretty much given GGX2 a thorough
working-over that even the most ruthless interrogator would be proud of.
Guilty Gear X2 is here - now it's time to see how it stacks up.
Graphics:
As with most things in life, the first thing something is judged on is its looks. In the graphics category, GGX2 comes
out blazing. There's really nothing on the market even remotely similar to the complete graphic package that Arc System
Works has wrapped up. Weighing in at an impressive 640x480 resolution with the option to support VGA (and even progressive
scan), GGX2 is in a class of its own. The only other fighter currently on the market for the PS2 with similar support is
Tekken 4.
Bringing the game to life is the character design and animation. While it could be called anything from original, insane,
silly, crazy, amazing, detailed, to outright weird, you'd be hard-pressed to describe it without using "all of the above".
Each character's "theme" and even attitude is easily conveyed through their animations.
On a larger scale, GGX2 has all the graphical features you would expect from series that has already raised the bar for 2D
fighting games. Highly detailed scaling backgrounds to accommodate a wider field of play, a vivid array of lighting techniques
for projectiles and hit effects, and a multitude of other subtle 3D effects blended right into the action - it's all here,
and it's all beautiful.
If you really want to be amazed, find a friend with a Sony Wega or HDTV along with component cables, then sit back and stare.
The attention to detail is downright stunning. You can really see all of the little quirks for each character down to individual
facial expressions and the subtle design characteristics that make each fighter more diverse than you could imagine.
Sound:
There are two parts to the Sound category: effects and music.
On the effects side, the sounds do their job. All of the front-end sounds have somewhat of a metallic tone to them which gives
a solid feeling to the interface. In-game, everything seems in place. The fire effects sound like fire, the lightning effects
sound like lightning, and all the individual hits, smashes, and crashes sound great. Like I said, the sounds do their job and
unlike many game-effects, they don't take away from the fighting. There's one or two effects that sound like the volume was
turned up a little too high on the sample so they come out garbled, but it's so rare the casual player would probably never notice.
Where the sound in GGX2 really begins to stand out is in the score. Track after track of pulse-raising, head-nodding glam-rock
that somehow manages to mesh seamlessly with the action. The entire soundtrack from GGX has been totally redone featuring an
actual band, and let me tell you, it makes a huge difference. Gone are the days of twangy midi's and boring drum machines,
these tracks will have you pumped all night.
In addition to the remastered GGX soundtrack, Arc System Works has basically doubled the amount of music with a whole slew
of new hot licks. Thanks in no small part to the DVD format, you'll be rockin' out to what seems like an endless supply of
fast-paced metal while you lay down beats of your own.
Quite honestly, the only drawback to such an extensive collection of intense hair-band inspired tunes comes if you don't
actually dig rock. Then again, who doesn't like rock? Seeing as there are plenty of fighting games out there with solid
gameplay and a mediocre soundtrack, re: MVC2 (jazzercize?), CVS2 ("this is true love we're makin'!"), KOF (j-pop extreme),
and even the original GGX (midi & synth overkill), it's refreshing to finally get music that actually enhances the in-game
experience.
NEXT >> Gameplay
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