Guilty Gear Xrd

Guilty Gear Xrd is a bit of a reimagining for the series and it blew me and pretty much everyone else away. This is a series that is all about heavy metal mayhem and while the “style” may have changed with what was done here, the mayhem and soul are very much intact and as a result, it is a truly awesome fighting game.

Am I Watching or Playing?

The first thing that I have to talk about is the game's visuals. At the time I was blown away by the visuals that this game offered and even now that cell-shaded fighting games are the in-thing. Guilty Gear Xrd has a style and presentation that is well and truly it's own. I would go as far as to say this is one of the best-looking fighting games ever made.

The characters are made in full 3D. So, while this is a 2D fighting game, some moves will rotate the camera and really show off the visuals. The backgrounds have so much stuff going on that sometimes it is fun to watch others play so you can take it all in. Each character just oozes personality and this game has some of the best character intros I have ever seen. Ino is a real favorite of mine and I would never skip hers as she always looked so badass.

Rock and Roll

Along with these amazing visuals, Guilty Gear Xrd also has a rocking soundtrack that deserves to be played with the volume cranked up. My preferred way of playing this is with headphones on and the music up loud and the sound effects about halfway. The soundtrack is so good that it is a firm favorite of mine when I am at the gym as it really does pump me up.

The Gang Is Not Quite All Here

There is a decent enough range of characters here with many of our returning favorites and some fun new ones. My favorite one is Bedman who has one of the strangest character designs and personalities of any fighting game character I have seen. What I really like about the roster in Guilty Gear Xrd is that no two characters ever feel the same. It is not the largest roster in a fighting game, but more than enough to keep you happy.

The Karate Kid

One of the things that throws some people off about this series is just how complex it is. This is not a game you can just jump into and start mashing buttons like a maniac. There is a lot of things to learn here and thankfully the game has an excellent tutorial that teaches you the basics. I get the impression that they felt some people would be playing this as their first ever Guilty Gear game.

So Many Ways To Play

The real star in terms of game modes in Guilty Gear Xrd is the story mode. This is amazing and plays out like an anime movie where you play as certain characters for certain sections. It is very, very well done and something I enjoyed immensely. I would say that as far as fighting game stories go, it is only second to the recent Mortal Kombat games.

You also have online modes, practice, and a Battle Mode which will put you into certain situations that you have to overcome as well as other modes you would expect in a fighting game. There is a lot to do and keep you busy here and playing as all the characters to see their endings is something I really enjoyed doing.

Pros:

• The game looks phenomenal
• I like how much personality each character has
• It has an awesome rocking soundtrack
• Plenty of game modes to enjoy
• The story mode is excellent

Cons:

• The roster is a bit smaller than other games
• It does have a learning curve