And now for something different!
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BlazBlue is a 2D fighting game developed by Aksys Games, who is also responsible (and well-known) in developing the Guilty Gear franchise. If you are familiar with the gameplay on Guilty Gear, the transition to BlazBlue will be smooth for the most part. For those who are new, BlazBlue will take a lot of time to truly embrace. If you manage to get used to all the characters and gameplay, the game will be a rewarding experience to most. Hardcore fighting gamers will love the fast-paced and on-your-feet strategy matches the game provides. Those not much in tune with the fighting genre may be frustrated by it all.
The production in BlazBlue is top notch all around. The graphics look amazing from the characters, their animations, and the active and crowded backgrounds on all the stages. The music is okay, your standard Japanese music fare. The fighting is fast and furious and the game manages to get every little move you command instantly with no lag, which is impressive considering how crazy most matches you'll get involved in.
BlazBlue features your usual fare of game modes to dive into. It has arcade, versus, score attack, story and online. However, Aksys did something neat with the score attack and story modes of the game. On the surface, score attack may seem like a straightforward survival/high score mode. But the difficulty in score attack is defaulted to the game's hardest difficulty. So if you manage to beat score attack mode, you are one hell of a fighter. The game also features a story mode, where the games goes in depth with every character so that you get a sense of what each character is fighting for. I have no played through story mode a lot, but it's nice that Aksys put some time in getting some story fleshed out to understand more of their cast of characters. The game's online mode is solid. There are two modes you can enter in online mode, ranked matches and player matches. You gain experience in both modes and the game keeps track of your stats in both modes. Ranked matches are your competitive one-on-one matches. You can either get a quick match going with another, or see what other opponents are available to fight. Player matches tend to be more casual, as you can enter into a room with other gamers and play. The neat feature in player matches is that you can watch other players battle as you wait for your turn to fight. As for connectivity, I found most of my fights lag free. There are a few matches where the lag is pretty bad, but overall no overwhelming issues with online.
Character personality is important in a fighting game in my opinion. You don't want to play a game where the characters lack that personality that makes you attached to the game. Luckily, BlazBlue manages to pack in plenty of distinct personalities in its cast of characters. [I wish I could say more about the characters, but I haven't played in-depth with many characters yet.]
Ultimately, a fighting game makes its mark with its gameplay. This is where many gamers will be tested. First is the characters. Not only the twelve characters all have their distinctive personality, each one has a very distinctive fighting tendencies. They're so distinctive that you have to literally change your mindset if you choose to play around with each character. What may work for one character will not work for the other. In short, each character is a challenge in itself. As well as getting used to the characters, there are a couple of features to keep in mind while in battle. There are two different forms of blocks. You have your standard block, but there are also barrier blocks in which you receive no damage from any attack you defend. But you have to be careful is using barrier block as your meter quickly consumes as soon as you use it. There is also a barrier burst, typically used to break out in a middle of an opponent's combo. It's a neat feature in the game as it pushes your character back and gets you back on your feet. In consequence, you cannot use it again once you deploy it, and you take in more damage after you barrier burst. There are also negative warnings (you receive extra damage for being hit because you are not being active in battle) and guard crushes (there is a meter under the timer to indicate if you're getting close to being guard crushed). All the little features in battle encourages (or forces) you to be offensive. You can play a defensive game if you know what you are doing, but in the end, all the gameplay features tend to favor an offensive fight.
Your enjoyment of BlazBlue comes down if you can handle and enjoy the gamplay of the game. If you can put in the time and effort of getting a grasp of the character's fighting tendancies and the features during battle, you will enjoy the game. Otherwise, this game will end up being frustrating because there is so much to learn.
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For me, BlazBlue is enjoyable to a point. I enjoy fighting games but I am no expert, so I get frequently frustrated whenever I play the game. It's one of those games that can be fun at times, but downright awful at others. BlazBlue is great with it's production, engaging characters, crazy and active fights and solid online multiplayer, but being able to grasp the different fighting methods and keeping up with the offensively driven fights keep me from truly enjoying the game.
BlazBlue is available on the X-Box 360 and Playstation 3 consoles in the United States. It was initially released as a limited edition with a second case which includes a DVD strategy guide and two soundtrack CDs for $60. Now the game is released in its standard version (just the game) for $50.