[Review] BlazBlue : Calamity Trigger

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the newest 2D fighting game from Arc System Works, creators of the Guilty Gear series, the developer is noted for creative character designs , fast- paced action and anime themes. BlazBlue has been heating up the arcades, now BlazBlue is released on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Anime-style!
As I popped in the disc for Calamity Trigger, the anime themes were immediately sensed. The music, the art design of the backgrounds and characters all have the unique anime feel that fans of the Guilty Gear series will feel right at home with. The character design in BlazBlue should be applauded as every character looks, feels and plays differently from one another in comparison to other fighters with archetypes for characters with cookie cutter controls and fighting strategies. Jin Kisaragi freezes people with his close attacks while has projectiles and close attacks while Carl Clover uses a life size doll as his weapon creating for two characters on screen to use against your opponents. Needless to say, characters in BlazBlue are distinct and offer variant strategies that are needed for success in this break neck speed fighter.

Easily the highlight of BlazBlue is not the fighting system but the gorgeous 2D visuals. The game is easily the best looking 2D game I have ever seen as you need a HDMI cable and HDTV to truly enjoy the visuals supplied by Arc System Works. The backdrops differ from gorgeous 2D drawings to fully rendered 3D backgrounds. The colors are vivid, lush and jawdropping. The graphics are so stunning that during battles I get distracted by the lush backgrounds of each level.

BlazBlue has pretty standard fighting game modes ; story, arcade, versus, online, training, and an art gallery to view cut scenes. During story mode, the story of BlazBlue unfolds during still cutscenes / text / voice acting, all of which is quite HORRIBLE. In fact the story and story telling medium is easily the worst part of the entire game. The voice acting is horrible and the stills look as if they should be in a SNES game. Story mode should be avoided unless you want every trophy/achievement the story mode should be skipped at all cost.
Freeze!
The stand out feature for the actual gameplay is easily the drive feature. The drive feature is an integral tool in dealing the pain to your opponent. The drive feature from my experience is inteded to be used as a chain in between to combos to turn an ordinary 5 hit combo to a 10+ combo. For example , Jin Kisaragi drive is to freeze opponents as soon as they are hit, it can be chained with his throw or any special moves to unleash huge combos. The drive feature adds enormous depth to a game with unique characters in which strategies differ for each, so execution of the drive feature will be different for EVERY character, so practice with different characters.

The game is Guilty Gear for next gen consoles... which is not a bad thing. The music fuels the intense action, the anime based characters are unique and over the top while the visuals, anyone will enjoy. However, due to the complexity of the drive feature and non-recognizable characters, new comers will shy away from trying BlazBlue. It is clearly not a fighter one can pick up and easily master, it takes time to understand how to use just 1 character , let alone the other 11 characters. 2D Fighting game enthusiasts owe it to themselves to pick up this title to add to their collection. It is by no chance a Street Fighter 4 killer but it is a solid game if you liked the Guilty Gear series.

Don't forget that we are switching to our new blog!

Red Faction Guerrilla REVIEW

The perfect game does not exist, mostly because everyone has their vision of what the perfect game would be. Therefore, no one should qualify a game of being perfect, or even close to perfect. That is my rule when reviewing, and I think it should be yours too. That's how I see it at least.

That was until I played this game. I am so sorry, but I will be breaking my rule today: Red Faction Guerrilla is damn near perfect! This game is not only awesome in so many ways, it uses old and new to deliver a perfectly balanced package with pretty much everything expected today and more. Needless to say it is now one of my favorite games, next to Halo 2, Final Fantasy VIII, Tales of Symphonia and System Shock 2. Why is it awesome? Let's find out!

Yep, that's Alec!

The story begins with Alec Mason, as he lands on Mars, a human colony, ready to start a fresh life on this so called haven. He is greeted by his brother who quickly dismisses this, and explains that Mars is EDF (Earth Defense Forces) ruled, and that they pretty much own the place. You then discover he is part of a rebellion who wants to be free of the tyranny and get Mars back. After a violent encounter with police forces, he gets killed and Alec joins the rebellion, swearing to avenge his lost brother. And this is where you start. Pretty classic if you ask me, but solid premises nonetheless.

Is this not beautiful?

A big part of the game is about destruction. You have to complete story missions, and side quests, that usually involve you destroying EDF buildings. To do that you start with a sledgehammer (and trust me, even if that's your starting weapon, you won't be letting go of it till the end of the game!), and remote mines. Throughout the game, you can spend salvage (which you get from ruins and missions) on upgrades and new weapons. This ranges from proximity mines to rocket launcher to an assault rifle and much more, but I don't want to spoil it. To get to a mission, you can walk or drive there, at the same time exploring this wonderful open world environment that is Mars. Follow the road, or go off course and be careful not to crash! It really seems like whatever the game has you doing, the developpers found a way to make it fun.

Before...
...after!

The game runs on the Geomod 2.0 engine, which handles all the explosions from every single bit of debris to beautiful detonations. And boy does it do a great job! It simulates real life physics pretty well: if you start damaging the bases, the whole building will collapse. The engine is also responsible for the landscape (red desert, roads, rocky mountains). Being an open world game, you will often be driving around the different parts of Mars. You do have a fast travel option, but trust me, driving is fun, especially when you can get into any car you see! The engine does a pretty good job, and even though the graphics are not groundbreaking, they will never hurt your eyes (Prototype anyone?).

Sometimes, you gotta be sneaky..

"So all you do in the game is destroy stuff?". Well, no. A lot of missions involve intercepting convoys, getting to a destination driving as fast as you can, rescuing hostages, and even some form of stealth action! Trust me, this game does NOT bore you. Amd just when you thought you had seen it all, they surprise you!
------SMALL SPOILER CONCERNING ONE OF THE UPGRADES-----

I mean come on, when you least expect it, you get the choice of...a jet pack! I mean how cool is that. I love it, really gives a different take on destruction.

------END OF SMALL SPOILER CONCERNING ONE OF THE UPGRADES-----
The game features a GTA like police system, where instead of stars you have a color code, going from green (everything's fine) to red (EDF sent out helicopters and tanks!), and sometimes it gets pretty chaotic, but good chaos, not bad chaos. And if you are out of ammo, there usually is a weapon cache not far from you where you can replenish your inventory. That or pick up any weapon on the ground.
The game also shows you the occupation level, which goes up or down depending on your actions.



"So what, is this game perfect? Should I buy one for each member of the family?". Well, you should definitely buy it, that's a no brainier, but it's not perfect. There are some small details that came to my attention JUST BECAUSE I was really looking for cons and could not find any after a while.
One of them is the fact that if substantial amounts of debris happen to be falling on you, and you get hit, Alec will of course fall on the ground. But he has a very weird way of doing it. It's like the game cut the chords holding you up, and you suddenly drop in a very "I have no muscle nor bones" way. Even though getting up does not take long, it's not automatic. The same thing sometimes happens if you get ran over by a vehicle, but like I said, this is a small detail.

Another one I guess you could be bummed about is the story/voice acting. It's decent, the dialogues even have some humor to it, but when you see a white guy talk with a very guetto accent, you just stop and wonder "Did he really speak like that?" and the answer would be yes. But then again, those are details. Those elements will not make the game less enjoyable.

Notice the yellow arrows? They act as the ultimate GPS System! And as you can see, the game alternates day and night

After all of that, it really seems like there's nothing more to add. BUT WAIT: Red Faction Guerrilla has one more thing, multiplayer!
Yep, that's right, you can either duel your friend offline and see who can cause more destruction in the time given, or battle it out online with oh so many people. And thank god, the notion of lag seems to be absent from this game, and this is always a major plus.

I honestly think this game should get a Game Of The Year Edition, because it really deserves it. On behalf of the team here at Freestylelance, I thank Volition and THQ for delivering such a complete product. With 3 DLC announced for both 360 and PS3, the first scheduled to be released before the end of summer, expanding on the single player story with a totally new area to explore, all I can say is: the rebellion is not over! And with a Red Faction 4 announced, all I can think about is a map editor!



Appreciations: A, 9/10, Awesome.

Bioshock 2 now has another developper

Looks like Bishock 2 is being developped by 4 different studios! Already on board are 2k Australia, 2k Marin and Digital Extremes, but according to the Arkane Studios website, seems like they are the latest addition!

Here is what Alyssa Finley, producer at 2K Marin, says about Arkane’s contribution to the game :

“BioShock 2 is a world class project led out of 2K Marin that features involvement from a variety of premiere studios from around the world. In the past we’ve been working closely with 2K Australia for our tech needs and Digital Extremes for our robust multiplayer experience. Today I’m proud to say that we’ve added another important developer to the mix. Under the direction and leadership of 2K Marin, Arkane is assisting in the creation of levels that embody the aesthetic and gameplay ideals that make BioShock such a unique and exciting experience”

Sounds awesome if you ask me, more polish!
Here is the SOURCE for you guys.