Following hot on the heels of the superb Guilty Gear Xrd
comes the next instalment in the much loved series and my oh my it is a thing
of beauty. While everyone is still waiting for Street Fighter V to be somewhere
approaching finished REVELATOR has possibly the most content yet in the world
of 2D fighters.
The tutorial mode alone is massively in-depth and will take
players through the absolute basics such as movement to the advanced techniques
of the game. Unlike most tutorials this one is actually quite inventive as well
as you jump over obstacles, pop balloons and combo creatures. The more familiar
process of producing special moves and combo strings is also included and even
players who have never played a fighting game before will find a level where
they can work on becoming an all-conquering warrior.
The game sees the cast of the original Xrd return along with
a handful of new characters with more following as DLC. Of some surprise is
that the returning cast haven’t really been tweaked or rebalanced. That said
the first game was pretty much flawless anyway so it’s easy to see why the team
decided to leave things as they were.
It’s tricky to go into all the different systems of Guilty
Gear but the approach has been to tweak what was already in place rather than
to bring in something drastically different. It’s intimidating for even veteran
players but it also gives the tutorial mode yet more time to shine as it takes
you through step by step.
Though we would have thought it was impossible the game
looks even more eye-meltingly amazing than its predecessor. Characters are
large and detailed with flourishes a plenty and anime style entrances to each
stage. The stages themselves buzz and hum with activity and lights. It’s
glorious and stunning and any other words you can think of that describes
something so utterly spellbinding. If there’s a more talented art team working
in video games we’ve yet to see it.
The visually visceral design is not restricted to the
backgrounds either. In motion the game is a thing of beauty with huge special
moves and characters zinging around the screen. It can be difficult to keep up
with it all at times but once you get used to the frenetic pace it makes you
feel like some kind of joystick Jedi and with all the options and techniques
each fighter has there is a real depth of choice to pick from.
As well as a depth of characters there is also a wealth of
modes to choose from. Unusually, the arcade mode actually acts as a precursor for
the story mode and goes through events that happen just before it starts. This
gives players extra incentive to spend even more time with the game and
encourages the use of all the available characters to get the full picture of what’s
going on. These modes are joined by the M.O.M mode where players compete for in
game currency and medals that can be used to level up characters to take on
tougher challenges.
As you would expect the online options are also excellent
with the usual ranked and player matches present. The presentation is very different
though with players walking their avatars around an area and challenging
players they come in contact with. There’s also a weird fishing game where you
can fish out items in exchange for in game currency. This mode also allows
players to change region so they can look elsewhere if their particular area is
empty of players.
Overall, Guilty Gear Xrd – REVELATOR- is yet another master
class in how to make and present a 2D fighting game. Every time the team
produce a game it’s hard to think how it could be bettered and yet they keep
finding new ways to improve, add and keep jaws dropping. There’s certainly a
lot to take in and get to grips with but once you get it there is no other
fighter out there with the same levels of depth to explore. The fact this depth
is packaged with so much style is the final, beautiful cherry on top of the
cake.
Overall 9/10
