Game Reviews

My head almost exploded with delight when the original BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger hit store shelves last year. The game featured gorgeous, hand-drawn character sprites, amazing gameplay, and a sweet soundtrack. It also boasted one of the most complex stories that fighting games have ever seen, and plenty of unlockable content to keep gamers happy. Fortunately, that wasn't the end of the BlazBlue name, as developer ARC System Works has given us BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, a refined version of the original BlazBlue with plenty of new modes, new characters and a brand new story. Even though a good deal of content in Continuum Shift is identical to the original, there's still plenty of new BlazBlue goodness to enjoy.

If you're new to the BlazBlue scene, Continuum Shift is a one-on-one fighting game from the same developers that brought us the eccentric and wildly fun Guilty Gear franchise. The real beauty of BlazBlue, besides the incredible cast of characters, is the fighting system. It's really easy to pick up and play but it has an absolutely staggering amount of strategy to learn over time.

At its core, there are really only four attacks in BlazBlue: weak, medium, strong and Drive (or A, B, C and D, alternatively). Every character has this basic assortment of attacks, and the Drive attack is a simple way to execute a character-specific technique. Rachel, for example, uses her Drive attack to summon a gust of wind, which can push not only her through the air but also alter her special moves. Iconic hero Ragna, on the other hand, uses his Drive to absorb an opponent's health. These Drive techniques represent just one of the reasons why I love BlazBlue: the cast. The characters in this fighter are so diverse and play so differently there's always something new to learn and figure out. You must understand, I am too intimidated to master unorthodox characters like Litchi Faye-Ling or Carl Clover, but they're available to those fighting game veterans that want a challenge.