A Very Soapy Review of: Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend

A lot of fighting games have come out in the last little while, and there doesn't seem to be any real shortage of them in sight, probably in part due to the ever growing online community that seems to be following them. You all have heard of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, King of Fighters XIII, Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition 2012 (I'm going to wait for the 3D HD Alpha Remix personally). But there's one game that just doesn't have the same kind of following yet, which leads us to today's game, Blaz Blue Continuum Shift Extend. The latest iteratoin of the Blazblue Series (pronounced Blaze Blue, though I affectionally call it blaz blue anyway). It was created by the same people who made the Guilty Gear series, Aksys. It does have a very loyal nich following, but does it deserve more? Can it rumble at the top with the likes of Street Fighter x Tekken Super Hyper Combo 4D Edition Squared? Is it worth your hard earned Bison Dollars? Let's find out.

Story: Well, the story mode is definitely an interesting one. It is all done in a graphic novel style, with the occational anime cutscene here and there and of course, some story battles as well. For some, it might seem a bit primitive but if you're a fighting game fan you'll know its par for the course. The difference is, everything is voice acted, and the voice acting itself is pretty decent. It's nice to see some actual effort going into a story in a fighting game for a change, as opposed to a random set of events that loosely ties the characters together.

This time around you actually get an abridged version of the original game's story line, and it covers all the main aspects of it. This portion is well done, though it is very clear there were some translation issues, ranging from the text not quite matching what the voice actor is saying to the voice acting itself switching to the Japanese dub. Though these things happen quite rarely, you will notice it when it does. The text will always be in English, though, so you wont ever actually miss any story segments, and if you're one who would end up switching the language to Japanese anyway you won't even notice.

Oh Jin you crazy bastard...

Once you're done with that, there's the Continuum Shift story mode. Every character in the game gets their own story, including the 3 that were previously DLC only and thus lacked any story mode, as well as a story for the new character Relius and two new extra stories which help flesh things out further. Every story in the continuum shift portion of the game has branching paths, and with them different endings for each character's, including the sometimes mind boggling and other times hilarious joke endings. And if that isn't enough humor for you, when you get a bad ending a segment called "Help Me Professor Kokonoe" starts up with some fairly elementary school like drawings and hijinx ensue. If for whatever reason you decide to skip out on story mode but still want a general idea of whats going on, arcade mode itself also has shorter versions of each characters story, though you wont get any real details from it, just a summary. Overall, the story mode is fairly anime but at the same time, pokes a lot of fun at anime-styled conventions that we've seen over and over. Some of the characters are pretty typical, though others are actually fairly interesting to watch; like the main villian Hazama, who might be one of the most fun villians to be seen in any fighting game. This adds up to a fairly enjoyable experience for those who are seeking it and is something that is sorely lacking from pratically every fighting game to come out in recent years.

Modes: Before we get into the nitty gritty of the combat, let's talk about the other modes this game has for you to play around with. As mentioned, we have the staple arcade mode, Unlimited Mars mode (which is essentially arcade, except everyone is in their unlimited forms, more on those later) Score Attack, which has you fighting for the highest score, as well as the beefy story mode and a very well put together online mode. Online play is really well done in this game, with great netcode and very little (if any) lag at all. You have your standard ranking and player matches, but then you have "team" mode which puts you on a team with someone else, against either 2 or 3 other players. Then you take turns trying to beat the other team. It's just something else to do that adds a little freshness to the online portion. On top of this, we have tutorial mode, which does a great job explaining the ins and outs of the game, and challenge mode, which has you choosing a character, and attempting to perform combos, which is great for learning more about how each character flows.

One of the most interesting single player modes, though, is probably Abyss mode. This mode has you descending into the "abyss," fighting opponents until you reach the bottom. What makes this mode unique is the implimentation of its "RPG" elements. Your character can actually raise their stats, those being strength, defense, speed and heat (which basically means how much of your heat gauge is filled at the start of a battle), as well as being able to equip 3 different abilities. You can either gain these by buying them before you begin your descent, or earning them through beating the "unlimited" versions of each character as they challenge you. There are different levels, each one having you dive deeper into the abyss with harder and harder enemies as you go down.

At the end, you get points to unlock things in the gallery (though you get points for almost everything you do in this game other than training mode). These points are used to unlock things like special art, more announcer voices (and trust me you will be changing them. Their broken english adds a certain charm to the game) different colours for each character, and the aformentioned unlimited versions of the characters. These are essentially super powered versions which have enhanced abilities and a lot more strength. A couple examples would be Ragna getting a huge boost in his HP absorbtion abilities, and Noel's combos becoming crazy fast and hitting you almost twice as much with each button press. One character, Lambda 11, even turns into a character from the original game with way more speed and power. They aren't easy to unlock, but once you get them, they're a lot of fun to play with, as every character essentially becomes an all powerful boss character.

Falcon What Now?

Gameplay: And now we get to the most important part. If Street Fighter 4 is the more technical and slow game, and Marvel VS Capcom is the fast paced flashy game, Blazblue would probably be at a happy medium somewhere in between. It still retains a sense of flare and is very entertaining to watch, but at the same time still manages to be a very deep game for those willing to invest in it. That isn't to say the more casual fighting game fans wont have fun, on the contrary, but it's a game that's easy to pick up but hard to master. Comboing for the most part does take some thought, and you aren't going to get much done by mashing at your controller with your face.

As mentioned before the tutorial mode does a great job of explaining the basics and the more advanced techniques in the game. Blazblue has all the basic 2D fighting game features you'd come to expect; holding back to guard, a light medium and heavy attack buttons, throws, double tap forward or backwards to move in that direction, directional button inputs such as down-down/forward-forward (aka the hadoken). They're staples that anyone who's played a fighting game would expect to be there.

What makes this game unique is its drive system. Each character has his or her own "drive" moves, which are used by pressing the drive button, or the drive button in conjunction with a directional input. Each characters drive does something different as well. For instance, one character's drive turns them into a wolf, the other allows a character to throw her staff and have it twirl around hitting your opponent, and another's let's you control a puppet that fights along side you. One of the main reasons Blazblue stays such an interesting fighting game is how differently each character plays. They all have something unique to them that they can do and in a day and age where you see a lot of clone characters in fighting games, that is definitely a big plus.

Playing the game on easier difficulties, you may be able to get through by smashing every button feverishly until your hands are numb but if you ramp the difficulty up to hard or higher, or want to try playing online or even with people in person, you are going to have to learn a thing or two. That being said, the game gives you the basics and once you find a character that fits your style best, you're sure to find some enjoyment out of it.

Presentation: The games graphics are something I wish I'd see more in games. In a world with so many 2D fighting games out, it's to bad we don't see more games with hand drawn sprites like the ones in Blazblue as they look absolutely gorgeous in HD. It has a very distinct anime style, which might not be for everyone but it's not obnoxiously anime either. The music as well does a good job pumping you up, though only a few of them are stand out tracks.

Overall: This game is easily one of the best fighters out there right now. The gameplay is very solid, the game does a good job in helping newbies with the basics, and for once it's a fighting game with some real single player content for you to enjoy when you're sick of getting pummeled by people online. Because of how unique the game is, the fact that all the characters are interesting in their own ways, and the fact that it has more to offer than just online, which leaves this as the best fighting game out right now. If you're a fan of fighters and are looking for a game with some actual content, or if you're new to fighters and want to try something new, this is a game that is very easy to
recommend.

A Very Soapy Review of: Catherine

 Soapy Reviews:

Catherine is an......interesting game available for both the PS3 and Xbox360 systems. It's genre is at it's core, a puzzle game, but with a heavy focus on story and moral choices within the story. The game was created by the same team who made Persona 3 and 4, and is their first trek into the world of HD gaming. Does the game's twisted tale and unorthodox gameplay make for something worth checking out, or is it something best left in the depths of obscurity?


Story: The story, without giving away too much, is about a 32 year old man named Vincent. His long time girlfriend Katherine, has started to presure him into taking their relationship to the next level (marriage) but Vincent isn't so sure he's ready. Later at his favorite pub the stray sheep, after all his friends have left, he meets a seductive blonde girl named Catherine. He blacks out and begins having nightmares (where the core gameplay takes place) about climbing a tower with other men who appear as sheep to him. The mystery of why he's having these nightmares, as well as the mysterious deaths of men around town all make up for a unique premise. On top of that, the nightmares Vincent has seem to reflect his inner most worries about his relationships and life in some very creepy ways, some of the most disturbing and unsettling things you'll see in gaming these days. Contrary to popular belief, this games story revolves more around Vincents relationships with both girls and his friends, then sex, and makes for a very interesting ride that you'll definitely want to see more of.


On top of that all the characters in the game just feel like real people, with real problems, dealing with extrodinary cercumstances. You may even find yourself really identifying with a lot of the characters troubles, like Vincent's fear of commitment for example. The realism of the way the characters act in certain situations as well as the dialogue and pacing make this story one that you'll want to see through to the end.


Voice Acting: This wouldn't normally have it's own section but in the case of this game, it's important. Lucky for us, this game boasts some of the best voice acting in recent memory, special props going to Tory Baker who plays Vincent. The voice acting is really convincing and is definitely one of the games strongest assets. The story is great, but the voice acting really sells it and helps flesh out the characters of the game, as well as giving some moments of the game an extra emotional push.


Gameplay: The most shocking thing about this game is probably the decision to turn it into a puzzle game. Once again though we're lucky that the gameplay is actually fairly fun, though quite challenging at times. As stated before, the majority of the gameplay takes place in Vincent's nightmares, where he has to climb towers while the blocks bellow him fall, or in the case of the boss stages, something frightening chases him up. You're essentially pushing and pulling blocks in different ways, and climbing around and up the falling tower to get to the top. Some of the ways they force you to do this are very interesting and quite rewarding when you figure it out too. Problem is even on normal, first timers are going to have some troubles, so it's recommended to play on easy first (just swallow your pride, you'll thank me later) Then once you get the hang of it, you can try normal or hard mode on your next play throughs to see one of the 8 (yeah thats right, 8) different endings. There's a lot of replay value to be found, and even some multiplayer options and extra levels to try once you beat the game.


There is also the section of the game which you spend in the bar, walking around, talking to people. You can talk to the many patrons of the stray sheep, drink some alcohol (which actually increases your speed in the nightmare stages) play an arcade game called Rapunzel which is sort of a mini version of the nightmare stages (It has over 50 smaller levels within itself, which get fairly challenging later on as well) or text Katherine or Catherine which will sway your Karma Meter one way or the other depending on how your respond. The Karma Meter itself goes in the “law or chaos” scale and helps determine how Vincent thinks during certain scenes, as well as the eventual ending you will get.


Music: The music is pretty good too, you'll recognize the style of it if you've played the Persona or any Shin Megami game really, as it's the same guy. There is also a Juke Box in the stray sheep which will unlock songs from other atlus games as you gain trophies and such, so if you get bored of the one song that always plays in there you can change it. The Nightmare stages music consists of a lot of remixed classical music, which actually works quite well in the game and all of them sound familiar yet new.


Overall: The easiest way to describe this game is different, but in all the right ways. Games like this just don't come around often and it's a really nice refreshing change from the norm that we see now adays. If you're looking for something different, this is definitely a good place to look. The story is engaging, the gameplay is fun, and even if you just want to play it for the story, easy mode is there (as well as a secret super easy mode if you press select before loading your game). With Multiple endings, a lot of songs to unlock for the juke box and even some extra challenging levels to unlock as well, this game is one that will keep you busy.

Soapy Reviews: Ghost Trick Phantom Detective

Soapy Reviews:

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a video game created by the man behind the first three Ace Attourney games, Shu Takumi. It was released in January 2011 for the Nintendo DS, and it went under the radar for a lot of people, unfortunately not selling as well as any of the Ace Attourney games. Is this game one of those hidden gems, or is it better left buried 6 feet under? Let's dig in and find out!

Story: In Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, you play as Sissel, a ghost who has recently died and lost all his memories. Starting his journey to find out who he was, he meets a detective named Lynne, who dies almost immediately. Sissel then uses his new found powers as a ghost to manipulate time and the objects around him to stop the assassin who tried to kill her. From here, the plot takes off as Sissel saves multiple people from death on his way to find out who he was and why he has this power. The story actually takes quite a few surprising twists and turns, and the ending is pulled off with such expertise that I was left feeling the impact of the game for a few weeks. For those who have played the Ace Attourney games, you can expect the same mix of humour and drama, but with a much darker tone, as the game deals heavily with the theme of death. There are many amazing lighthearted and funny moments as well, but the game handles its more somber moments perfectly. This game is worth checking out for the story alone, but that's not the only aspect of it that works so well.

Gameplay: The gameplay is actually very unique, and can get quite tricky at times. At its core, Phantom Trick is a puzzle game, but it's very different than what you might expect from this genre. Sissel has the power to possess and manipulate objects, as well as turn back time (although this power is limited to turning it back to the beginning of the mission). He can also switch between the ghost and human worlds. In the ghost world, time stands still and you can do things freely; but in the human world, events take place in real time, and you must race against the clock to save the person in question before their unfortunate demise. The gameplay works very well and intergrates with the story seamlessly. Near the end of the game, the puzzles become quite hard, and will definitely require a few more tries than usual.

Overall: This is a game that I truly wish more people knew about. I have even spoken to some hardcore Ace Attourney fans who had no idea this game existed, and it upset me because it is one of the best games out on the DS, period. Although it will be harder to find now, I highly recommend buying this game if you ever see it in a store or are willing to go online to get it.