Story:
A few days have passed since the reported
raid by Ragna the Bloodedge, The 13th Hierarchical City "Kagutsuchi"
forgets to celebrate New Years, as his alleged involvement in the
"Mysterious Bombing" and "Huge Pentacle Sightings" becomes
the talk of the town. With the Novus Orbis Librarium offering no official
explanation, the citizens voice their own theories, exaggerating and spreading
rumors like wildfire. The name "Ragna the Bloodedge" is engraved in
the minds of the people. Completely indifferent to the state of the city, the
silver-haired Grim Reaper grips his massive sword and quietly bides his
time-waiting for the chance to achieve his true objective; and then, the
enormous "power" that has ensnared the "Grim Reaper" begins
to activate...
The wheel of fate turns
once more.
Review:
The first sequel to Blazblue
introduces five newcomers... Hazama, Tsubaki Yayoi and Lamda No. 11 (basically
a nerfed ν-13) are available
from the start. "μ-12" (a sprite edit of ν-13)
can also be unlocked by completing the "True End" section of the story
mode or she can be purchased/downloaded from the online store if players just
can't wait.
The console version also features the downloadable/purchasable character Makoto-Nanaya
(which possibly may leave a few people feeling ripped off)...
for a grand total of 5 new combatants thus far (or 4 if you don't want to count
the "palette swap," Lamda-11).
Also featured in this expansion are a
generous selection of new moves & animations for returning characters, brand
new stages (along with remixed classic stages), new BGMs & voiceovers, a few gameplay tweaks, and some
much-needed character balance tweaks. Over-powered "zoning" characters
like Rachel, Arakune, and v-13
have been significantly toned down, making for a much more balanced roster. Several
gameplay mechanics from the prequel have also been changed or completely
replaced in Continuum Shift. Break Burst replaces the Barrier Burst
system from the prequel, with players now able to perform an offensive
"Gold Burst" or a defensive "Green Burst".
Continuum Shift expectedly retains a lot of
content from
the original Blazblue. The new characters help round out the somewhat
small roster, but no doubt each character has his or her own defined fighting
abilities. Along with the main attack buttons (A, B, & C) each character has
his/her own "Drive" abilities/attacks, which really sets each
character apart... for example: Rachael can control wind (and
the movement of her opponents at times), Tager uses magnetism to draw his
opponents closer to him, and
Carl Clover can control his android-puppet sister (or at least he thinks she's
his sister). Some would say the fighting abilities of the characters are a bit
"gimmicky," but none the less they are indeed original to fighting games for the most
part.
Playing this game on a
non-HD TV is just a sin.
If you haven't
figured it out yet, Blazblue's line-up is not your everyday
cast of fighting game characters. Much like the Guilty Gear X series, the
designs put together by Arc System Works are entirely original in every
way... which seem to be their "drive" behind the overall design
in this game. If you're looking for a straight-forward "Ryu-type
character" or a good old roundhouse-toting Muay Thai fighter in Blazblue... sorry, but you're shit out of luck.
In Blazblue, you'll have to say goodbye to "traditional" 2D fighting game attacks and strategies, and enter a world where
everyone can perform extravagantly epic attacks and can air dash until their
hearts content (except for the beastly Tager).
If you're an old school 2D
fighting game enthusiast like myself, you'll truly have to open your mind to Blazblue
in order to enjoy playing it. The most advanced levels of the gameplay system are intimidating to say the
least. Thus, Aksys Games included an in-depth Tutorial Mode within the console
versions of the game! The Tutorial is narrated
by none other than Rachel Alucard, whom blatantly insults your skill level and fighting game
knowledge throughout the mode... and some of the things she says is quite
hilarious to say the least.
Having a Tutorial Mode in a technical fighting game such as Blazblue is a godsend, although at times it becomes
slightly monotonous and dare I say... boring? If you're not 120%
"serious" about Blazblue, it's likely that you'll start
skipping much of the text/dialogue
in the intermediate/advanced portions of the Tutorial... sorry Rachel.
Other modes featured in Continuum Shift (and boy are there a lot of them)
include:
Score Attack, Training, Challenge, Legion, Story, and Gallery! The number of modes
in this game are indeed
impressive and are sure to keep players busy when not playing the standard
Arcade, VS, or Network modes. The Story
Mode is a nice change of pace from the intensely fast Arcade & VS battles. Each character has his/her own
unique path in Story Mode, where they'll meet up with other characters in
Blazblue in order to... you guessed it... fight them!
The pacing and storytelling is decent for the most part, but in some cases it's exhaustingly
slow. My mind started to drift after the 117th time I pushed the X button to
continue the waves and waves of character dialogue (then I figured out there's a
to auto-scroll feature, lol). The voiceovers and the vastness of the
story is impressive and all... but geeeez, is this an RPG or a fighting game? Don't
get me wrong though, it's definitely nice to see such an elaborate story in a fighting
game (even though most of the time I have no idea what's going on).
Makoto will set you back
about $7... yup, on top of the $40 game price. :)
Visually, Blazblue
is still a spectacle... it's one of the most original, colorful, and downright
flashy titles out there. The intricately designed, fully 3D backgrounds are a perfect
setting for Blazblue's high resolution, well-animated 2D sprites which just steal the
show. It matters not whether it's a skilled player or a button masher playing
this game... Blazblue always looks as sharp. HD to the max baby!
Another aspect that sets Blazblue: Continuum Shift apart from the rest is
it's metal/guitar-driven soundtrack, which has evolved considerably from the Guilty
Gear X series. Depending on your taste in music, either all of the tracks
will sound vaguely similar or you'll find something to like about many of
the tracks in this game. Blazblue's BGM's are intricate little tunes and mesh perfectly with the
fast-paced action.
- Review is for
PS3 version of Blazblue: Continuum Shift -
Gameplay
Engine
8.5 / 10
Story
/ Theme
9 / 10
Overall
Graphics
9.5 / 10
Animation
9.5 / 10
Music
/ Sound Effects
9 / 10
Innovation
8 / 10
Customization
9.5 / 10
Options / Extras
9 / 10
Intro / Presentation
9 / 10
Replayability / Fun
7 / 10
"Ouch" Factor
7.5 / 10
Characters
8 / 10
BOTTOM LINE
8.5
/ 10
Final
Words:
Continuum Shift is definitely an
improvement over the original and does justice to the word "sequel."
The console exclusive characters are much appreciated and the new techniques
& animations of the returning fighters don't go unnoticed either. Arc System
Works has also confirmed future DLC characters like Platinum & Valkenhayn
R. Hellsing; so stay tuned!
I didn't play the first installment on a "competitive level" but I did
put in a solid 200+ matches online. As a long time fan of Street Fighter and
the entire Marvel VS series by Capcom, I can find a lot to like about Blazblue:
Continuum Shift. There are a few familiar gameplay mechanics, but the
characters definitely take a lot of time to become fully acquainted with... and still...
just aren't "my cup of tea."
In all honestly, I enjoy how this game looks and sounds more than how it plays.
I can't see myself playing it as passionately as some of the other
fighting games out there (that consume my life).
Maybe there are just too many fighting games out right now? Heh heh, imagine that.
Anyhow, I'd call myself "mediocre at best" at Blazblue and probably always
will be... something
about it just doesn't appeal to me the way other fighting games do, but
obviously I haven't let that deter my rating. I can respect Continuum
Shift as a tournament-worthy 2D fighter and I'd recommend it to any
gamer looking to get back into the 2D fighting game genre, or to anyone who
didn't check out the first installment. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster
of TFG
The console version also features the downloadable/purchasable character Makoto-Nanaya
(which possibly may leave a few people feeling ripped off)...
for a grand total of 5 new combatants thus far (or 4 if you don't want to count
the "palette swap," Lamda-11).
In Blazblue, you'll have to say goodbye to "traditional" 2D fighting game attacks and strategies, and enter a world where
everyone can perform extravagantly epic attacks and can air dash until their
hearts content (except for the beastly Tager). 
Having a Tutorial Mode in a technical fighting game such as Blazblue is a godsend, although at times it becomes
slightly monotonous and dare I say... boring? If you're not 120%
"serious" about Blazblue, it's likely that you'll start
skipping much of the text/dialogue
in the intermediate/advanced portions of the Tutorial... sorry Rachel. 
The pacing and storytelling is decent for the most part, but in some cases it's 
), Zen United
(
)
Arcade), July 1st 2010 (
