BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review for Xbox 360

System: X360, PS3	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Arc System Work	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Aksys Games	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Jun. 30, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-4	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Teen	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

When you are creating a match, you can choose to create special tournament rooms that have up to six spots. You can fill these spots by looking for players online and inviting them, or inviting your friends. While the seats are being filled, you can decide on the rules, rotation style, and even a recommended skill level for potential players who might join the room. When you are ready to go, then you can begin playing, tournament style, until a winner has been found. This mechanic really recreates the feel of being in an arcade and taking turns in impromptu tournaments with friends, and I was more than impressed with this aspect of the online mode.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger screenshot

Although the story, online modes, and amazingly deep combat should be enough to get any fighting fan into this title, there is yet another element to this game that makes it just that much more awesome: the visuals. The game features a hand-drawn anime-style look, much like the upcoming King of Fighters XII, but with an absolutely remarkable amount of detail. Characters move around the play area with very fluid movements, and the background is constantly in motion. Just looking at the game feels like watching a high-definition anime movie, and I was amazed with just how detailed all of the fighting animations were. Of course, this makes perfect sense when you take into account that each character was hand-drawn and animations consist of close to 2000 individual frames. The game is easily the best-looking 2D fighter this generation, and it definitely stands up tall next to even the most acclaimed 3D fighters.

BlazBlue may have not had the pre-launch notoriety that other fighters like Street Fighter IV and Soul Calibur IV enjoyed, but it definitely measures up to these titles, and it proves that there are still some new ideas left in the fighting genre. The fighting system in BlazBlue is the deepest I have seen this generation, and the level of exploration that is possible within the combat is something that is rare indeed. The story mode was also a welcome surprise, especially considering this is a genre where most titles are content to just keep the story relegated to a few sentences before fights describing a ridiculous premise. I was even impressed to see BlazBlue's stunning 2D graphics, which prove that you don't have to go 3D in order to have graphics that wow both technically and stylistically. BlazBlue is a title that every fighting fan should take notice of, and I wouldn't be surprised if it sets a new standard for current-gen fighters.

By Amanda L. Kondolojy
CCC Staff Contributor

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.9

Graphics
Beautiful 2-D sprites are the most detailed I have ever seen, and the animations are ridiculously fluid. An amazing game to behold visually.

4.5

Control
Controls are incredibly deep and will take you weeks, not hours or days, to master. Even if you are a Street Fighter veteran or a Tekken pro, expect some serious challenge from the control.

4.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Characters are fully voiced during drama scenes, and both the English and the Japanese voiceovers are excellent. Background music is superb as well.

4.4

Play Value
Like most fighters, the real replay value here is in the online and versus modes. However, the multiple endings in story mode do make them worth coming back for at least a few times as well.

4.7

Overall Rating - Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

The First HD 2D Fighter from the Creators of the Guilty Gear Series!Be prepared to be blinded by the awesomeness that is BlazBlue, with its stunning characters-each one animated with over 1800 frames of hand-drawn, high-definition sprites!

Console-Exclusive Content! Brand new music, animations, backgrounds, and a fully fleshed-out story mode have been made exclusively for the console release!

Dual Language Support! Experience the fully realized BlazBlue saga with fully-voiced dialogue in English or Japanese!

Online Battle Train your skills online through ranked and player battles. Create online lobbies where up to six players can battle each other or spectate from the sidelines to gauge their opponents!