| paleface [sys=PSP; cat=Beat_em_up; reg=NA] |
| | | A sort of half-assed (three quarter assed?) 2D beat-em-up using the Guilty Gear characters, on a single UMD with Guilty Gear X2 #Reload (known in Japan as "XX #Reload"; see entry 1036). I won't go into the fighting game here since I've already covered that in its stand-alone port incarnation.
The beat-em-up portion bears some striking similarities to the "GGBoost" beat-em-up mode in Guilty Gear Isuka (see entry 722). It's a type of game I've always wanted, namely, a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up with the movelist depth of a fighting game. That's just what you get here; the only real problem is that the enemies are totally repetitive fodder, lacking any personality or interesting reactions. Some of them are even rather badly drawn. You only get a boss battle every once in a while, and the one boss I've got to so far was quite dumb: a stationary, revolving block with three heads that I just smacked over and over.
That's in "Story Mode," and there's at least some variation to be had in all the different Guilty Gear characters you can use (most have to be unlocked, by encountering them at certain cutscenes with other characters)--their moves, and the comments they make as they stride through the sketchy plot. In fact, as far as character selection goes, Judgement is pretty much at the top of the beat em up genre. I also like how it saves progress per character, so you can pick any character you've unlocked, then start them at any stage they've reached previously.
Now if only the bad guys weren't so boring. It's so dull that the greatest threat I've had so far is that my mind will start to wander, and I'll no longer care or notice that some dronish baddie gets behind me for a cheap shot. It's kind of odd how blah the bad guys are, considering that the AI in the #Reload fighting game is so advanced.
Supposedly you can play the beat em up in a two-player co-op mode, which would probably help make it less boring, but I haven't had a chance to try this, since you need two PSPs and two copies of the game.
Judgement also has a "Survival" mode, where it drops several truckloads of drones on you, and you just have to live, keeping your remaining health for the next stage. What was odd here was that it started out really tough, with a ton of badguys all over me; and then the next stage was a boss battle! Sheesh. Gimme some difficulty curve to enjoy before you drop the hammer, guys.
If you're after a portable fighting game, GGJ is well worth it just for X2 #Reload. The beat em up portion shows a lot of potential, but doesn't really deliver a satisfying challenge. |
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