| paleface [sys=PS4; cat=Fighting; reg=NA] |
| | | The second in the "Xrd" cel-shaded 3D latter day sub-series of Guilty Gear fighting games, between "Sign" and "Rev. 2"; I skipped Sign and wasn't convinced to shell out the $20 to upgrade to Rev. 2.
The cel-shaded look is kind of cool, but obscured during battles by obtrusive hit sparks and all manner of overlaid FX whizzing around, and very hard to watch during would-be cinematic close-ups due to a dizzying and very choppy camera.
Compared to the last of the 2D Guilty Gears, XX Accent Core Plus R on PS3 (see entry 1385), Revelator is very weak on replayable single-player modes; "M.O.M." mode is still here, but really just in name only; instead of a score attack battle on and on mode, it's now a...action RPG-style thing that seems to want you to spend all your time picking between "items" and trying to decipher screens full of potential stat boost from them. For someone who came to this looking for fast, fun action, this was nightmarish.
So beyond that, and having done the admittedly quite profuse story cinematic & battle chapters, I was left with--well, there's fishing for items in a cute little cartoon fishing minigame--Vs. CPU, which is all right, and I love the character color selection, but it does feel distinctly underwhelming after the various modes in Plus R on PS3, and even just the cool Survival mode in GGX on Dreamcast (see entry 1381).
And I suppose the real problem is the actual fighting leaves me a bit flat. I'm not that keen on the most of the new characters (and I particularly detest Bedman--but there were more characters than that in +R who were trying so hard to be "weird" as to be insufferable, so I guess that's a wash) (I do like the new Kiske guy with the staff, but did they really have to make him have to "eat" periodically?), but even the old ones feel sluggish somehow, as if bogged down by all the layers of mechanics, FX, and shading. Also, I really hate having to hold the Start button down for a second or two just to get to the pause menu to check moves; I'm not in a tournament, and I should darn well be able to turn that delay off! ; P
So, I haven't been able to get into it; GG has always been a manic series, but Xrd feels slow and heavy, despite all the piled-on flash.
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