It's a new generation of 2D graphics. We've seen the blazing color before, we've seen the high quality animation before. But before the release of Guilty Gear X, high resolution 2D graphics were a rarity - nonexistent in the 2D fighting genre.
Guilty Gear X is out on the Japanese Dreamcast, and is ready to make even Capcom take note. The first thing I did upon opening up my copy of the game was power up my Dreamcast through VGA. I'd sworn off the combination of 2D fighter and VGA Box after countless disappointments and pixilated messes from various Capcom titles, but knowing that this game was running in full 640x480, I approached the VGA Box with confidence.
And there she was. A 2D fighter running without flaw on a VGA monitor. The crisp colors, the sharp lines - it was like a dream - a dream of a 2D fighter running on a VGA monitor. And oddly enough, it was a dream brought about by Arc System Works, a minor player in the fighting genre.
I only had enough time to take a quick look at the game and whip together some movies and screens before update time called, but the media ought to speak volumes about how good the game looks. And how does it play? Quite nicely, it seems so far. The standard Dreamcast controller works fine due to the game's four button set-up, and load times and other such ickiness are minimal. Expect slashing action reminiscent of SNK's Samurai Shodown - your character has buttons for punch, kick, slash and super-slash, afterall.
The only thing that worries at first glance is the lack of modes. The game contains arcade, survival, training and versus modes of play, but there's no way to go up against the computer for a versus CPU round. Make sure you have a friend before picking up this one (will someone be my friend?).
We'll be back early next week with a full review once we've put the game through its paces and determined just how deep its beauty rests.
-- Anoop Gantayat, Contributor
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