I can't lie - I went into this expecting Guilty Gear with new characters. This is not that game. In fact, it's much, much better.

BlazBlue is an interesting beast. The characters are a combination of Guilty Gear post-apocalyptic types mixed in with the horror feel of Darkstalkers. In fact, my wife and I played a Taokaka vs Rachel Alucard and I couldn't help but think that these characters belonged in a Darkstalkers game. The engine is very deep yet simplistic at the same time. There are a lot of meters to manage but most of them can be ignored by casual players. After putting in a few hours with BB, I felt flustered and overwhelmed. That's when the tutorial disc came in handy.

Extra goodies
The 2 CD soundtrack is nice but the tutorial disc is the most crucial inclusion in the package of extras. The basics and system sections offer good information about the basics of the gameplay and a pretty good overview of the game system. The real value here is in the character specific sections. These chapters go over everything about each character and gives a good idea of how to play. It's a very good tutorial that leads the player to a great starting point. There are some good matches on the disc which really illustrates the flow of the game and how the game is played. This is a great tool that is only in the limited edition. I genuinely feel bad for any player trying to get into the game later this month when the LEs are no longer available.

Graphics and music
The graphics are beautiful. High-res, 2D cel animation-style characters are set against solemn yet colorful 3D backgrounds. This game looks better than any 2D fighter before it. After seeing this in action, I cannot wait to see KoF XII. I really love that different companies are taking unique approaches to 2D graphics. The music is a combination of screeching guitars and classical music. It's not as metal as Guilty Gear and I think that's a plus.



Gameplay
While the graphics are beautiful and the music is good, the gameplay is what counts. And this is where BlazBlue really shines. After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that BB is the bastard child of Guilty Gear and Mark of the Wolves. Like MotW, BB features a small cast but each character is unique. Seriously, no two characters play alike. Also like MotW, the system features a last second block that offers an advantage to the defending character, if timed properly. BlazBlue is also heavy on offensive poking, almost SNK style, rather than the dash in combo approach of Guilty Gear. Most characters rely heavily on light attacks to find holes in the opponent's defense. Because of this, the pacing of BlazBlue is unique. At times, it's faster than Street Fighter, though not as fast as Guilty Gear. At other times, it moves at the slow pace of Last Blade as the fighters test each other's defense.

As I mentioned there are many meters in the game to manage. There's the standard life meter and a heat meter instead of the usual super. Heat is accrued by attacking and being attacked. The heat meter is tied into the drive attack system. Directly beneath the life meter is the barrier meter. By holding weak + strong attack while blocking, the character puts up a barrier that pushed the attacking character away. Each attack blocked by the barrier depletes the barrier meter. If this meter is emptied, the character enters a danger state and takes more damage. Beneath the timer is the guard meter. It's basically a tug-of-war meter filled with blue and red, which corresponds to players 1 and 2. As a player blocks, the opponent's color moves to that player's side of the meter. If the opponent's color fills the meter completely, the player is put into the danger state. This also serves as a penalty for blocking. As the opponent's color fills the player's side of the meter, the player begins to take more damage. That's a lot of meter to manage but casual players need only worry about the life and heat gauges.

The single player modes are quite interesting as well. There's the standard arcade mode and a story mode. The story mode works much like a visual novel and allows the player to learn in-depth about each character. Online is nice but I didn't spend enough time there to offer impressions.

Overall
This game has me hooked. An interesting and unique cast, a deep system that's unlike any other fighter and a great story mode. I'm sure it will take some time to master this game and I find that prospect very exciting. I love that this game only uses 4 buttons, as do many of my favorite fighters. Unlike most fighters, BlazBlue really expects the player to pick one character and stick with it as skills don't transfer from character to character. This creates a steeper learning curve than Street Fighter but I suspect its mastery will prove even more rewarding.

Bottom line: Buy this game. Arc Systems has done some great work here and Aksys has done an admirable job bringing it over, proving that they know how to do limited editions better than Capcom. Kudos to both Arc System Works and Aksys Games.