Review: Blaz Blue

Played On: PS3

Blaz Blue is your classic arcade-style fighter brought into your home so that you can play in your boxers without getting fined. There is a story and it's a bit different for each fighter that you can play as... but my guy wasn't too into the story; he just wanted to kick some tushy.

Visuals:

The backgrounds for the fights are very well done. Some of them are cute and entertaining, and others are serene and relaxing. The fighters are very colorful and some of the special moves are rather unique to watch. In story mode, there are cut scenes after every fight, but the people don't move. Well, if they are talking, their mouths will move, but that's it. As a friend commented yesterday, "It's like watching a comic book."

Audio:

Blaz Blue has great background music, if you can hear it over the sounds of the two fighters. This is the downfall of all classic fighters if you ask me. Not only do we get to see the two characters fight, but every move comes with its own sound-bite, and only the special moves get their own sounds. Be ready to hear lots of "Attack!" "Counter!" "Ugh!" and "Noooo!" If the fight is well on its way and the two characters are really going at it... the background music can't even be heard. What's the point in having beautiful, amazing background music if you are going to drown it out with crappy one-word sound-bites that don't even matter?

Involvement:

Break out your pompoms girls! Unless you want to pick up the second control and fight your guy... there is no chance for involvement. In fact, most gamers have played so very many fighters in their lifetimes, they don't even need a cheerleader. So if you have a big assignment due tomorrow, or a ton of paperwork you need to finish, let your guy play and go do your work in the next room.

Overall:

Well, I'm not a big fan of the classic fighter game. (Which you could probably tell by now.) However, I liked this one quite a bit more than Street Fighter or Punch Out. In fact, I was able to watch Blaz Blue for about 30 minutes before I started to get bored enough to want to the dishes.

I wish I had more to say about this game, but there isn't that much more to it. Your guy picks a character and then fights other characters. He might play with the non-moving cut scenes in the story mode, or he might play in the arcade and skip the story all together. Either way... I just can't get all that excited about this one.