BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend Review by: Frodlex - 9.5/10
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend needs more ponies.Hey there, first off I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this thread and I truly hope you enjoy it, I'm reviewing what is most likely my favorite game at this point in time, my opinion may be a little biased but I'll be sure to not stray all that far from fact and not review just based on opinion. Anyway, let me get back on track, I'm just going to keep rambling at this point.
I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and give a basic over view before I get to each aspect of the game and all of that. Well, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend is the a remake of the third installment of the BlazBlue franchise and features gameplay that was created to try and balance out the gameplay of the previous installment and add a few new features. (Not to mention sell the same game twice....) Anyway, it's a pretty fun and combo heavy fighter and I really recommend it, but I guess I should explain why I recommend it...
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Graphics: Let me talk about the graphics first. Alright, the game has a rather impressive set of graphics in a good few areas such as the fine detailed high-definition sprites (I've seen the game on an Hi- def television, it puts mine to absolute shame.) that have hundreds upon hundreds of frames for each character that play out with great fluidity and look incredibly stylish with some characters. Or the animated 3D backgrounds for each stage or the stages themselves which all seem to look decent in comparison to a lot of other fighting games out there.
As for gameplay graphics... Let me put it this way, it's hard to judge them but for the most part the combos each of the characters have make it so one attack has to flow nicely into the next which allows the majority of the characters, their attacks, and the special effects to look rather stunning. I highly recommend either playing the game yourself or watching some videos if you want to know what I mean. If you don't want to imagine either of those simply imagine either slicing, slashing and smashing someone apart as you knock them to once side of the screen and back, honestly one of my favorite aspects of the game.
Sound: Oh man, everything from the soundtrack to the voice acting, I love it all. Each character has a theme, some characters who have relations in the story have themes for when they fight, and there are also some songs which are simply there.
Every character playable or not has a voice actor in both English and Japanese which can be switched from with ease, some of the characters a voice by some rather famous voice actors which has led to increased popularity in Japan and America alike, not to mention several other countries.
Adictiveness: This games is nearly impossible for me to put down without outside intervention, I'm literally addicted to it, it's on my mind all the time, maybe it's the music, the characters personalities, the gameplay, the combos, the people I play with it just doesn't matter, I am always thinking about this game, not a day goes by when I don't at the very least mention it to someone I know, this game has had me hooked from the first day I've played it for several reasons. 1: it resembles an anime. 2: The characters and the story are awesome. 3: The competitive gameplay is some of my favorite out there and through determination I've become a rather skilled player. 4: The music is awesome.
But in all honesty this game resembles an anime, has a large amount of fun and competitive nature, a compelling story and a huge cast of characters to relate to and enjoy.
Story: This game has an amazing story that goes in depth with several of the characters psyches showing scarred and painful pasts, lost dreams, forgotten loves, deadly ambitions.. You know, the whole nine yards, and better yet you can play as any playable character and even choose your path to a degree, however only one ending is truly canon. This story features amazing voice acting, anime cut scenes, and was even good enough to inspire not only several manga spin-offs, but several manga spin-offs as well. While the game is not all that well known those who have played it tend to truly fall in love with its rich story and lovable (And hate-able.) characters.
It's got a story that sticks to you and characters that speak to you, characters with real depth and emotion behind them, each with more depth than you see in your average "Totally unnamed" First Person Shooter. I highly recommend trying it out if you're intrigued, I bet you could find some scripts, videos or reviews on the story if you're skeptical. Now don't get me wrong it can be a little cliche, but cliche isn't always a bad thing in my opinion, it can be done well and be fun, give it a go.
Depth: The game has a decent amount of depth to it, at least more than your average figher, not to even mention first person shooters. While there are some games that out match it it's not all that common of a sight in my opinion. And don't get me started on the work that goes into each installment of the series, I doubt there is a man on Earth who could have made this game alone within a couple years. Everything seems to fit together, voice acting, animation, characters personality, competitive gameplay, the characters playstyles while taking their personalities and traits into consideration, their themes always seem to fit them... I mean the game is amazing. (Of course this is simply my opinion.)
Difficulty: Now this is where ratings get tricky, while the story for the game isn't all that hard, there are aspects of it that are, such as timing for combos, competitive game-play (Someone somewhere is always better, just face it, keep training and pass 'em though.) or even sometimes just arcade mods in general. (Iron Tager is so cheap there... AIs man, AIs.) All in all though it can be a pretty intense game, practice makes perfect, especially for those tricky combos.
Take into consideration some characters are going to be harder than others to play, and some characters won't do well against other characters as each character has their own strengths and weakness as well as a unique play-style.
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Well, that raps my review for this game up, I hope you've enjoyed it are even remotely interested in looking into the game, I hope to do it some good and all of that. Anyway, I better not spend too much time writing this ending, otherwise I'll end up rambling on and on about this and that. Do me one favor though, if you've read this far (Which most people won't from experience.) please give me some solid feed back, not just "Oh wow Frod! This review is awesome! Keep up the good work!" it's pointless and meaningless in that way, it's not a perfect review and I'm not a perfect writer, find my weak points and point them out for me so I can learn from my mistakes please.
In a lighter tone though, I truly hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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