When you are finished with the Story Mode, there are TONS of features for you to check out in this game. In Arcade Mode you will take your character through a group of 10 fighters at various locations in the game on whichever difficulty you choose. In Training Mode you will be able to practice your moves against a stationary sprite, then to change things up you can switch to the stationary sprite and record a set of movements that you would like to try to dodge/parry, when done recording switch back and watch you kick your own ass! In Score Attack Mode you will go through every character trying to attain the highest score on the leaderboards. In Versus Mode you will be able to take on the AI or a second player. In Network Mode you will find what will give this game wings. There are ranked matches and player matches. Ranked matches will boost your characters level, which is common in online multiplayer, to start a ranked match you must challenge an opponent. Player matches are basically your unranked matches, you will be able to set up a lobby in which you may fight 1 person and have 4 spectators. The netcode for this game is done very well. I experienced no lag when playing online matches.
The voiceover work is all over the place. Sometimes it is great and other times it is decent. There are only few times where the voiceover was laughable. You may choose between English and Japanese voiceover, as well as English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korea subtitles. The soundtrack for this game is outstanding. The music is very upbeat and dramatic which is great for an anime style fighting game. The sound effects are also excellent in this game. For the people that can’t get enough of the sounds in this game, and were unlucky enough to not get the Limited Edition, there is a soundboard type feature in the Gallery. In the Gallery you will find all of the artwork/videos that you may unlock throughout the course of the game. The soundboard feature will allow you to play any music from the soundtrack as well as listen to much of the voiceover work of the characters.
Other features of the game include the Replay Theater, Trophies, and Remote Play. The Replay Theater is where you may watch your own replays of your online matches. You may also download replays from people on the leaderboards to study how they play and try to get better at the game. There are 51 trophies in the game, in which most of the are secret. Now to my favorite feature…Remote Play. Remote Play, while somewhat laggy, provides a great experience. Every single feature of the game is available in Remote Play, even online multiplayer and trophies. You may have to mess with the remote play settings to get the least amount of lag and you will have to work around the controls, as there is no L2/R2 or second analog stick. All in all, remote play proved to be a very valuable feature in this game and it has been done very well.
Overall, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a great game. The story in the game is the gem of the title, and multiplayer boosts up the replay value, giving a great excuse to come back to the game. The art design is top notch, and the sound is good. The only question that remains is…Is this game better than Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur IV, and the soon to be released Tekken 6? I don’t know about Tekken 6, but I think this game is in a league of its own and I urge fighting fans to buy it. Now.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Absolutely loaded with features like Remote Play. Very accessible 2D fighting, lag-free multiplayer, a gem among fighting games new and old. |
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