BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend - New Game Of The Day #32

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend - 'New' Game of the Day #33

What? The latest update to BlazBlue, the best 2D Fighting series ever.

When? Q1 2012

Where? PS3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Vita

BlazBlue is amazing. It's a fighter designed and developed by the most brave and most intelligent minds in the genre. It's a system designed around aggression and smarts, about bearing down on your foe and playing up to your character's strengths while trying to analyse and compete with your opponents completely different suite of abilities.

Each fighter in the game - 19 in Extend thanks to the inclusion of robot-loving newcomer Relius Clover, while all three DLC characters from Continuum Shift are being included on the disc - has a unique ability, a 'Drive', which is accessed through the Drive button. This is the fuel for each combatants personal style.

What this does is create a fighter with 19 strikingly different personalities and 19 very different matchups. You learn how to play your character, but coming up against each of the others presents wildly different issues and challenges to overcome, making the game significantly more complex than Street Fighter IV. It's not terribly 'difficult' to get into BlazBlue though. The four-button set up is as simple as they come and Extend will undoubtedly uphold BlazBlue's tradition of comprehensive on-the-disc tutorials.

But what could Extend possibly offer to fans who have been playing the game since 2009? Or 2008 if you live in one of the three places on Earth with a modern games arcade. Well for starters BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend offers 23 new stories to play through. Reportedly epic, but 'confusing anime tosh' is equally applicable.

The brilliant RPG-lite 'Abyss' mode makes a home console appearance after its inclusion in Continuum Shift II portable. Then there's Unlimited Mars Mode; while a clear contender for worst mode name ever this is also a series of super difficult fights designed for the hardest of the hardcore.

We've also been told that the game's online mode will support 'team battles' of 2vs2, 3vs3 or even handicaps bouts such as 2vs4. Whether this is a simple case of pass the baton or a true Marvel vs Capcom 3 style swap-around game is to be confirmed. With Arc System Work's upcoming Persona fighter focusing on team battles, and Street Fighter X Tekken letting two players rock online together, assist battles in BlazBlue would be an amazing addition to keep it competitive. Money is on pass the baton though.

Also worthy of note: this is the shortest gap between a Japanese and European release for a BlazBlue game to date. Huzzah for progress! That and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend will be the Vita's best fighter by default on its release. Winner.

Developer Legacy: Arc System Works was founded in 1988 but have grown into the kings of the 2D spectacle fighter after the release of their first Guilty Gear title in 1998. From Guilty Gear to BlazBlue, they've been honing their craft for over 13 years now and Extend represents the culmination of that learning thus far.

They Say: “BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend boasts a huge amount of single player and multiplayer content – making it the ultimate BlazBlue package.” – Official Arc System Works Europe Press Release

We Say: Even though it carries the marks of a typical fighter re-release, Arc System Works are often reliable when it comes to delivering fresh content, and the new modes and completely fresh stories on offer in Extend sound like the real deal. Plus, Relius Clover looks like a boss. And it will have a new, sexy intro.

Can’t Wait? Play This: If you're hankering for a console game then BlazBlue Continuum Shift is available right now. It's even available from the games on demand library on 360 so you can't complain about a shop not having, it's right there. Buy it. Or you could go and grab the handheld version of Continuum Shift II. While not the best way to play BlazBlue, it's a good training platform and you wouldn't have to ditch it early next year when Extend appears. (There's still time to win a copy in our competition, by the way.) Then of course there is BlazBlue's all female cousin Arcana Heart 3, which is really good. Give it a go.

Website: http://www.blazbluegame.com

Facebook: http://www.Facebook/BlazBlue

Twitter: http://www.Twitter/@BlazBlue_Europe

Words by James Bowden (Twitter: @Dalagonash)

Please register or login to post comments