BlazBlue: Continuum Shift for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

I had this game out on Gamefly at the same time I rented Marvel v Capcom 3 from blockbuster. Let me tell you: if you want a 2d fighter, definitely go for MvC3.

My sister and I played BlazBlueCS for about 20 minutes. We were disturbed by the characters, first of all, for two reasons: 1) they were actually distracting to the point where they were more entertaining to look at than to fight with; and 2) we could pick out characters from Guilty Gear and GGX2 that these characters were very similar too. It was no where nearly as fun as Guilty Gear though.

The fighting was entirely too complicated. I couldn't make heads or tails of the controls, and I like to just pick up games and go. And after coming off of the high of Marvel v Capcom, it was just not fun at all to play BlazBlue. The simplicity of other fighters is nowhere to be found here.

The rendering of the characters and the backgrounds was excellent. The orchestral scores for this game are absolutely immaculate as well. But you are not playing this game for those aspects alone. This game would make a better anime, in my opinion.

We went through the entire character wheel, and immediately repackaged BlazBlue and got ready to ship it off. After that we popped in MvC3, at which point we played it for the next two and a half hours.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (BB:CS), is a direct sequel to Aksys previous game, BB: Calamity Trigger. It is a direct sequel with regard to the storyline only. For those who did not play the first game, the story mode of CS does a fine job reviewing the previous storyline.

The game features a comprehensive “Tutorial” mode for newcomers to the BlazBlue series as well as fighting games in general. There is a Basic level that explains the basics of fighting games, an Intermediate level that explains basic specific mechanics of BlazBlue, and an Advanced level that explains the more advanced techniques for interested players. For those interested in jumping straight into the action, CS features a unique “Beginner” control scheme that simplifies the controls and combos to repeated pushes of buttons. Complex strings of combinations are simplified for the players’ enjoyment. There is also a “Challenge” mode for more advanced players whereby the player will be challenged to perform combos ranging from the simpler strings to more complex strings. This mode also serves as a tutorial for advanced players with regards to combos high level play.

The main fighting modes are "Arcade", "Legion" (a clear-the-map style of play), "Score Attack" (a much harder version of Arcade mode), "Story", and local and online head-to-head play.

My main complaint with game is the difficulty unlocking the powered-up (Unlimited) characters and some the gallery artwork. These require the completion the Score Attack and Challenge modes, which are difficult for the average player to complete, even with the Beginner mode in place. These unlockables are not needed for competitive play, and the remaining are straightforward to attain. I did not play online mode, but if it is anything like the previous game, it should be fluid and relatively lag-free.

Overall the game is very good. The characters, backgrounds, and music are varied. And the game is simple to pick up, especially with the care to beginners.