This one is mostly for teh Kry:

Source: http://ps2.gamespy.com

If you've not played Guilty Gear X2, then you've not experienced one of the freshest fighting series to hit the scene in years. The Guilty Gear series has become known for pushing the boundaries of 2D fighters, in both technology and gameplay. No other fighting series has such beautiful, high-res 2D graphics, and few can offer the feeling of barely-controlled anarchy that marks a good Guilty Gear match. Now, Arc System Works is innovating again, and in a way that few could have predicted. Guilty Gear Isuka takes the standard Guilty Gear formula and makes one major change: Four simultaneous players.

The result? Anarchy is far too weak a word.

Imagine Sol Badguy flying across the screen, trying to knock May into his infamous dust loop combo. May's summoning her dolphins like mad to try to partition the battlefield, while Sol's teammate Chipp is dashing past her on the back plane, aiming to surprise her from behind. Meanwhile, Dr. Faust is hiding in a corner, throwing out his collection of deadly, random items like there's no tomorrow. Dolphins are in the air. Ninjas are flying across the screen. Mini Dr. Fausts are falling from the sky. There's a word for this, and it begins with "m" and rhymes with adness.

There's a method to it, though. Isuka is built on the same gameplay system as Guilty Gear #Reload, the little-seen update to X2. The changes are only to accomodate the new, higher player count. For example, there's now a dedicated button to turn you around, which is quite useful when you want to fight someone that's not in front of you. There are also two planes on which to fight, a front one and a back one. You can move between the two at will, or execute special attacks that either travel between planes or send your target hurtling into the other one. Some of the fancier plane-switching maneuvers will drain a bit from your tension meter, so you can't just go throwing them out every second. There are even some behind-the-back attacks, for those times when you want to dish out a little smackdown without even acknowledging your opponent's existence. Harsh.

Isuka's unique brand of insanity can be configured for any combination of four players, from the outlanding 1 vs 1 vs 1 vs 1 to the seemingly unfair 1 vs 3. However, the game has a few balancing features that can help the lesser-peopled teams be competitive. It's kinda like ratios in Capcom vs. SNK 2, but more subtle. The team with more players might only gain tension at 90% normal speeed, for example, while the loner gains it at 110% normal rate. Same goes for damage. There are also safeguards against getting completely mauled between multiple characters. For example, if you're getting hit by two people, on the fourth hit you're granted an instant burst, which should hopefully break you outta the hot spot.

With its expansive Story Mode, hair-pulling Mission Mode and progressive scan support, Guilty Gear X2 was a better-than-perfect arcade translation. It looks like Guilty Gear Isuka will continue that happy trend. While Story Mode is taking a break, Isuka's weird-sounding new Boost Mode will take up the slack. Remember the side-scrolling, street-fightin' Force Mode from Tekken 3 and Tekken 4? Boost is supposed to be like that, only fun. Yeah. You can also look forward to three new backgrounds and three extra characters. I think we all have our guesses as to their identities, but the folks at Sammy ain't talking.

Despite the additional RAM requirements of showing four characters at once, the animation seems as good as it ever was, which is to say it's decent. Decent animation plus best-of-class high-res artwork and four crazy characters running around simultaneously makes Isuka's a graphical extravaganza ... unless it gives you epilepsy. Why is my left eye twitching, anyway?

The tunes will rock. 'Nuff said on that.

Hopefully it's apparent by now that Guilty Gear Isuka rocks harder than several casbahs. It's like someone took the radical bits of a 2D fighter (Gulity Gear, for sake of argument) and Super Smash Bros. and mashed it all together with an eye for quality and fun. Guilty Gear Isuka is an experiment, and it's an awesomely successful one. I'm counting the days until it debuts on PS2 this fall, because there's going to be some serious throwing down in the GameSpy office.

FOUR SOLS?! O-M-G!

And you thought Guilty Gear XX made your eyes explode!

More double-plane action.

Currently Playing The Fragile By Nine Inch Nails see related

- Pilgrimage [Playing in my head]

[Disclaimer: While "Tha Revolution" was a more cocky, out going side of me, this Xanga will be the intense side of me. Emotions will fly. I'll be sad, depressed, angry and I will rip people. Because that's what I made this for. To be the asshole inside of you and me. So if for some reason this "offends you" [oh noes!] beat me up at school or write me a long comment. I love those. And no, that wasn't sarcasm.]

Staying home again today. Because I'm scared of school and need to get work done.

That's what I tell myself at least. I never do anything. It's a B-day anyway so I'm only really missing two classes.  Though I desperately need to pass those two classes...

I've realized something while in my void where Nine Inch Nails plays next to Outkast while I think of things to think about. And what I realized is none of my friends really like each other. I have 3 distinct groups that I hang out with. And [note this] I like them all. I like hanging out with a lot of people.

It goes like this. Group 1 I call Matt's group. It consists of Matt, Corey, Russ, Tim, and Nate. Mostly the guys I hang out with at lunch. Though even people within that group don't like each other.

Then there's Group 2 or "Drama Group". That's Megan, Enshea, Raydell, Janet and some other people who don't matter. They all have common interests and the females annoy me a lot. Most of their little friends magically appear at lunch. Raydell stands out the most as an individual. And it's because he's black. And yes, that was sarcasm.

Last there is Group 3. Also known as "Everybody hates us". And not "hates us" in the depressed, poser Goth  way but literally "hates us" because we suck. This group is made up of Liz, Ellen, Scott, Jen F., sometimes Jen M. Stacey [even though she doesn't exist to me] and some other.... "people". I like hanging with Ellen and Liz honestly. Why? I do not know. If I did I wouldn't doubt that I would have turned inside out and split apart at the seams while various black birds pick at and eat everything but my common sense [because they just couldn't find it].

And everyone is these groups don't like people in the other groups.

And Scott... He used to be cool. Then Ellen dumped him and he stabbed himself in the stomach like on an old Japanese movie. Honorable, but dumb. Now I'm a notorious bitcher but Scott... That guy either has the lamest excuses or the worst luck. I hope it's bad luck because bad luck sucks... but being lame is still being lame. It's like a tattoo on your forehead. Yes "loser" is out. That was "so '95". Scott has "Lamer!" stamped on his forehead and hopefully him graduating  will cure that. Because high school is a disease.

I think I'll make a song to put as my background music since everything I have made doesn't fit this modd. And don't worry, it'll be way less annoying than Drama Fanatic's music. And I won't put it on repeat because every good layout designer knows [supresses urge to cap following] you don't put a song on repeat unless you give the net surfer the option to turn it off!

And now I leave you with this. To lighten the mood! Two weeks of school left. Now's the time to act dumb. Get arrested, get laid, get free.

[I had to sneak The Vines in there somewhere.]

Me: I've always wondered... "we had HOT sex last night!"
Me: is it like pizza?
Me: Can you have cold sex?
Me: Is that bad?
Me: should you reheat it?
Her:: i... have no idea. ^^
Her: reheated sex.
Her: ah hah.
Me: Hmmm. I need to stop thinking
Me: lol
Me: wow
Me: Reheated sex.

And no, you don't know the female. She's a college art student. And yes, I do actually know her and we've hung out.

Meh.

AH! Hello friends! Are you all today! I've finally decided to start posting in this here Xanga. The verbal knife has been sharpened now turn around so I can backstab you!

That made no sense? Well see, I like to give people great big hugs, then stab them in the back from there. Makes me feel loved as I'm stabbing those close to me.

I've already lost interest in this post.

Do you like the icon I made? Jhonen's comics and a flash movie I saw gave me the idea. Captain Lo-Rez has been stuck in my head so I used "Teh Craptar" font.

Eh...

COME GIVE ME A HUG!!!