The game makes a lot of effort to capture the feel of the original, but also adds a ton of depth. Controls are mostly intuitive, but I would have liked for people using Xbox controllers to see their actual buttons on the tutorial screens instead of the generic I,U,J,P, and so forth. Indeed, this is my only problem - for a game that makes a big deal about recommending a controller (and an Xbox 360/One controller no less), the lack of button displays is a weird oversight. This is, however, a minor problem that becomes a non-issue about a half hour in. What we have is a mostly satisfying, meaty experience using a broad variety of characters, each with their own wonderfully diverse move sets, to lay thugs out in a colorful, over-exaggerated world (you know the world's a bit overblown when the NERDS are a gang!). Lovely little title for those with an appreciation of not just the original RCR, but of retro beat-em-up games in general. Wonderful little title that should NOT be missed!
A gorgeous re-creation of the original Amiga/SNES/Genesis game (Called "Soldiers of Fortune" in North America), the game sports a full suite of enhancements, including full 360-degree control for analog controllers, though it's still best experienced with the original 8-way mapping. It runs at a solid framerate, and the pulse-pounding techno soundtrack fits the hectic action nicely. It's one of the finest top-down shooters of its time, and this remake is an excellent way to experience it again.
Guilty Gear XX Reload is one of the most amazing fighting games of the PS2/Xbox generation. Amazingly vibrant colors, a silky smooth frame rate, and crisp control. This is, without a doubt an amazing fighting title. It's unfortunate that this version of the game was not adapted to the PC very well. For one thing, there's no way to adjust resolution, either in the game or in the configuration. Not only that, but since the in-game options menu assume the user's game-pad uses the PlayStation button positioning, it may be necessary to map your keypad to the equivalent PlayStation button in a separate configuration executable, which in turn necessitates an external guide picture for those who don't have a PlayStation controller handy. Worst of all, there is no apparent way to quit to desktop when you want to finish your session. Selecting "quit" from the main menu just bumps the user back to the title screen. Barring a less-than-obvious "quit to desktop" selection, it may be necessary to ctrl-alt-delete and force the program to shut down that way. These are, however, minor gripes, and no reason not to get this amazing game. Brightly-colored and highly-detailed spritework, smooth and seamless animation thanks to an ungodly number of exquisitely hand-drawn frames, and a rock-solid frame rate make the game look beautiful. Not only that, but the huge roster of characters with complex and intense moves. It's a shame this version of the game doesn't have online multi-player (like the Xbox release) and that so little consideration was given to the PC port, but for those who appreciate a roarin' good butt-kicking, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is the pick of the litter in an under-served genre and an excellent addition to any GOG user's library. Now we just need the rest of the series to show up on GOG.
