Average 2D fighter
The fifth game in the Guilty Gear series of 2D fighters, this adds in a bunch of new features to keep the gameplay fresh, but also suffers from a few omissions that prevent it from being a truly great addition to the genre. Gamers familiar with Street Fighter or Fatal Fury will find little to surprise them here, as Guilty Gear follows the standard approach to one-on-one beat 'em ups, with a series of over-the-top characters duking it out against a variety of colourful backdrops. However, a four player mode is introduced, allowing for free-for-alls and team ups to be enjoyed with ease and which make the game's fast paced battles even more frantic. There is also a Final Fight-style scrolling mode, where players take on endless waves of enemies and which adds a little extra enjoyment. A fairly hefty twenty characters are on display here, each with the expected unique moves and fighting styles and which are represented well enough graphically, with chunky, colourful designs that really pop off the screen. Guilty Gear Isuka is certainly a solid enough fighter, with responsive controls and satisfying gameplay, but a few niggles (like the lack of an auto-turn feature) bring the appeal down, and while the multi-player mode is a fun addition it frequently becomes a little too hectic to be truly enjoyable. Overall, this is an average game which is worthy of a brief investigation for genre fans, but there are better examples out there.
