BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Game Info

Publisher: Aksys Games

Developer: Arc System Works

Platform: PS3

Genre(s): Fighting

Players: 2

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: June 30, 2009

Intro:
The opening CG is very reminiscent of any anime, complete with Japanese music and anime-style screenshots.  The opening credits are fully voice-acted and have subtitles, but the scenes are all still shots more reminiscent of a full-color manga.  Until the opening credits, the artwork in the opening CG made me want to play.  The lack of any animation, whatsoever, in the opening credits, however, made me start to wonder about the game.

Getting Going:
The menu option offers many styles of play.  Players can play in Online vs. Mode, Local vs. Mode, Practice to learn each PC's moves, Story Mode or Arcade. They can also visit the Replay Theater. There are ten player characters to choose from.  In Story Mode, the player is given the option of playing the story of each of the ten characters. 

Fun:
BlazBlue never really gets going, at all.  At least, not in Story Mode.  It took ten minutes to get through the opening CG and credits before I had the opportunity to play and then, in Story Mode, I spent more time clicking through dialogue than playing.  Fights were merely brief interludes to the story, which was set against a static backdrop and lacked anything to even keep my attention except for the text. 

Visuals:
The artwork is stunning.  BlazBlue is a 2D fighter.  In other words, the art is not meant to be three dimensional.  It is high resolution and jumps out at you.  The backgrounds are static and don't change during an entire scene.  The characters who are chatting are seen as flat images projected against the backdrop, somewhat similar to a paper doll puppet show.  Occasionally, the image of one of the characters changes to show mood, but the only other animations involve mouth movement while speaking.  Fight scenes remain 2D, offering more animation and more of a visual feast.  This is where the game actually shines. 

Sound:
Everything is voice-acted and has sub-titles.  Background noises and fight noises are otherwise average.  Each fight contains barks which are used by the characters ad nauseum. 

Intelligence:
The story unfolds as it will.  There is no call for intelligence as the player really doesn't make many decisions once the player character has been chosen.  Each fighter has his or her own moves that can be learned in Practice Mode, but gameplay otherwise consists of clicking through text and unavoidably entering fights.  It is a fight game, so it's doubtful that anyone would buy it without the desire to fight, however.  Occasionally, the player character will have sympathy for a story NPC and the player will be given a choice of how to respond to that NPC.  This is not common, however.

Immersion:
BlazBlue story levels are rather brief.  I was able to get half way through the story levels of 6 characters in under three hours.  This is all that the game allows...once the player fights through 43-48% of the story, the screen switches back to the fighter choice screen.  Fights are a win or lose proposition.  If you win in one turn, the story continues.  If you lose, the game ends.  There is no continue and no option to try again.  Story Mode has you clicking through text for long periods of time, with brief, but enjoyable fight scenes in between.  Because of this, the pacing is terrible.  Play goes from almost non-existent action and a total lack of animation to frenetic play.  Fight game fans will find more action and play in the Versus, Online, and Arcade Modes, of course.  However, games such as Tekken and Soul Calibur offer better animations, graphics, and more fighting options. 

Rewards and Punishments:
I won a trophy before I ever got to push a button other than Start.  The "Hello World" trophy seems to be earned simply for watching the opening credits.  A 'thanks for playing' trophy is worse than worthless, it's insulting.  Fights are a simple win/lose state.  One fight, no holds barred.  If you lose, the game is over.  If you win, play continues. 

Cameras:
A static camera gives a straight view of the fighting action.  Play moves back and forth across the screen, leaving the player without camera control.  Camera control is not necessary to play BlazBlue, however, so it isn't missed. 

Controls:
Each fighter has three basic moves and a special move.  All of the action moves are located easily on the player's right, with character movements easy enough to control using the left joystick or arrow buttons.  Moves can also be triggered using the L1, L2, R1 and R2 buttons for ease of play.  Combining moves is a breeze with some creative button mashing.

Ideas:
The biggest insult, and therefore idea, for me as a designer was found in the trophy.  Have we become so focused on adding in accomplishments for the player's profile that we are failing to actually reward them for accomplishing something?  Shouldn't a reward be something one has to work for?  While the story, itself, has obviously been given a lot of attention, Arc System Works failed to acknowledge the player and the fact that this story is part of a game.  Players want to play, not watch.  Finally, I find that, while I would like to be objective when reviewing or dissecting a game for it's design elements, it's impossible NOT to compare it to similar games when you're playing it.  I always wonder about this when I read reviews that offer heavy comparisons to other games in a franchise or to similar games because it doesn't consider the game for its own merits.  Therefore, we find games earning high marks without the ability to stand the test of time as its own entity.  Without complete objectivity, however, it can also be easy to miss what is great about a game on it's own if it doesn't "measure up" against a similar game.

Memory:
I had a hard time understanding why this game met with such rave reviews.  The art work is stunning and, as an art game, it is extraordinary.  As an anime fan, I was excited to play this game until I actually played it.  Combining moves was easy, although a little too simplistic if you are used to Tekken games which almost require a certain amount of character knowledge and practice.  I was only too happy to send this one back.