backgrounds are beautifully rendered and while the environments are choc full of magnificent colour, the characters still manage to stand out. Gameplay is fluid with no stuttering and no pausing. I always hesitate to use the word perfect, but the BlazBlue mechanics come pretty close. Barrier Guard is a literal lifesaver and Overdrive a thing of beauty. Activate Overdrive tactically for either offensive or defensive purposes. While it’s a lot of fun to bash those buttons in a carefree and flighty fashion, BlazBlue really looks after the tactical fighter. You’ll need the reflexes of a tiger on acid, but once you’ve got to grips with the sheer speed of BlazBlue’s gameplay, planning and strategy are your best friends. Visit the Training Menu to access practice sessions and challenges with specific characters to study their moves and learn to how to annihilate everyone else with their incredible Drive abilities.
Once you’re done with Arcade Mode or you feel up for a bit of a change, the Battle Menu has more alternative modes than you can throw a Shishigami-style Forbidden Art: Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan Ex combo at. VS Mode is good for a quickie with friends or against the computer. If you’re into big fat numbers, Score Attack will satisfy your urge to out-do yourself and hone your combat skills at the same time. Unlimited Mars Mode will test your combat limits with rock hard battles, and in Abyss Mode you must fight against waves of opponents all the way down to the bottom level of the 13th Hierarchical City Kagutsuchi. Here you will earn the choice of various upgrade points which you can assign along the way down to help you survive the increasingly tough opponents. Again, the difficulty depends on your own settings, but you can start out with Beginner and work your way up six difficulty levels to Hell. This mode is best played at the highest difficulty setting you can manage, otherwise the bonus stats you earn don’t really mean all that much. The point of Abyss is to survive and it should be tough. Lastly, completing Story Mode will unlock Highlander Assault Mode where you can chose any character to face the End Game Boss.
This is the first time BlazBlue has come to PS4 so naturally there will be plenty of