Arc System Works released the inaugural video game in the Guilty Gear series for PlayStation in 1998 (it was designed by Daisuke Ishiwatari). Its immediate success justified adding eight other incarnations in the decade since. Guilty Gear has been aptly named to the Top 10 Weirdest Combat Games of All Time List, compiled by Game Informer. The setting for the game is the year 2180, in a mystical world, and the story is focused on global war.
Guilty Gear does not bore the player with a lengthy back-story, but gets right to the action. Single combat, with the winner determined by a best of two of three bouts, is the preferred action format.
All the games in the Guilty Gear series use a 6-function layout to control the character action, with several specialized “Chaos” and “Murder” kill techniques added to defeat opponents. The ten main characters and three hidden characters of Guilty Gear offer the player many choices of play style.
Several spin-offs, such as novels and drama CDs, about Guilty Gear have appeared in the past ten years, which have provided a richer history and alternative story lines to the main video game series.
Guilty Gear 2: Overture, released in October 2008 for all three of the hottest video game platforms, ups the ante by providing a slew of opportunities for multi-player combat. The lead player can fight side by side with his servants, or call on a small army which he can command. This latest release in the series is proof that the next decade of Guilty Gear can only get better.
If you have never played Guilty Gear before, you should pick up a copy today because you definitely won’t be disappointed with this game.