Guilty Gear X2 is a 2D fighting game that boasts gorgeous anime graphics, detailed backgrounds, great fight combos, and a soundtrack straight out of the 80s of rock.

First, the graphics. They are just amazing. The characters move just like anime cartoons (and with better animation than many out there) - complete with billowing smoke, ripple effects, zaps of lightning, and much more.

Being a 2D fighter you can't move into the scenery, but the backgrounds are well detailed and match the characters nicely. The fighting styles are quite detailed, each is unique. Characters fight with anchors, guitars, yoyos, jumprope chains, and much more.

The game is definitely themed to 80s rock and metal music. The background music jams and was done by great bands. The characters themselves are named things like Axl and Venom.

The fighting gameplay is great. You can play against other players, or in a variety of single player modes that are engrossing and challenging. There are numerous special moves including killer moves that can be done at any time in the game (if you can get the button combos down!)

Story mode is around 10 battles, but on the downside you can't save. So once you start a sequence, you can't save partway through and restart it later. Some battles can be incredibly hard until you figure out the right combo to win, so you can be stuck in one spot for an hour or more. Still, a game should be challenging sometimes!

Also, most of the dialogue is in Japanese, although they do subtitle the important parts in English. Even though it's in Japanese, some of the taunts can get very repetitive.

Highly recommended for any fighting game fan, especially for those who have another human around to play multiplayer with!

Buy Guilty Gear X2 from Amazon.com