BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND - standard edition

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $17.68
Today's Bonus: 41% Off

To anyone that has never experienced Blazblue first-hand, this is the game to buy. Or if you missed out on the previous game, this "Extended" follow-up is really the way to go. People who may have bought the first version of Continuum Shift, please note that this isn't a continuation as much as it is an update with a few character additions and changes to modes.

**Why Newbies to Blazblue should buy:

The first game is re-told: In story mode, the Extend version gives a condensed retelling of the first Blazeblue game, Calamity Trigger. The re-telling of the Calamity Trigger tale is actually pretty lengthy and Arc System Works discovered ways to involve more characters in the story that were vaguely featured in the first game (such as Tsubaki, Makoto and Hazama). The drawback to the condense version is that it doesn't feature some important unique characterizations found in the first game. You don't learn about Tager and his connection to Kokonoe, Hakumen's role is awkward and never really explained, and the fun-loving Bang doesn't get his moment to shine (does "talk to the hand girlfriend, for I am Bang Shishigami" ring a bell?).

Not as demanding the the previous Continuum Shift: The last game was hardcore. I would put it on the same level as Super Street Fighter IV due to the online and offline requirements for trophies/achievements. In the Extended version, the game still finds ways to challenge you like the previous game, but it's much more relaxed. Combo trials now feature a lot more variations (15 trials instead of the previous 10), which can help the player learn tactics they may not have even thought of using in battle. Another change involves the way the player levels up in the game, which is no longer dependent on playing online, but playing offline counts much more this time around. Basically, doing anything in the game will earn you points to help you level up!

**Why Blazblue Fans should grab this:

New stories for new faces: The last game introduced three new DLC characters. In the Extended version, their never-before told tales get included in the Blazblue saga. This version also introduces a brand new playable character, Relius. If you've played Continuum Shift's story previously, you might want to know all the stories featured in the last game are exactly the same with no changes. Players that have completed parts of story mode in the previous version of Continuum Shift will be happy to know a nice feature is made available to import the save file from the older game into the new game. It will definitely save you time from having to unlock items in the Gallery mode all over again.

Legion mode begone and enter the Abyss: That's right. Legion mode this time around has been traded in for Abyss mode. The Abyss is you taking a character into the depths of world and facing waves upon waves of enemies. The further you travel, the more powerful and complicated your enemies become. You'll eventually unlock perks to use in battle to make your character more even against your foes.

**Overall: If you've never had the pleasure of playing Blazblue, do yourself a favor and give it a try. What makes Blazblue special is that it does something many fighting games don't do. First, story is just as important as the fighting. It's rare to find a fighting game that takes time to not just create a story, but create a world of history and interweaving relationships. Secondly, every character is unique, different and down-right bizarre. You won't find character clones or similar move-sets in this. Lastly, the voice acting is top-notch. Usually if a Japanese game gives the option of selecting the original language track, I go for it. Blazblue is a rare, shining example of how an English dub can be as equally great as the original voice-over work. This is seriously one of the best fighters you can own.

To those familiar with Blazblue, it might be discouraging for some players that it's just an update of the last game. To those who really are true fans of the series and even if they may own the original Continuum Shift, you can't go wrong with this.

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I would have given this game five stars if it weren't such a rip off for people who own Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift! Also, I would advise against paying another $20 for the Limited Edition because you can look at art and listen to sound in game and the calendar is not worth it! That said, Blazblue is one of the greatest fighting games ever and if you have never played Calamity Trigger or Continuum Shift it has a ton of content. Blazblue is very easy to learn but difficult to master so you'll be busy for a long time. The characters are very interesting. There are 19 in all. All of the animations are hand drawn not just the movies! The game does a very good job of teaching you how to play.

Presentation: The story is a little too chatty. Interface works well. 3 stars.

Graphics: Absolutely beautiful hand drawn characters. 5 stars.

Sound: Both the English and Japanese soundtracks are excellent. 4.5 stars because there are a few times when it suddenly switches from English to Japanese on you.

Gameplay: Very deep, easy to learn but tough to master battle system. 5 stars.

Lasting Appeal: Lots of stuff to do for people who are new to Blazblue but not a lot to offer people who own the previous installments. 3 stars.

Overall: 4 stars.

Buy BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND - standard edition Now

BlazBlue: Continuum shift EXTEND is big update to the original Continuum shift ( Sorta like Super Street fighter 4 arcade edition). This game includes the original story from CS and adds on. Best part its only 40$!!!. Game has a very in depth tutorial mode and challenge mode like most Street fighter. If your new to the series and do not want to learn how to play but just have fun they added a mode called stylish mode ( Automatic combos). Overall the game is great has a lot of modes to keep you busy offline and online.

Read Best Reviews of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND - standard edition Here

Additional comments that other reviewers haven't touched on enough yet:

This is a letdown in the way that Super Street Fighter IV AE was, albeit not quite as insulting, as AE somehow managed to make the previous version *worse*. There's very little new content, very close to the point of total redundancy. But AE at least let you upgrade via DLC for $15 ($10 during a sale at one point) instead of another $40 without any choice given. If EXTEND had this upgrade feature, it might be a little more forgivable, but as it stands, EXTEND is simply potentially unnecessary for people who either A) Have CS and all its DLC already, or B) Have CSII, which was PSP and 3DS-specific (the former version being far superior and is in some ways better than EXTEND--more on that later).

CSII wasn't a terrible idea, since there was indeed a lot of overly expensive DLC available, and some of it wasn't even complete--the DLC characters like Makoto, for instance, didn't even have an arcade mode to play with, and were only available in versus matches, and that was it. So you got those three extras, a couple of extra story sequences, some revised gameplay and balance, and a pretty wide variety of stuff in addition to what was offered as DLC. You didn't get what they held back on for this version, though, which was stories for the DLC characters. They got arcade modes, sure, but they did absolutely nothing for the plot.

EXTEND, on the other hand, puts AkSys in the same position that Capcom put itself in by having the audacity to release what is fundamentally a re-release of the original...-twice-. There is no excuse for this. None. Unless you've missed both iterations of CS completely, EXTEND doesn't offer nearly enough to warrant the $40 price tag, as it's barely a few more hours of gameplay, at best, and one single, lone new character who is already oddly boring to play as, not standing out very much compared to other characters. Compared to CS' original Hazama, Tsubaki, and Mu-12 additions, all of which were very significantly different from others, Relius is a lame duck, especially for being the one and only character they added here. Without any doubt, they're hard at work waiting to make them just like CS' DLC characters for $7.99 a pop. I think it's safe to say we can at least expect to see Kokonoe as DLC soon (her omission in this version is insensible, as there is clear evidence in the dialogue that, while we never see her get into fisticuffs, she is clearly strong enough on her own to take on her own creation since the original CT, Tager, whom she has made serious threats of physical violence toward--further, even EXTEND itself hints that she'll be playable soon during Valkenhayn's bad ending), and possibly some form of Jubei, but that's just my speculation.

Yes, you get four and a half new character story modes. I say "half" because the game includes a brief version of the original Calamity Trigger from a new perspective so it makes more sense in the grand scheme of things (there were just too many unanswered questions that weren't addressed in CS, and EXTEND more or less forces answers for these questions because it's pretty clear they're making all this up as they go along). However, don't expect anything incredible to happen in any of these stories. Remember, none of this is a continuation; all of this is still the CS story, just from those four characters' perspectives during it. None of it is particularly entertaining or even interesting, nor are any of the joke endings (always some of the best treats from CS) particularly funny. Relius', Valkenhayn's, and Platinum's aren't particularly funny, with just Makoto's feeling like it had a little inspiration behind it. Speaking of the series' trademark comedy scenes that are always done non-canon and out-of-universe, there are no additional "Teach Me, Miss Litchi!" episodes for comedic intermission value, either. Sigh.

What pains me the most is the loss of Legion as a playable mode, which was replaced with the far-less-entertaining Unlimited Mars mode. I found Legion 1.5 in CSII to be easily one of the most entertaining parts of the game, and I loved creating my own roster of characters with individual stats to take on entire maps of foes with varying degrees of difficulty. To see Legion just disappear was just crushing when I discovered it. Abyss mode, which was never all that fun to begin with (and is kind of just a slower version of Unlimited Mars when you think about it) because of the constant interruptions during matches (all of which require totally new loading screens for matches before the match is even finished) and mechanics that just were never any fun to begin with, is still there, though, and a little modified. But losing Legion for what feels like a throwaway extra mode with no thought added is just no good. Legion was by far better than this new Unlimited Mars mode, which is simply a boss rush with the difficulty jacked up to 11, in which the AI is clearly cheating, forcing you to play differently against them than you would an actual person. You never forget that it's still AI difficulty, not competition against other people, which is a big deal for quite a few, because that invariably means finding something that works and spamming it incessantly, because the AI never seems to learn. And, ha, good luck if you by some miracle manage to make it to the sheer insanity of Unlimited Ragna in this mode. Beating him will require doing things you would not normally do in a match, as he will always be faster, stronger, and will predict anything you think you can do against him. Nothing you do will get through if you try it the typical way, and he will counter every single attack you throw at him and punish you back tenfold every time. Further, if he manages to catch you off-guard with his Life Leech grab for a measly 50 Heat which he will almost always have handy, *it now is a rushing grab that, if you're unlucky enough to get caught in, can almost completely deplete your life bar in one hit and give every bit of it to him*. It's a poor replacement for Legion, no question.

ABOUT THE CARRYING-OVER OF SAVES: You *CAN* carry over save data from CS, but NOT CSII from the PSP or 3DS. You do *NOT* have to start from scratch with everyone's story modes along with everything else. The mistake most people seem to be making is that they don't fully read the first screen that pops up when you boot the game for the first time, which asks what initially looks like nothing more than creating a new save file, but at the end is where it says you can use CS data instead if you choose not to create a new file. In other words, DO NOT CHOOSE "YES". Instead, choose "No", and you will be given the option to use your previous save instead, which will be transferred. If you screw up the first time, simply reset the save data completely from the options menu, which will automatically reboot the game, where you can try again.

This leaves a bad taste in my mouth after the unbelievable disappointment of SSFIV AE. The AE edition of SSFIV was such a bad idea and done in such poor taste, most people simply reverted back to the original SSFIV and ignored AE altogether, as every change they made seemed to be for the worse, buffing what never needed buffing and further nerfing the useless characters, as well as changing the mechanics in a way that made the game less about skill and more about spamming the same moves repeatedly. AE was an embarrassment. EXTEND isn't quite that bad, but it's on the same wavelength, for sure. Not a lot of new content, some changes that most certainly did not need to be made, a serious lack of innovation, and is simply not what we wanted, which was a continuation of CS, not a re-release with just more minor stuff added that still doesn't change the grand scheme of things.

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if your a makoto user lets say i hope you can deal with her nerf hammer'ed stats, over it it didn't bug me at all since she still got some potential.

i haven't own blazblue but do play at my friends house and this game is worth your money if your planning to start blazblue but if you want to know the rest of the story get camimty tigger as well along with this game

also the unlimited characters and colors will be in the gallery menu so don't worry if you got rip off

trust me this is a fun game