It's a bit rare for a gaming IP to step out of its normal digs, but it does happen from time to time in this wacky industry. Such IP as Nintendo's Mario Bros. are ubiquitous to the point that off-shoots outside of the platforming genre are viable. Just look at the success of the Mario Kart titles over the years.
You will rarely find an IP as successful as Mario when it comes to stepping outside the lines. Normally, gamers are onto these types of shake-ups, and view them as just another way for "the man" to milk a franchise for fatter and fatter checks. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks comes to mind: A decent, fighter-turned-action/adventure that a lot of gamers wrote off as a money-grubbing maneuver untrue to the IP's roots.
Arc Systems' Guilty Gear 2: Overture and Shaolin Monks are similar in scope. Both games are borne from highly regarded fighting-game franchises, and both SKUs chuck their brawler roots for more action-oriented gameplay. For what it's worth, Shaolin Monks and Guilty Gear 2: Overture retain well-known franchise characters for these fresh genre romps, too.
Chalgyr's Game Room writes:
I am a huge, huge fan of the Guilty Gear fighters. Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- is one of the prettiest fighting games ever, and was an absolute favorite title of mine last year on PC. I am also a fan of blending game genres, but some combinations go together better than others, and while there are things about GUILTY GEAR 2 -OVERTURE- that I really enjoyed, the genres did not blend together quite as seamlessly as I had hoped.
Hey Poor Player's Adam Foster writes: "Guilty Gear 2: Overture is a difficult game to recommend. There’s definitely something here, but the individual elements aren’t well executed enough for fans of either genre (or even both genres) to get much out of it. On the other hand, there’s definitely something here: It’s just weird enough to be a novel experience, and the multiplayer is engaging enough that if the community holds up, it could be a good time. If you’re just looking for a fun single-player experience to knock out over a weekend, though, I’d look elsewhere."
Great review, compliment from us at htogaming.com to heypoorplayer.com
What a weird game.
Defunct Games reviews Guilty Gear 2: Overture, available now on Steam. Playing like a cross between Dynasty Warriors and Brutal Legend, this disjointed sequel offers a convoluted story and shallow gameplay.
GG2 had was such a strange direction for the series, I was already weirded out by Isuka which tried to be a 2D Smash brothers. At least the music was still on point especially the tracks Ride On Time and Diva.
