BlazBlue: Continuum Shift

Where once the "overenthusiastic ninja with a nail strapped to his back" Bang had barely one favourable match-up to his name, his revamped rushdown style, improved priority and more damaging combos mean he's substantially more competitive. As for Hakumen, new projectile-nullifying options and a half-screen sword poke mean he has better spacing tools. It's more or the less the same story for the rest of the roster, as each attack's priority and hit-box has been re-evaluated, and as is obligatory, there's also a smattering of new moves.

On top of these character-specific changes, Continuum Shift also redresses a number of BlazBlue's iffier mechanics. The Barrier Burst, for example, is replaced by the Break Burst, which functions similarly except that Bursts can now be stocked between rounds and don't automatically put the player into a Danger state. Furthermore, Calamity Trigger's tug-of-war styled Guard Libra has been switched out for the new Guard Primer system. This effectively gives characters like Iron Tager twice as much blocking resolve as the more flimsy Noel.

But despite these many adjustments Continuum Shift still retains that unique BlazBlue feel, with a flexibly rigid combo system and a pace that's somewhere in between Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. As before, the path to victory is to steep yourself in a multitude of offensive and defensive systems which range from Revolver Actions, Rapid Cancels and Counter Assaults to Instant Guards, Instant Barriers and the new Fatal Counters - all of which take time to understand and form the basis of high-level play.

So, on the face of it, Continuum Shift is no less hardcore than its forbearer. However, hoping to allow a more casual audience to enjoy its visual splendour without spending hours in the practice room, Arc System has included new Beginner and Tutorial Modes. The former has a streamlined control system which allows fighter virgins to mash buttons to execute basic combos without the need for directional inputs, whereas the latter is a list of master-classes which teach in-depth character strategies and the principles of each gameplay mechanic.

If you're a fighter vet who thinks this all sounds like pandering twaddle, then you needn't look any further than the new Challenge Mode. This is similar to Street Fighter IV, with the notable exception that each fighter's 10 challenges become ludicrously complex around the halfway point. So much so that by cat-girl Taokaka's fifth challenge – where the full list of commands can't even fit on the screen – I'd pretty much given up.

It's fortunate, then, that Continuum Shift is as full-featured as a fighter gets, with a vast list of modes including Arcade, Score Attack, Training and Legion in addition to those already mentioned. Particular credit also goes to the new Story Mode which somehow manages to top Calamity Trigger with a convincing English voice-cast and solid writing.

Among the resounding triumphs of the first game were the stable netcode and comprehensive online options, and one year on these are still the benchmark for fighters. It's no surprise that Continuum Shift is equally accomplished on Xbox Live, with ranked and player matches against international opponents having minimal lag. There's even an option to choose which System Version to play, with the recently released Ver.1.01 being the most up-to-date.

Indeed, the more you analyse each of Continuum Shift's individual components the more you can appreciate the many things it does right. It may not have the initial wow factor of Calamity Trigger – there have only been minor graphical improvements (not that any were needed) – but as an update that irons out the kinks, Continuum Shift offers a more balanced gameplay experience for both causal and hardcore players, which is exactly what was needed.

Of course, there will be comparisons to Super Street Fighter IV, which does offer over three times as many new characters out of the box. And although I'm slightly biased, I do personally prefer Cammy to Litchi. But as a follow-up to one of the most innovative and accomplished 2D fighters in recent years, Continuum Shift is a worthy successor which refines the BlazBlue formula.