Guilty of trying too hard

It ought to be a worry when a publisher boasts of the introduction of a single new character to its latest sequel but, far from a lazy update, Isuka is a partial reinvention of the Guilty Gear concept whose array of fight options and mess-aroundables should be enough to tent the trousers of its fans. Both of them.

Vs matches and you-vs-CPU games unfathomably use the same 'R1 to turn around' method that makes sense in the multiplayer but has no business elsewhere. All-new four-player brawls confuse rather than delight due to the cramped confines of the play area, with two-player co-op battles suffering the same fate, and the lush-trademark graphical style of Guilty Gear is less easy to enjoy because the screen is just too busy!

An honest stab at genuine change which, unfortunately, dilutes what Guilty Gear does best, but it should still appeal to die-hards at this bargain price.