There has been many Dragon Ball Z video games but this one is a twist from the past games. I would say that the last great Dragon Ball Z video game was DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (also this game holds the world record for the most playable characters in a fighting video game) that has changed the series, but the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z turned out to be full of surprises.
This game is the first in the series to introduce multiple characters fighting in one screen.
There are four different battle types for playable characters:
- Fighting Type: skilled at close combat, can combo with melee attacks. Attack Type moves are Kaio-ken Attack, Dance of the Sword, Recoome Kick.
- Ki Blast Type: skilled at long range battle, can make consecutive attacks using the GENKI Gauge. Ki Blast Type moves are Consecutive Energy Blast, Death Beam, Spirit Ball.
- Support Type: powers such as health regeneration and support abilities. Support Type moves are Health Regain Blast, Fighting Pose.
- Interference Type: adept at abilities that interfere with the enemy’s movements. Interference Type moves are Solar Flare, Chocolate Beam, Drain Energy.
There is a system that allows players to modify characters using ability cards. By collecting and equipping cards, characters that might not be suited to battle can be boosted to make them more capable. Alternatively, they can be given abilities that make their natural strengths more pronounced.
I was using team Goku to go against team Cell. The controls were kind of stiff but I guess the developers will fix it around in the coming months. The animations and attention to detail is great, too, along with the tricky AI, which is very responsive to the commands and power up attacks. The playable characters can be victorious at high-speed battles on the ground and in the air. The game’s key feature is team battle action of four versus four. Teammates share a special energy meter called GENKI Gauge: this meter increases when attacking opponents and, when filled, an ultimate attack can be performed. As I said about the battle types before, it works for situations where you would like to get the upper hand on you’re opponent. When you’re allies perform the different actions, it gave me a split second to think of what to do next and how to attack the opponents by surprise. Any of the allies can decide to give or use energy from the gauge in order to perform an attack. Playable characters can team up to perform techniques such as Synchro Rush, Meteor Chain, and Revive Soul.
Overall, this game looks great and it plays very well. I will get a copy once it releases on March 31, 2014 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PS Vita.
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