Developed By: Reverge Labs/Autumn Games
Published By: Konami
Date of Release: April 10, 2012
Price: $14.99/1200MSP
In the fast-paced world of the fighting game tournament scene, there is one thing that matters above all else: balance. If a game has severely unbalanced fighters, then it may as well be thrown straight out the window. Another problem is cloning, to make it seem like a game has plenty of characters to go around, the devs may simply take one characters mechanics and re-apply it to another. We constantly see examples of games that just try too hard to shoehorn everything in to one crowded roster, and with games like Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 shoving 48 playable characters into the spotlight there is just no hope of a fair and balanced fight.
Thankfully, we have Skullgirls hitting the scene. When it comes to the lofty ambition of being the perfect tournament fighter, it manages to deliver on all levels! Reverge Labs has made an incredibly smashing debut by bringing together a team of fighting game industry experts to craft Skullgirls into a pulse-pounding pandemoniac plethora of pugilistic perfection. What we have here is a set of 8 well-tuned femme fatales who are ready to kick ass and take names. You have the option of choosing either one full-powered character, a halved-strength duo, or a tag team trio of weaker fighters. No matter your choice you can rest assured that the game is ready to balance itself out, so choose the playing style that suits your tastes.
The graphical merits of Skullgirls are quite astounding, with each character fluidly hand animated in 1080p. The graphical quality is quite in it's own class, even upstaging recent fighters such as Blazblue. The stages themselves are no less detailed, with throngs of fully animated background characters, and a gorgeously parallaxed art style that almost feels three-dimensional. The eye-catchign visuals are underlined by an impressive score by none other than Michiru Yamane, famous for her long running contribution to the aural tapestry of the Castlevania series. All of these elements perfectly meld together into a wonderfully film-noire/art deco aesthetic.
One last point I'd like to touch on is the excellent online gameplay, provided by the GGPO (Good Game Peace Out) netcode. It allows for a virtually lag-free online experience, regardless of the player's real-world proximity to one another. In my online experiences with Skullgirls I found no lag or dropped frames at all. In my humble opinion Reverge labs has crafted the finest tournament fighting experience possible, and for that I salute them. Skullgirls is well worth the price, so get out there and buy it today! Also be sure to visit the game's website at http://www.skullgirls.com to download the handly printable movelist/character guide!
