While a relatively young series, BlazBlue continues to ride high on its success since its debut back in 2009. As the second game in the series, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, hit consoles last year its portable counterpart, BlazBlue Continuum Shift II (CS II) was released last month as well. Will the game transition well as it did last time, or will it just be a quick cash-in?

TRIGGER HAPPY

Abyss Mode - Abyss Mode is the newest feature in CSII and is reminiscent of the survival/tower modes of past fighting games. Players choose their fighter and have them battle through various enemies while descending down into the Abyss. As they go deeper, they will encounter �boss� battles with powered up fighters. When players win they will be able to level their fighters up, somewhat like a RPG.

4 Player Ad-Hoc Lobby - The Ad-Hoc multiplayer component of CSII is greatly improved from the last game. This time up to four players can enter a lobby. Two will fight while the other two wait their turn and are able to view the match in progress as well. This is a great feature to add in and I hope that future portable fighters add this in.

DOWN SHIFT

Ear Dud - Like the last game, the sound isn’t all that great using the PSP's speakers. Even with earbuds on, listing to the in game sounds, music and character voices can be hard at times, or at least this was my case.

BlazBlue Continuum Shift II is a giant step up from the last version of the game. It may have a few problems with sound, but that may just be an issue with my hearing. With a rebalanced roster, the in-game inclusion of DLC characters, improved Ad-Hoc multiplayer and a better single player experience, CSII is a great addition to the PSP's collection of fighters.

- Mike V.

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