There are thirteen initial characters available with 2 hidden. Each fighter has a completely unique style of play. The beauty of the game comes from its originality. Sammy gave the characters fighting styles that do not parallel any other fighting game. From Baiken's ability to deflect projectiles by flipping up cards (or that's the best I could make of the attack) to Jam's furious kicking combos, each character keeps their own method of play. Granted, Jam seems to be their answer to Capcom's Chun Li (Street Fighter II) or SEGA's Sarah Bryant (Virtua Fighter), her usage of rush attacks and application of her outfit's custom sleeves in her fighting style adds up to string combos that the others could only dream of. Even Millia Rage, who fights with her hair, has little in common with Midway's Sindel (Mortal Kombat 3).

With out a doubt, Guilty Gear X boasts the best 2-D graphics of all time. Sammy out did themselves in this masterpiece. Everything is rendered in hand drawn anime. Both backgrounds and characters are completely seamless. Picture being able to control the action during a fight scene in Ninja Scroll (Manga), that is exactly the feel you will have when playing Guilty Gear X.

There is not much I can say about the audio quality of Guilty Gear X. It is up to par as expected. The announcer has a menacing voice that announces "Heaven or Hell" at the beginning of every match. This could go either way, I like the intro, but I can see where others may not appreciate the added comment prior to engaging. As for the voice acting, it was well done. I really can not say it was above average because in the fighting genre, you barely ever get a glimpse at the real talent of the actors playing the characters. Instead, you learn how well they can grunt and yell, with the occasional catch phrase for a winning pose. I will say that the voice-overs do compliment the character's personalities very well.

My only disappointment with Guilty Gear X is the over-all story. In this continuum, a Gear named Justice was created to judge the world. He was defeated in Guilty Gear (Original). Now another Gear must be destroyed, as it is killing innocent people. It does not sound very original in design, but does manager to carry the game along. The characters, on the hand, have very interesting and unique stories. Millia, for instance, watched her parents be slaughtered and burned as a child. She is now an assassin who refuses to kill an innocent. This equals a very interesting ending, to which I will not spoil.