It's hard to say enough good things about the Guilty Gear series. Ever since Guilty Gear X debuted back in 2000, Sammy and Arc System Works have consistently raised our expectations for 2D fighters, innovating in both graphics and gameplay. Guilty Gear X was a great reminder that 2D don't have to be ugly, and brought a lot of great new ideas to the genre. Now, it might seem trite or cliched to say that they're at it again, but well, they are. Arc's latest fighter is Guilty Gear Isuka, and it's built around a very cool concept: four-player simultaneous battlin'. And here you thought the two-player combat of Guilty Gear X2 was insane enough already.

It goes without saying that Isuka's headed for the PS2, and true to form, the home version will have a great selection of new features and bonuses. One of these new aspects, however, is an order of magnitude cooler than all of the CG galleries, quest modes, and other such nonsense bonuses that you're used to seeing in other fighting games. This bonus to end all bonuses is called RKII Factory, and it, essentially, lets you make your own highly customized character.

Robo Ky, Esquire

The RKII stands for Robo Ky II, which is the second version of the android warrior built to mimic Guilty Gear's main hero, Ky Kiske. In previous games, Robo Ky was his (its?) own character, starting out as merely a twisted version of the real Ky; later, he acquired some more unique, robot-like aspects in #Reload. This old-school Robo Ky is still available to play in Isuka, but odds are you'll find Robo Ky II considerably more interesting. After all, you get to make him.

Robo lack's Slayer's fangs, but has ways to improvise ...

Robo Ky II starts off with a strange assortment of special attacks; a few are reminicent of Ky's, while other fire things like bazookas and missiles. Robo Ky II has seven special move slots that can be filled with different attacks; the problem is, you don't start with any extras. You'll have to earn them, and the only way to do that is to win some experience points in Boost Mode.

Boost Mode is another departure for the series, as it drops your chosen character into a side-scrolling beat 'em up; you know, Final Fight? Streets of Rage? Hordes of generic enemies (and some not-so-generic bosses) will attack through five surprisingly long stages. Any character can play Boost Mode, but only Robo Ky II will need to do it for the experience. Luckily, experience acquisition is tied directly to your performance; string together some nice combos and the bonuses will really build up.