Capcom started the 2D fighting game revolution when they released Street Fighter II in arcades back in the day. Since then the genre has evolved into one of the most popular head to head gaming experiences in the market today. However, has Capcom begun to lose their grip on the 2D side of things? If Majesco and Arc System Works have anything to say, the answer is yes.

Xbox owners, prepare yourselves for the coming of a fighting game that will simply blow you away. Guilty Gear XX #Reload (GGXX#R) is the latest installment in a series that began its console lifecycle on the original PlayStation back in the late 90's. After a brief stop on the Dreamcast with Guilty Gear X, followed by Guilty Gear XX (or X2) on the PlayStation 2 and even GGX2 #Reload available for the Japanese PS2, Xbox owners finally get their Guilty love.

For those unfamiliar with the Guilty Gear series, it takes the 2D gameplay that Capcom has refined over the decades and raises the bar a notch with fluid gameplay based on a Heavy Metal theme. There are 26 characters featured in Reload (20 available from the start and another 6 unlockable), and almost every one has something in common with a popular Rock star. From names like Axl and Testament to characters using a guitar or their hair as a weapon, Guilty Gear has a very unique visual appeal. Each match is accompanied by a nice mix of Japanese Rock music (think a light version of Heavy Metal in the US), and all of the characters have a very unique feel to them.

While at first glance Reload looks fairly similar to the PlayStation 2 import, a few big features have been added to the Xbox version coming to the US. First and foremost on that list is the inclusion of online play. Guilty Gear XX #Reload will be the first Guilty Gear to offer online play in the US. Using the Xbox Live service, players across the country will go head to head in fierce battles with their favorite Reload characters.

The second feature, which is more of a bonus than a true feature, is that Reload will retail for a mere $20 when it releases in early September. That's right, you get all the glory of the PS2 import version, plus online play, for less than half the price of a standard issue Xbox title. Be sure to thank Majesco for their kindness between matches.

Of course no home version of Guilty Gear would be complete without the standard set of gameplay modes. Included in Reload are Story, VS., Survival, Online, Arcade, Training, Mission, and Medal of the Millionaire. The first few modes are pretty self-explanatory, but the last two may have you scratching your head. Mission Mode takes you through a series of battles between specific characters. The catch is that certain conditions must be met in order to win each match. You may not be able to use special attacks, or have a limited life meter for example. Medal of Millionaire Mode allows you to fight through a series of single round matches, collecting coins that are scattered about as your beat down on your opponent. The more coins you collect, the higher your score will be.

Not much has really changed between each iteration of Guilty Gear. However, when you're dealing with a 2D fighter of this caliber, that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, one of the trademarks of the Guilty Gear series beyond its outstanding gameplay is the fact that it's one of the best looking 2D fighting games on the market. Now that it's finally coming to the Xbox, with the added 480p support for progressive scan televisions, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is the best looking 2D fighting game on the Xbox, period.

The retail release of Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is still a couple of months away, but the version we played around with looked pretty much complete in our eyes. If Majesco plans to polish this one up even further, there's no telling how good the final product will be. With Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, SNK vs. Capcom, Dead or Alive Ultimate, and Mortal Kombat: Deception all going online for the Xbox this Fall, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload could outshine them all. We'll have more on Reload as we near its Xbox Live debut.