Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2

THE BAD:
Tag Team battle don't allow you to use any "double team" attacks which would allow you to combine to character's attacks at once.

As usual the AI/COM isn't challenging even on the hardest mode. Something should really be done about that.

SUMMARY:
The plot is pretty much the same as other Dragon Ball Z games so if you've played those you should pretty much know the whole story and what's going on. If not then I'll fill you in:

Goku, a saiyan from the planet Vegeta goes to earth as a baby and when he is an adult he learns his heritage and becomes a Super Saiyan. Throughout his life he encounters various villains he pretty much want world domination and anything related to it.

Those are the basics which are what the game's story mode is about. Of course it has "What-If" stories which are a really great thing in my opinion because they give you the chance to step away from the usual stories which have been seen throughout the games various time along with the anime.

The game works like all of the other Dragon Ball Z games out there. It is of course a fighting game and I think it's the best choice for gameplay as anything else would probably turn out horrible.

The whole Tag Team Battles aspect of the game is probably the best thing to happen to one of these games. This allows you to either pair up any two characters for a battle or to pair up FIVE characters. The reason I like it so much is because it makes some long battles and it make for some "classic" battles. Only thing that this needs is for characters to be able to do some double team attacks. That would make this mode PERFECT, in my opinion.

The graphics of the game aren't the best but overall I'd say they stand up to some of the current ones. Of course, given that it is somewhat Cel-Shaded makes it not look so good.

Voice acting is done by none other than the group down in Texas which does all the voice acting for the series, it makes the game all the better with voices you can recognize. And to "shake" things up a bit the game even included the Japanese voice acting who also do the series acting. That is a good idea because you get the acting from both sides to tell which one sounds better or if you want to hear the game in the original language it is meant for.

I must say that the music is very pleasing to hear for battle music. It doesn't include any vocals and it would most likely appeal to most audiences/ players. Of course it does contain some battle music which doesn't suit the whole them of the games but they are alright.

I'd say that this version is just an expansion on the previous games since it just added more characters and changed up attacks. But so far this one IS the best out the there because of the amount of characters it contains and it of course adds to the repetition of playing the game often.

The game I would say could last you up to 150+ hours because it includes many of the characters and many different things you can try to do. For an average gamer the story mode alone could last you up to 20 hours. Of course for the hardcore gamer this is a different case. I wouldn't say it's addicting because it doesn't get you to hooked into playing but when you do play it, it's kind of hard to put down for the first couple of months you play it.

I probably don't have to recommend this to any hardcore Dragon Ball fan. But I recommend this fore those that like the typical fighting game as it includes all of the aspects and make it an interesting game to play for a LONG time.

THE BAD:
-Very easy to learn
-Quirky level system

SUMMARY:
Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and it's predecessor have an original approach at fighting games, and this is the large, open enviroments and third person camera. This opens up an entirely new way of playing the game.

The combat system is nearly perfect, being maybe too easy to learn, yet very hard to master. The sheer amount of moves and combos easily rivals or surpasses any fighting game, and it includes some moves not even shown in the game's command list. One flaw with this however, is the fact that all the combos are essentially the same with each character, which can be kind of repetive, and also what makes the combat very easy to learn, and even play at an expert level shortly into the game.

The graphics, while not realistic at all, are perfectly done for an anime game, and aren't meant to be top of the line. Every marking and every outline was properly animated into the game to really put you into the Dragonball experience. One thing that is actually not as well done as previous DBZ games is the energy moves, which can look both very similar as well as poorly animated, considering the systems the game is for.


The character roster is very large, which is both good and bad. While there is a lot of variety, many of the characters play nearly identical, with mainly their signature moves in difference. There are also some seemingly pointless characters that usually stand no chance in the average fight. I'm glad that they updated transformations into the game instead of keeping them as different "Characters", and did it well too. You can't transform in any way that wasn't done in the anime or manga, and this is in my opinion a good thing.


The sound is great, with all the fitting sounds, most of which are taken directly from the anime, similar to the music, which is also fitting to the game.


On the leveling system and the adventure mode...Well, the leveling system mostly had to do with adventure, so I figured I'd include them together. The leveling system is actually one of the worse parts of the game, you put some weak items on your characters, fight a little, the items are replaced with better items that you could have just bought, and it all seems to just be thrown into the game. As far as the adventure mode goes, my only real problems with it is that it includes none of the original Dragonball story, and that almost every shadow dragon was cut out of the...Shadow dragon saga.


Despite it's flaws, it's a fast paced and addictive game, especially with two player. I give it a 4.7/5.

THE BAD:
- Vast Character Roster
- Too easy to pick up
- Lack of Arena detail
- AI lacking in the..AI department
- Bland Super Moves
- Story mode that is way too long

SUMMARY:
The Budokai series itself started off with Dimps who developed Budokai, Budokai 2, and Budokai 3. A year later, Spike comes along and brings us Budokai Tenkaichi which was decent at best. One more year later, and they bring us Budokai Tenkaichi 2, and not enough is changed. Square is Punch, Triangle is Energy, Circle is Ki Blast, and X is dash/special. Nothing changed there, or with the other buttons.

The combat system itself was improved, adding in teleportation and being able to dodge to the side and change direction during rushes. The ability to transform was added along with different costumes for ever character, though most are color changes. Chargeable moves add something slightly new by being able to charge up your special techniques to do extra damage, though not really needed.

The game does support a large character roster, but it falls flat on its face since, aside from the special and super moves, fight literally the same way. There are a few characters who may have an extra combo or two, but it's nothing special to worry about. The characters do obtain a sense of variety in the special and super moves. Most are different, but after a while you realize that when they don't repeat, they just look plain ugly and unexciting.

The game did a few new arenas to the mix. They don't add anything new, but they're there. You have the occasional building or tree to smash into that blow up the same way every single time and magically disappear. Aside from that, the water effects have even been severely cut. In BT 1, you could charge your Ki over the water and would indeed see the water surging a little. In BT2 the water remains almost completely calm. Some super moves have the ability to blow up the arena completely. However, little attention was payed to this. The destroyed level is the exact same thing ever time, no variety unless playing Namek where you get a not-so-spectacular lava pool or two.

To make it worse, the destroyed versions are available as selectable stages, defying the reason to even put them in at all. The cutscene that shows the arena destruction is also the same every time, hence, it gets old after the first time.

After playing your first match or two, you'll basically have the combat system down since the repeating combos are easy to remember and are available on every character.

Finally, the story mode! It's long, way too long. There is, if I dare say, one actual improvement. Voice over dialogue in both English and Japanese. Over dramatic at times in the game where as the actual Anime is done right. You occasionally get to watch a cutscene using the in-game engine that of course look better than the actual game itself. You go through the story from Dragon Ball Z to Dragon Ball GT and occasionally fight a few original Dragon Ball characters. Essentially, the story mode is here for nothing more than unlocking characters. Once you're through, you're trough. Nothing worthwhile afterwards and the awkwardly bad leveling system can be done outside of story mode anyway.

Speaking of unlocking characters, you go through the story to unlock them. Half from actually playing the story, and the other half from potara earrings that you earn in the story. Essentially, they might as well have just given you ever character after beating them instead of needing to fuse items.

Budokai Tenkaichi 2 retails for around $40. Safe to say, it's overpriced and at best worth a $7, one week, rental. If you aren't a purist DBZ fan, you're better off elsewhere. If you ARE a purist DBZ fan, go back to Budokai 3. It's a two year old game, but it beats Budokai Tenkaichi 2 by a mile.

The original Budokai Tenkaichi came out a year ago, and it was a decent game. This one, while improved, just wasn't improved enough and walks away with a much lower score.

THE BAD:
Bad: Not the most technical fighting system, not a lot of variation between characters, occasionally big difficulty leaps, cheesy story

SUMMARY:
Another year, another Dragon Ball Z game. Ever since the original Budokai came out in 2002, Atari has followed it up with annual installments that continually improve on this oft-overlooked fighting series. The latest, Budokai Tenkaichi 2, is easily the biggest and best so far, with the widest selection of characters and biggest assortment of game modes yet.

The story takes place over the entire Dragon Ball timeline, including the original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. Likewise, the character roster draws from major and minor characters from all of these, resulting in over 120 different playable characters. While this is great in terms of quantity, the characters themselves actually play very similarly, differing mostly in terms of attack animations and combos.

The fighting engine itself is very easy to pick up, and provides a fast-paced alternative to the traditional side view employed by more technical fighting games. The camera is positioned behind your character, and motion is performed in full 3-D. Each character also has the ability to fly and by using the shoulder buttons you can move up or down in the air. Most of your melee attacks and projectile attacks are performed by just two buttons, although other techniques like Ki Charges and Dragon Dashes can be used to perform a wide variety of special moves and combos. It’s a fairly simple system, which makes it extremely easy to pick up and play, but there are enough different moves to keep more advanced players happy.

In addition to its easy-to-learn gameplay and huge character roster, the game offers a nice selection of modes for both solo and versus play. The main focus of the game is the Dragon Adventure mode, a pseudo-RPG fighting adventure that actually runs about 50 or so hours. In this mode, players fly around a world map where they can take on both optional and story battles, talk with characters, and collect new Z-items, which give them a variety of bonuses. It’s a nice, lengthy adventure, although the story will seem pretty cheesy and minimal to all but the most die-hard fans of the series. It’s also peculiar how several of the towns you run across only have one citizen and nothing to explore.

The real focus is on the fighting, and in those regards, the game succeeds. By winning both the story and optional battles, players will gain experience and level accordingly. This actually becomes necessary after a while, since the story features occasionally large difficulty leaps. At several points, you will go through a series of ridiculously easy fights, only to come across an incredibly difficult fight that either requires a very specific strategy or a lot more leveling.

In addition to the Dragon Adventure mode, the game also offers more traditional modes such as the ladder-based Ultimate Battle Z mode, the bracket-based Dragon Tournament mode, the single-fight Dueling mode, and the rather comprehensive practice and training modes. Each of these modes features a large number of options, giving you a fighting experience tuned to whatever format you prefer.

Graphically, the game is pleasing, particularly for fans of the series. The cel-shaded characters all look great and animate fluidly, perfectly capturing the appearance of the show. The environments are expansive, although some of them are a little devoid in terms of scenery. Several of the combat animations are nice and flashy, once again capturing the over-the-top nature of the show’s battles. It’s not the most technically advanced graphics package, but fans of the show should be very pleased.

Audio is also fine, with a nice mix of tunes and solid voice-work. The characters are voiced by the same cast as the show, so purists should be pleased. A lot of the dialogue is pretty over-the-top though, and some of the lines fall flat. The music is fine, but doesn’t particularly stand out. Sound effects are also adequate, with all the pows and booms you’d expect from a fighting game.

Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is a game that will appeal mostly to fans of Dragon Ball Z, with its huge cast and expansive story. However, anyone looking for a fun, easy-to-learn fighter would do good to check this out as well. It might not be as technical as Tekken or Virtua Fighter, but its fast-paced fighting engine is still a lot of fun.

Graphics: 8.0

Sound: 7.5

First Play: 8.5

Replay Value: 8.0

Gameplay: 9.0

Overall: 9.2