The graphics I found to be disappointing.  Now I expected this to be a certain style in keeping with DBZ and I suppose they have achieved that but I found the backgrounds in particular to be incredibly dated.  My wife commented that it looks about 10 years old and I had to agree, it looks like a green screen or old matte painting from the movies.  It felt like the figures were fighting in front of the environment rather than in it.  The character modelling and special moves are solid and apart from the initial visual discomfort of Goku floating through the air looking like a cardboard cut out rather than a super warrior I was entirely satisfied with the characters.  Not impressed, not wowed not even pleased but satisfied.  Interestingly I read a customer review at an online shop that said that DB: RB2 was visually far superior to Raging Blast… I never played Raging Blast so I can’t comment but for you existing Raging Blast fans that should give you some frame of reference.

I found the control system to be solid, and my experience of the game was much improved once I worked my way through the entire tutorial program.  There is a dizzying array of attacks, sub-attacks, special attacks, unique attacks, attacks whilst moving, transformations, character exchanges and raging mode.  All of which creates a pretty damn good interpretation of how the various characters fight in the TV series.  Accessing some of these moves was somewhat complicated but considering the large variety of moves available it’s not surprising the control system is somewhat cluttered.  It seems like every single button (including L3 and R3) perform more than 1 function.  As the sole focus of this game are the battles themselves the fighting mechanism is absolutely key, with all of these possible moves and attacks it sounds like they are on the right track and it would be awesome if it wasn’t so easy to button mash your way to victory…

I am no Fighting Game Master but after only a few matches I beat a “Hard” opponent on the second try and in fact that was one of only a handful of games I lost in all my hours of play.  I cleared the World Tournament first try with it lifted to hard difficulty.  To make the game more fun I actively tried to play using the special/unique moves but when the pressure came on I would find myself stabbing away at square/triangle/circle in various uncontrolled combinations which almost always brought victory.  In my opinion having to monitor my own playing style to maximise the fun in a game indicates something has gone wrong in the game itself.  For anyone who is even of average skill when it comes to fighting games I suspect it would offer no challenge at all but equally may assist with pulling off the special & unique moves.

The structure of the game is pretty straightforward, it does not have any storyline and the main game simply offers you a number of characters to choose from each with their own “Universe” to battle through, each universe then offers a variety of different fights at various difficulties.  You have to clear each match in turn (sometimes with optional branches to follow) to unlock more fights and open up new areas.  One thing I don’t understand is why the difficulty of the matches moves up and down. Why after beating a hard opponent do I next play a medium opponent?  The reward for winning comes in character upgrades, new characters and DBZ art.  It’s a satisfactory system but does not pull you into the game.  I had no urge to do “just one more match” and I find a good game is one where I can’t resist doing “just one more thing” until its 2am and my wife comes out and turns off the TV…  

Apart from the main universe mode you can also create custom matches, online fights & tournament play.  Sadly I experienced technical problems with the Playstation network trying to link up for online matches so I didn’t get a chance to explore that aspect of the game.  That could be a strong selling point but I suspect you would need a gentleman’s agreement not to button mash in order create an enjoyable cinematic battle. Offline Matches can either be 1 vs. 1 or multiple characters on both sides that you can either sub-in or defeat one after another.  Overall there are plenty of ways to experience the fighting in DB: RB2 and to be honest I like this approach.  You pick a character you are in the mood to play and then just play battles until you get bored.  It doesn’t try to justify its own existence it just gives you the ability to live in the Dragon Ball world for a couple of hours.

And that in nut shell is the strength and weakness of the game in the same breath.  If you are a Dragon Ball Z fan you will most likely enjoy this game and find it quite amusing for a short while.  On the other hand if you don’t know Goku from Vegeta, you aren’t excited by the idea  of recreating the World Tournament with mates over beer and pizza and you don’t intend to watch the included bonus movie then this game will leave you cold. And regretting the rather high price tag… In fact for $115NZD I would much rather buy a couple of seasons of DBZ on DVD…

Related

Completing a review for Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 has been quite a challenge.  It arrived unexpectedly 2 days after Fallout: New Vegas and the same day as Fable 3 which are 2 of my most anticipated games of the year.  Not only that but my initial introduction to the game was very unimpressive and I actually had to force myself to insert the disc and fire it up for a second go.  I’m glad I persevered as my subsequent attempts at the game were a vast improvement but I found the game ultimately unfulfilling.

The reason I volunteered to play DB: RB2 is that I’m a closet Dragon Ball Z fan from way back and the chance to play the characters I loved watching seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.  I’m pleased to report that from that perspective this game is great.  I thoroughly enjoyed my first Kamehameha and being able to turn into a Super Saiyan.  I grinned my head off as I competed in the World Tournament and the Cell Games.  Unfortunately after that I couldn’t find anything particularly inspiring to do so I turned the game off and went and made a coffee…  And that’s the downfall of this game, apart from the fact its Dragon Ball Z and you get to re-enact your favourite fights with your favourite characters (both good and evil) it’s fairly poor.  

The graphics I found to be disappointing.  Now I expected this to be a certain style in keeping with DBZ and I suppose they have achieved that but I found the backgrounds in particular to be incredibly dated.  My wife commented that it looks about 10 years old and I had to agree, it looks like a green screen or old matte painting from the movies.  It felt like the figures were fighting in front of the environment rather than in it.  The character modelling and special moves are solid and apart from the initial visual discomfort of Goku floating through the air looking like a cardboard cut out rather than a super warrior I was entirely satisfied with the characters.  Not impressed, not wowed not even pleased but satisfied.  Interestingly I read a customer review at an online shop that said that DB: RB2 was visually far superior to Raging Blast… I never played Raging Blast so I can’t comment but for you existing Raging Blast fans that should give you some frame of reference. I found the control system to be solid, and my experience of the game was much improved once I worked my way through the entire tutorial program.  There is a dizzying array of attacks, sub-attacks, special attacks, unique attacks, attacks whilst moving, transformations, character exchanges and raging mode.  All of which creates a pretty damn good interpretation of how the various characters fight in the TV series.  Accessing some of these moves was somewhat complicated but considering the large variety of moves available it’s not surprising the control system is somewhat cluttered.  It seems like every single button (including L3 and R3) perform more than 1 function.  As the sole focus of this game are the battles themselves the fighting mechanism is absolutely key, with all of these possible moves and attacks it sounds like they are on the right track and it would be awesome if it wasn’t so easy to button mash your way to victory… I am no Fighting Game Master but after only a few matches I beat a “Hard” opponent on the second try and in fact that was one of only a handful of games I lost in all my hours of play.  I cleared the World Tournament first try with it lifted to hard difficulty.  To make the game more fun I actively tried to play using the special/unique moves but when the pressure came on I would find myself stabbing away at square/triangle/circle in various uncontrolled combinations which almost always brought victory.  In my opinion having to monitor my own playing style to maximise the fun in a game indicates something has gone wrong in the game itself.  For anyone who is even of average skill when it comes to fighting games I suspect it would offer no challenge at all but equally may assist with pulling off the special & unique moves. The structure of the game is pretty straightforward, it does not have any storyline and the main game simply offers you a number of characters to choose from each with their own “Universe” to battle through, each universe then offers a variety of different fights at various difficulties.  You have to clear each match in turn (sometimes with optional branches to follow) to unlock more fights and open up new areas.  One thing I don’t understand is why the difficulty of the matches moves up and down. Why after beating a hard opponent do I next play a medium opponent?  The reward for winning comes in character upgrades, new characters and DBZ art.  It’s a satisfactory system but does not pull you into the game.  I had no urge to do “just one more match” and I find a good game is one where I can’t resist doing “just one more thing” until its 2am and my wife comes out and turns off the TV…   Apart from the main universe mode you can also create custom matches, online fights & tournament play.  Sadly I experienced technical problems with the Playstation network trying to link up for online matches so I didn’t get a chance to explore that aspect of the game.  That could be a strong selling point but I suspect you would need a gentleman’s agreement not to button mash in order create an enjoyable cinematic battle. Offline Matches can either be 1 vs. 1 or multiple characters on both sides that you can either sub-in or defeat one after another.  Overall there are plenty of ways to experience the fighting in DB: RB2 and to be honest I like this approach.  You pick a character you are in the mood to play and then just play battles until you get bored.  It doesn’t try to justify its own existence it just gives you the ability to live in the Dragon Ball world for a couple of hours.

And that in nut shell is the strength and weakness of the game in the same breath.  If you are a Dragon Ball Z fan you will most likely enjoy this game and find it quite amusing for a short while.  On the other hand if you don’t know Goku from Vegeta, you aren’t excited by the idea  of recreating the World Tournament with mates over beer and pizza and you don’t intend to watch the included bonus movie then this game will leave you cold. And regretting the rather high price tag… In fact for $115NZD I would much rather buy a couple of seasons of DBZ on DVD…