Amazing, simply amazing (Power Stone 2 (DC))

Member Name: kmxretro

Product:	Power Stone 2 (DC)
Date:	10/12/00 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice graphics, great fun gameplay, sounds nice

Disadvantages: Maybe too complex for lamers

When the Dreamcast was released last year, the launch titles were a bit of a mixed bunch. You had Blue Stinger, Incoming, Expendable, Tokyo Highway Challenge and Dynamite Cop falling firmly into the "Mediocre" department, Trickstyle, Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sega Rally 2 coming in at "Above Average" and that left only 3. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing and Sonic Adventure were both "Triple A" titles, but that final title, Powerstone, was a strange one. Not much in the way of press coverage (in the UK at least), not that much hype anywhere else, but it was still one of the most impressive games on the system. Powerstone 2 from Capcom is one of the most playable, most exciting and downright most enjoyable titles that I've ever had the pleasure to play. There's no two ways about it, Capcom are onto a winner and I believe that the series can only get better. I was thinking about ending the review right there, but something told me that I'd recieve a few complaints, so let's go!

Graphics
Although it looks simplistic in some places, Powerstone 2 has the power to impress with it's superb backgrounds and comedy characters. Gourmand the Chef is a personal favourite and is easily the strangest character in the game.

If I was to say to you that I had been beaten up by someone brandishing a carrot and a frying pan, who then turned into a Dragon and set fire to me before dropping me into a huge cooking pot, you'd think I was a wee bit loopy, but it's TRUE I tell you!

The games "bosses" are very clever. The first is a huge robotic Sphinx which can fly, jump, catch you with his tongue and generally make your life hell, but if you attack his robotic legs, their casing comes off to expose the bare metal, which you can then attack until his leg breaks and he collapses onto his side.

Sound
The booming voices are still there. The epic soundtrack still swooshes in and out, but it'
s all very familiar. A few comedy phrases have been added, but it's almost as if Capcom has ignored the sound and used what they already had, which, in this case, is a good thing as it left them more time to work on the gameplay. It's not really a problem, since the frantic action leaves you with no time to be listening to pretty sounds.



Gameplay
This is where the main work has been done. In the first version, I was amazed that I could jump onto the roof to execute a jumping kick on my opponent in some levels. If you felt the same, imagine how impressed you'll be when on a moving submarine, you can jump into it's gun turret and start firing rockets at your opponent, or while fighting on a doomed airship, you can jump off and fight whilst floating to the ground, only to land in a completely new stage to continue the battle.

In Adventure mode, whilst fighting (in the same style as original mode) you can collect coins and items which you can then take to the "Shop" when you've finished your game. The conis can be used to buy new items and weapons, but the items you have already collected (or bought) can be "merged" together in a machine. There are absolutely hundereds of new items to discover in this way, ranging from the silly (a carrot) to the downright evil (homing missiles). Unfortunately, their is no guarantee that every merge will work and sometimes you'll have wasted your items.

The Adventure mode is a welcome addition to what is a pretty familiar set of battle modes. Arcade, Original, Versus etc have all been seen before and generally work well, but with this new addition, Capcom have hit a winner.

Multiplayer mode is absolute mayhem. With all 4 pads connected, the simplest tasks can become incredibly hard, such as seeing which one is your character. The only way that Capcom could have rectified this is by toning down the explosions, as they are often the cause of the
confusion. Still, when everyone can see what's going on, there is some good fun to be had, especially when everyone knows the controls..........

Overall
I would recommend Powerstone 2 to hardcore fighting fans (obviously) and for the rest of you, rent it first. I am a big fan of the series, as I stated before, but I also know some people who think that the original is one of the worst games on the system. Go figure............

Summary: