This is another of my favorite beat em ups of all time. It's an arcade follow up to of course one of my favorite and games in general "Golden Axe" (game I reviewed) and it makes the cut.
Plotline is pretty much the same as before on Death Adder coming back enslaving the land and you and your party must save it. Yeah, the typical fantasy fare but the plot and story really aren't important as the action and the adventure in this game were all here for and it delivers on that.
I really like how the sequel does improve upon its predecessor a little. The graphical presentation, which is just like the first, is great as it's well detailed from the fantasy world and the character models. But one of the things that make the presentation different is that they've added some of the vector five effects where it gives a little of the illusion of three dimension. It was a cool effect for its time because it really felt like that fourth wall was being broken as we saw graphical decorations being thrown toward you on the screen. Like when you destroy some of the tree ents you see some pieces of wood being thrown at you. It was such a cool feeling because it felt like we were more involved with the action.
But the other thing with is that there were parts in the game when you weren't just going to point A to B. But you moved to the middle of the background, and you saw the background passing you as you moved. This was also cool because it really gave the feeling of three dimensions to the world we maneuvered in.
I like that this time you have four characters to choose from, who are all unique and have strengths and weaknesses. All are fun to play and of course we have one or two of our favorites depending on our preference. My two favorites are the female centaur who was cool as she's a character you don't play every day. Really like the moves she has with the "American Gladiator" joust stick she's armed with and the finishing movies seeing her use her hooves.
But of course, my favorite is Stern who is the archetypical Barbarian hero, no problem there if it works it works. I really like playing him as he's more balanced and being a "Conan" and "He-Man" fan, I just always love that kind of character as he wields a big sword.
The combat in the game is very good, from your magic to use to wheedle the odds down but also build up on the magic. Really like that cut scene where you see the effect the magic has on one of the enemies, surprised they let an arcade game have that but it really showed how video games were taking the next step that video games aren't just for kids. The hit detection is a lot tighter as you can see and hear your blows making an impact. But I like that your characters have an even better combo system. Also, there is a finishing combo that is executed just when your opponents are at their weakest moment. Thought that was cool as it was very helpful in the boss fights when you need to drain their health bar a little faster.
One of the other things that makes the game stand out is the multiple pathways, which wasn't common at the time. I always love this feature, because it creates replay value as you can play the game again and beat it in a different way. And of course, the highlights of the game are in the music which has some cool memorable tunes. But also, the beast you ride whom are all different from the previous game, which makes the game all the better. Each of the rides are unique and just really cool from skeleton dragons, giant praying mantises, and my favorites the giant scorpions. Each is a different species with different kinds of attacks like with one of the scorpions they use their pincers and another kind an electro tail stinger.
But this game has a couple of mis swings that hold it back a little for me. For one thing it has that fundamental problem most beat em ups have of its repetitiveness. This is something I can easily get past being a beat em up veteran I expect this, and it doesn't affect my enjoyment. But still it's there and is a problem with the bosses as there should have been a little more variety as you fight some of the same ones again on some other levels. But the real problem is the length of the game is just a bit too long, which does cut into the momentum of the game a little. It doesn't bother me too much, but I would of at least trimmed one level, so that I don't feel I've overstayed which is not a good feeling I like to have with the beat em up games.
Overall, I really like this sequel even though it comes close it doesn't quite surpass the first game in my book anyway; it's still worth playing. For vintage beat em up fans, this sequel makes the cut.
Rating: 3 and a half stars.
Plotline is pretty much the same as before on Death Adder coming back enslaving the land and you and your party must save it. Yeah, the typical fantasy fare but the plot and story really aren't important as the action and the adventure in this game were all here for and it delivers on that.
I really like how the sequel does improve upon its predecessor a little. The graphical presentation, which is just like the first, is great as it's well detailed from the fantasy world and the character models. But one of the things that make the presentation different is that they've added some of the vector five effects where it gives a little of the illusion of three dimension. It was a cool effect for its time because it really felt like that fourth wall was being broken as we saw graphical decorations being thrown toward you on the screen. Like when you destroy some of the tree ents you see some pieces of wood being thrown at you. It was such a cool feeling because it felt like we were more involved with the action.
But the other thing with is that there were parts in the game when you weren't just going to point A to B. But you moved to the middle of the background, and you saw the background passing you as you moved. This was also cool because it really gave the feeling of three dimensions to the world we maneuvered in.
I like that this time you have four characters to choose from, who are all unique and have strengths and weaknesses. All are fun to play and of course we have one or two of our favorites depending on our preference. My two favorites are the female centaur who was cool as she's a character you don't play every day. Really like the moves she has with the "American Gladiator" joust stick she's armed with and the finishing movies seeing her use her hooves.
But of course, my favorite is Stern who is the archetypical Barbarian hero, no problem there if it works it works. I really like playing him as he's more balanced and being a "Conan" and "He-Man" fan, I just always love that kind of character as he wields a big sword.
The combat in the game is very good, from your magic to use to wheedle the odds down but also build up on the magic. Really like that cut scene where you see the effect the magic has on one of the enemies, surprised they let an arcade game have that but it really showed how video games were taking the next step that video games aren't just for kids. The hit detection is a lot tighter as you can see and hear your blows making an impact. But I like that your characters have an even better combo system. Also, there is a finishing combo that is executed just when your opponents are at their weakest moment. Thought that was cool as it was very helpful in the boss fights when you need to drain their health bar a little faster.
One of the other things that makes the game stand out is the multiple pathways, which wasn't common at the time. I always love this feature, because it creates replay value as you can play the game again and beat it in a different way. And of course, the highlights of the game are in the music which has some cool memorable tunes. But also, the beast you ride whom are all different from the previous game, which makes the game all the better. Each of the rides are unique and just really cool from skeleton dragons, giant praying mantises, and my favorites the giant scorpions. Each is a different species with different kinds of attacks like with one of the scorpions they use their pincers and another kind an electro tail stinger.
But this game has a couple of mis swings that hold it back a little for me. For one thing it has that fundamental problem most beat em ups have of its repetitiveness. This is something I can easily get past being a beat em up veteran I expect this, and it doesn't affect my enjoyment. But still it's there and is a problem with the bosses as there should have been a little more variety as you fight some of the same ones again on some other levels. But the real problem is the length of the game is just a bit too long, which does cut into the momentum of the game a little. It doesn't bother me too much, but I would of at least trimmed one level, so that I don't feel I've overstayed which is not a good feeling I like to have with the beat em up games.
Overall, I really like this sequel even though it comes close it doesn't quite surpass the first game in my book anyway; it's still worth playing. For vintage beat em up fans, this sequel makes the cut.
Rating: 3 and a half stars.
Tell Your Friends