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2.23.01Fear the 3 Deadly Ki Blasts - Power Stone 2 Review
Zany, crazy, outrageous, fun, fast-paced, hyper and unpredictable are some of the words you can use to describe the Power Stone 2 experience. I've spent numerous hours beating the crap out of my friends (enemies while playing) with Wang Tang--the Goku-like fighter of the series, equipped with Ki Blasts, spikey golden hair, a Genki Dama type of move (spirit bomb, for all of you American-version-only DBZ watchers), and a Dragon Punch, all found only in his "stoned" form. Calling this game a 3-D fighter doesn't give it justice, because Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive 2 are also 3-D fighters, but they play nothing like PS2 (no not the Sony system). It's catergorized best as a grab-anything-off-the-floor-or-wall and fight-almost-anywhere game. Have you ever played a "traditional" fighting game, where you've wanted to grab that rock or soda can off the floor or machette off the wall, and beat your opponent senseless with it, but couldn't? Yearn no more. Ripping a pole out of the ground (after you've plummeted a few thousand feet) and klobbering someone with it in the Blue Sky area; being chased by a giant boulder, Indiana Jones like, in the Tomb area, while leaping over holes in the ground; and destroying ice bergs, while dodging missles in the Iceberg area, are just some of the outrageous things you can experience only playing Power Stone 2. All of this is witnessed in full 128-bit graphics glory. The graphics are superior to Power Stone, even with all of the commotion going on. The returning characters, as well as, the newbies, are very detailed, from Rouge's swaying pony tail to Jack's one eye, and Gourmand's juggling belly to Gunrock's umm...privates. There is no apparent slowdown throughout any of the areas, even when there's explosions and flying bullets galore. It's always good to be able to distinguish a rice ball from a bomb. ) Control is so simple that there isn't anything to really say about it. There's 1 punch, 1 grab, 1 jump, and 2 special move buttons. How much simpler than that could it get? Double-jumping (to dodge thrown boxes), rolling (out of the way of incoming boxes), and grabbing (boxes in mid-air) are all accomplished with a touch (or two) of a button. The aural in this game is great, especially for a fighter. The music--really the violin segment--of the Space Station area just rocks! The sound effects aren't bad either. You will never forget, or at least not after you've played and lost to me, the sound of the infamous 3 Ki Blasts of Wang Tang, and the sound of 2 shurikens, with pink and white streak trails, clashing of Ayame. Oh, the sounds of the rest of the characters are pretty good too. Gourmand's (when he's in his Barney form) laugh is pretty funny. All of the weapon SFX are cartoonish, but it's a perfect fit with the cartoonish atmosphere of the game. Buy the soundtrack! ) Power Stone 2 one-ups Power Stone in every department--more specifically, the gameplay department. PS was just an appetizer to PS2. Some complaints about PS were the levels could have held 4 players, not just 2, and they could have been larger, with more interactivity. Capcom did just that. The action is very fast-paced, not moving isn't an option. Besides being aware of your opponents, you will have to look out for floor-spurting flames, spinning propellers, a bomb (and player) carrying eagle, a giant alien, flaming arrows, and other crazy things. Also, there over 120 different weapons and items you have at your disposal, once you unlock them that is. Ways to hurt your opponent (and some times yourself) isn't limited to weapons or slugging it out mono-a-mono, with kicks and punches, grabs and throws, straight out of wrestling and Street Fighter, it's also possible using the (ideal way) "stoned" form. Earlier I talked about the "stoned" form, as I call it. You become stoned once you have 3 of the 7 Power Stones (hence the game's name) in your possesion at one time. Each character has their own form--all equipped with a unique projectile and 2 (4 in Pete's case) special moves that do serious damage--but some are more powerful and useful than other's. Once you are stoned, your special abilities only last for a set duration, how you manage this time is up to you. ) I've yet to talk about what I like about this game, only what you can do. Well, here it goes: the biggest draw about this game has to be the multiplayer fun. Most fighting games are limited to 2 players, not a very good thing, when there are 4 people dying to play, but have to wait because the game is only 2 people. What's the solution to this fix? Buy Power Stone 2 (or Wu Tang for Playstation), but make sure you can get your hands on 4 controllers. Talking trash to your friends--you know who you are, but I'll say your names anyway, Eric, Eric, Miguel, Dave, Evens--once they lose to you horribly with the almighty Wang Tang, and sometimes Ayame, is the best. How could you not love catapalting yourself onto an unsuspecting opponent, causing their only (and your 3rd) Power Stone to fly out, picking it up, transforming, and then finishing him off (therefore, winning the match) with 3 consecutive Ki Blasts? See, you can't. But, there is something even better than that--being revived by a, how should I put it, kind opponent (Dave), thinking he is going to kill you with one hit, but the tides turn, you find a health restoring piece of meat and 3 Power Stones, and with a few quick (and powerful) Ki Blasts, Wang Tang, I mean your character is the one doing his winning pose (sitting down, eating rice balls) and not him. Hahahaha, I love it! Now, on to what I don't like about this game. Well, here it goes: there's only three complaints i have about this game--lack of characters, stages, and online play. Even though there are 12 initially and 2 secret characters, there are only about 7 that are worth using. If there is a sequel (hopefully on DC) Capcom should leave everyone who is in this game, even the crappy ones, add the missing character from the first one, and then add brand new characters for a little flavor. That's not too much to ask, right? There are only 12 multiplayer stages, including the 4 hidden ones, but out of the 12, there's only 5 that are fun to fight on. Come on Capcom, you could have at least put 3 of the stages (as is) from Power Stone in Power Stone 2. It would've been great to fight in the store level. Alas, we can only dream (cast). Finally, the lack of online play. Japan got online play, why couldn't we? I would have waited an extra month until September for online play. I guess that's what the 3rd game in the series is for. ) Well, that's about it for this review. Right now I'm supposed to give an overview of what I thought about the game, but that's what the breakdown is for. Power Stone 2 is the best multiplayer game you can find, on any platform; there I said it. If you yet to purchase this game, I don't know how you couldn't have, go do so now. WARNING: If you are anti-social or just don't have many friends and are expecting a long-lived single player experience, think twice before buying, because you can get all characters and stages in one sitting--7 straight hours--like I did. One last thing: Wang Tang and Ayame reign supreme when I'm playing, especially against the scrubs, er...I mean my friends.
--Dreamcast "Mac" Otaku
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