Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (USA) - xbox 360

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (USA) - xbox 360

The Story

The thing I'll say for Raging Blast 2 is that there really is no story. It's basically a collection of battles strung loosely together within the mythos of the series. The single player does not give a cohesive story mode and instead you're forced to pick a character, fight through their galaxy, and repeat the same steps with another fighter shortly thereafter. It's a tedious process that yields some narrative rewards such as unlockable videos and whatnot, but it's hardly engrossing.

Gameplay

Raging Blast 2 is a game that's broken down into a few different modes. The aforementioned single player gives gamers the choice of selecting one of several characters and fighting through that character's galaxy. A galaxy is a string of battles that aren't really connected to each other in any way. The amount and difficulty of these confrontations varies per character and for the most part there's a nice sense of progression. Galaxies start out easy to give players time to learn their character's moves and after a few rounds the challenge spikes considerably. As players complete stages there are rewards, such as special attacks and items, that can added to their characters. It keeps some things fresh, but ultimately feels like a tacked on customization feature.

It's in the single player mode that the complexities of the controls will make themselves known. Combat is frantic to say the least. There are combo attacks to unleash, ranged ki attacks, throws, super moves, and ultimate skills. Balancing all of these elements together while on the ground or in the air is a thing of beauty when it's done right. Over-the-top power attacks really dazzle and will tickle fans of the anime, but in multiplayer there are some problems with the system. No amount of skill will really help against an effective spammer. Players can practice techniques and combos all day only to be taken down by a person too familiar with the X button. Raging Blast 2 is an example of a game that's brilliant in some of its execution, but downright sloppy and sluggish in others.

Aside from playing through the single player, there are some versus modes as well. The local player Battle mode is rather straight forward as it lets you fight a friend or the computer. On the other side of the multiplayer equation is the option to take your game onto Xbox Live. Here you'll find ranked and player matches, freestyle (which lets you used customized characters), and a structured tournament.



Aside from a slew of spammers and people who disconnect when they start to lose (there's no downside to doing so), online modes have another hiccup in the system as well; you have to play countless hours of single player in order to unlock more than half of the characters. That's right, if you want to play as Super Saiyan Goku, Cell's ultimate form, or even different versions of Frieza, you really have to dedicate hours and hours to slogging through each character's galaxy. This creates repetition and really drains the fun out of the experience. Adding to that frustration is the fact that most of the characters all play the same anyway. Many super attacks are identical and there is very little uniqueness on the character select board.

Ultimately Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 isn't a bad game. When two players who really know their character's strengths get together matches can often become epic confrontations that destroy the environment. Unfortunately this happens few and far between. Multiplayer matches tend to be frustrating more than anything and the single player is about as monotonous and dry as one can get. This is a game that's only for the most diehard fans of the franchise, and even then there are still better gaming options out there.

Achievements:

The achievements in Raging Blast 2 will take forever and a day to complete. Sure there are little points for taking the first steps in most every mode, but to really get the big scorers one has to play the game for hours on end. Beating every galaxy, collecting every unlockable, and kicking some serious ass online take nearly all the fun out of the game. Even dedicated achievement mongers will find themselves questioning the world of many of the points.

Graphics

When looking at the visuals in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2, there are really two ways to see things. The character models are spot on representations of their animated counterparts right down to most of their super moves. A great amount of time and effort went into capturing the personality of the anime and all the fighters. With that being said there are hit detection faults and glitches aplenty. Environments are also rather bland and ugly by comparison, and there's a distinct lack of detail. Then again the game moves fast and most players won't have time to stop and smell the roses, as it were.

Sound

The voice actors in the game all fit the bill perfectly. With both the English and Japanese cast being present there's really something for everyone here. With that being said the soundtrack is simply awful and adds nothing positive to the experience. Fortunately the in game hits, screams, and explosions drown everything else out.

Conclusion

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 is a collection of ups and downs. On the plus side the core gameplay is fun and rewarding, character models look great, and there is decent online support. On the downside button mashers can destroy everyone, there's no penalty for dropping from a match, to get the most of the game you have to play through countless hours of single player, and environments are bland. Really though, monotony is the biggest killer of the experience here. It takes what could have been a fun romp through the Dragon Ball universe and makes it feel like a chore.