There really are a lot of Dragon Ball Z games. A cursory glance shows that there have been nearly fifty (FIFTY!) Dragon Ball games produced over the twenty-some years since its inception, a number that manages to beat out the most popular American comic properties (Spider-Man, X-Men, Superman, and Batman) and even trumps the towering merchandise monolith of Star Wars. And, as you can imagine would be the case for a property about superpowered alien martial artists, a large chunk of the titles that have been produced about DBZ are fighting games. The quality of these fighters has ranged from dreadful (Final Bout) to bizarre (Legends) to gimmicky (Battle Stadiums D.O.N) to pretty good (Super DBZ and Budokai 3). With such a prolific lineage, what makes Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 stand out from the previous titles?

Well first of all it's not completely original. It's a sequel, after all, to the first Budokai Tenkaichi game. But what makes this particular string of Dragon-titles different from the others is that it tries to bring home the actual Dragon Ball experience in terms of gameplay. This means that you fly around in a completely 3D open space, zipping around at high speed (occassionally teleporting), hurling energy blasts, and punching each other through buildings. The controls owe more to Zone of Enders and Virtual On than Street Fighter. And while this is definitely a unique experience and arguably the best way to represent the DBZ style of action in a video game, there's a slight downside.

Test your inner strength

The biggest problem with DBZ: BT2 is not so much that it controls poorly, but that its controls are complex and more than a smooch counter-intuitive. While they are a bit clunky, they're very enjoyable once learned, however, offering a variety of manuevers that are authentic to the source material. But there's definitely a bit of a learning curve where you try to figure out what exactly your character is capable of.

And that means that once you do complete your education in BT2's controls, the game becomes a highly strategic, complex, deeply engrossing experience right? Well . . . kinda. While BT2 offers an awesome variety of moves, their implementation is almost superfluous in the face of the game's balance. In other words, you won't really need to use about half of what you're capable of doing. While this can be seen as a good thing, as the difficulty level for the game would be markedly out of the reach of most casual gamers if you had to make frequent and expert use of every technique the game makes available, it doesn't help to offset the feeling of imbalance. There is an adjustable difficulty level, but the difference between the people who you can simply pummel and blast to death and those you have to use throws, power dashes, and teleport dodges on to beat might be a bit too stark for some to get used to.

Feed your inner fanboy

But with or without considerations for in-depth strategic balance, the game does manage to deliver some zip-bang fun. For those who are looking simply to play around in the game that does the best job of imitating the combat of the Dragon Ball series, BT2 is the game of choice. Once you clear the intial hurdle of learning the controls, the action is fast, furious, and flashy. The game arguably shows it's greatest spark in its presentation. It boasts the same sexy cel-shaded style Dragon Ball games have had for a while now, but it's really the little things that put it above other titles. The special effects for all the ki-oriented energy beams/blasts/auras/shields/swords/etc. are all things that have been done to an extent before, but the little flourishes like energy trails and shockwaves and transparencies makes them noticeably more imperssive. The character models, too, show this wonderful attention to detail: after taking a certain amount of punishment, your characters will begin to show their damage in-game. The visual impact is signifigant and a welcome touch.

This is definitely a game for fans of the show, and the abundance of fan service that shows up in nearly every aspect of the game is a testament to this. The game has an unheard of number of characters (72 unique ones) that are unlocked through the extremely comprehensive story mode. While it doesn't include the much appreciated "what if" branching of other entries, it's enjoyable enough. The cut scenes themselves (which appear in the story mode) are a bit of a mixed bag, switching back and forth between stiff-looking bits of dialogue where the characters barely move at all to scenes that actually somewhat faithfully re-create what is reprensented in the TV series and movies.

You can perform nearly every technique that you could ask for in the game from assorted Super Saiyan powerups to fusing two characters into one. The Japanese voices are selectable (HALLELUJAH) in spite of an exhaustive amount of original voice work recored for the games menus and re-recorded for its various cut scenes. There's even an amusing Encyclopedia section filled with trivia and artwork, which is mostly enjoyable for the color commentary provided by the lovely Videl.

An unfortunate downside to all this variety is that the menus aren't the quickest and easiest to navigate. Scenes that you should be able to skip with the press of a button require two, and getting into any of the various modes usually requires going through a handful of menus as you select your game mode, your battle type, your number of characters, the actual character you'll play as, etc. It's far from game breaking, but it's signifigant enough to be noticeable and slightly slows down what is, from a gameplay perspective, a pretty fast title.

Answer your inner doubts

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 isn't really something that will appeal too much to people who aren't fans of the franchise. The complexity of the controls takes some getting used to, and there are various and sundry minor technical issues that may stick in your craw if the actual meat and potatoes of the battles aren't enough to pull you in. But for DBZ fans wanting to experience some of the most show-accurate action available, it's a great choice. It may also serve as a "worth checking out" for those needing to slake their thirst for a new open-air 3D combat game until the next Zone of Enders or the next good Virtual On comes along. While the gameplay isn't the most technically advanced or intuitive out there, the actual payoff is tons of fun, and with 72 unique characters there's plenty to keep you coming back for a while.

· · · Lee Francis