Power Stone 2
Reviewed by Dale Kulas
The Game
This is the sequel to the original game play, which many
proclaimed the first, true, 3-D fighting game where you
could use your environments you're fighting in to your
advantage. I played the first version of the game on demo,
and absolutely loved it, but I thought I'd give the second
one a rent to make sure it's worth a purchase (that, and
Software Etc. simply won't let you return games if you're
unsatisfied with them) so will this game be as good as the
original? Let's get onto the review and find out.
Graphics
The character models are designed exactly the way they are
from the first game, which are nice big, clean crisp polygon
characters, all which look simply amazing and have lots of
variation. For some of the character gimmicks, we got a guy
who's an airplane pilot, a mummy, a Native American, and a
gun-shooting cowboy. All those and way more in the wacky
world of Power Stone. But what looks even better in the game
is the arenas where you battle in. They look superb! The
submarines for example, where you have 2 subs, and 4 Power
Stone warriors fighting all at once with many explosions
happening on screen with no slowdown what so ever. The
amount of animation in the environments is another thing to
gaze at, weather it's a boulder chasing after you, ala
Indiana Jones, or an Iceberg crushing a submarine, ala
Titanic (yes, right before you nail the Iceberg, the
announcer says 'Iceberg, Straight Ahead!'). Overall the
graphics is one of the best done areas of the game.
Sound
You got plenty of background music samples here, all which
seem to fit the fantasy type story of the game well. All of
the sound effects sound the way they should, like the kicks,
punches, explosions, etc. Then you got the key part to the
sound category which is the announcer, who talks in a really
soft voice, and gives advice in every arena you're battling
in (like when fighting in the Iceberg area he says, 'Better
make use of those subs') and he does his little play
calling when ever you lose stones or collect them by saying,
'Oh, no' and 'Powerful' and although his comments do
repeat a lot, because of his wacky voice and all the intense
action going on screen at once, they won't get repetitive.
Game play
The controls for this game are pretty easy to learn, you can
move either with the control pad, or freee 3-D movement with
the control stick (which I prefer way more), The buttons are
rather easy to use, since this game only uses 3 buttons on
the Dreamcast controller (or you can config them to your
pleasing), which is, the X button does your basic attack and
it also fires weapons that are part of an interactive
environment (like the gun turrets in the Iceberg area for
example), the B button does another type of attack, plus
picks up and throws weapons., and finally the A button
jumps. Also since Capcom is so friendly to the arcade gamer,
they made this game Arcade Stick compatible. The battle
engine is a lot like the old one where when you collect 3
stones during a battle you morph into your powerful alter
ego for a certain amount of time indicated on the gauge at
the bottom of the screen. Also there's also a more
convenient life meter gauge, rather than those pesky stone
gauges in the original, plus a weapon gauge to let you know
how much life is left in a weapon power up you collected.
All nice additions.
Probably the main difference from the original game, is that
this game can be 4 players playing simultaneously instead of
2 like in the original. Another difference in the game play
mechanics is that in a 4 player game, when a player dies,
the first 2 that have fallen, will lay their for 10 seconds
to see if they can get 'resurrected' where another warrior
simply goes by them and presses the B button, and they come
back into the battle with partial life. For the roster of
characters in this game, you got some old favorites back
like Falcon and Gunrock, plus a host of new additions. Also
the arenas do some pretty cool arena changing tricks, where
you battle in what seems to be a 3-D platformer type game
where you're constantly changing the environment you're
battling in. The main story for this game is that the Power
Stone Warriors are trapped in a castle, and you must help
them to get out of it. Kind of weak, but it works.
We got plenty of game modes here, like all fighters, we got
the arcade mode, where you against computer opponents and
bosses, where your friends can join in too. We also got the
1-on-1 vs. mode here from the original. Plus there is the
Original mode of play where 4 players can play at once, and
you can set teams, the characters, and arena you play in.
And finally there is Adventure mode where you battle
computer opponents and bosses and collect as many items and
material cards as you can, then when you're all done, you go
into the item shop where by using and exchanging these items
and cards you can unlock new features in the game and add
new costumes to the characters. You can also play mini games
in here such as Roulette to unlock other items which you
need coupons to play.
Replay Value
First of all, the fact that up to four people can play this
game at once is a huge bonus and will give lots of replay
value as well. Plus the extra modes like Original and the
Adventure mode, is extra ways to give this game more life
for the solo player, and the item shop is another great
feature with its load of secrets. So there's plenty of stuff
overall to keep you hooked on in this game.
In Brief
+: Great battle system, Up to 4 player simultaneously,
Unique Adventure mode/Item Shop feature
-: Announcer repeats to much, the character modes do look
somewhat simple, all that environment changing can get hard
on the eyes
The Final Ratings Rundown
Graphics: 8. 8
Sound: 8. 0
Game play: 8. 5
Replay Value: 8. 2
Overall: 8.3 out of 10
Final Analysis
I gotta say this is one great game, just think of it as
Super Smash Bros. goes 3-D and there you go. Capcom has
delivered another hit, but for some reason I like playing
Smash Bros. more, but this is definitely another great
Capcom fighter, but from which to choose from the 3 they
released in the summer of 2000? I strongly say to get Marvel
vs. Capcom 2 more than this, than you should consider this
title 2nd, and then consider Street Fighter 3: Double Impact
if you're a die hard Street Figher fan. But for the 3-D fighting
fans, go pick up this title right now, you won't be disappointed.
OR
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