ANOTHER New DBZ game

[mystic gohan]

lmao atleast you found it

 

[Nathan]

4 gameplay vids are up on IGN.

*edit*

Oh, and a new Preview is up too.

May 1, 2006 - Of all the franchises around with hardcore fan bases, very few approach the rabid following of Atari's Dragon Ball Z games. Its fans gobble up each release with reckless abandon, enough so that the franchise has spawned multiple variations of the series, all based around fighting of course, but some with a strong leaning into other genres.



While Super Dragon Ball Z is intended for hardcore fighting fans, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is targeted at a much wider audience, seemingly even those who aren't yet into DBZ. It's a massive game, featuring over 100 playable characters, a number of which have never been in a Dragon Ball Z videogame before. There were only six on display in the build we saw at Atari's Pre-E3 event so we're not sure how Spike is planning on managing a roster that large and allow gamers to easily find their favorite fighters, but suffice it to say that nearly every DBZ character you could ever want is likely to make an appearance here.


Tenkaichi 2 is a heavily story-based game, ranging from the beginnings of Saiyan Saga and working all the way through to the end of the movies. Many of the game's missions are actually taken straight from the television show and movies, allowing DBZ fans the ability to play through some of their favorite existing segments while also throwing in new twists and turns.

While some of the past DBZ games had stories that simply worked as slideshows between fights, Tenkaichi 2 features a full adventure aspect where players take control of a character and navigate him around the world, talking to folks, exploring vast areas and so forth between each of the battles. It certainly sounds like it's set up to be a rather expansive experience, though unfortunately we'll have to wait until later to see how this comes together as we only had time to run through a series of battles.

It's the fights that really matter however, and it's pretty safe to say that Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 has both expanded and refined the previous game(s) in most every way. These battles are massive, taking place in gargantuan arenas that literally dwarf the fighters within. The scope of the battles really makes it seem as if something major is at stake rather than just two egos. It may be a little hard to understand exactly what that means until you see the game in action, but the battles really do feel bigger than simply the two people involved.


Not only are the environments massive, but they're destructible as well. Characters can crash into plateaus and completely destroy the natural structures. Craters are left after giant attacks, and combined with all of the rubble you'll cause you're left with a ton of evidence post-battle that an intense and massive fight had just taken place.

While the environments certainly are cool, it's the characters and gameplay mechanics themselves that are most important and, luckily, this looks to be where Spike has made the biggest improvements. For starters, you're now able to change forms mid-battle, allowing you the ability to mix up the action as things progress rather than having to select a form pre-battle. Some characters have multiple forms, and clicking down on the right analog stick will transform between them in chronological order. For instance, Goku will transform into Super Saiyan, then Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3 and finally Super Saiyan 4, each time having his player model transformed and skillset increased.

The camera mechanics have been greatly improved since last time. The camera shifts angles a bit depending upon where you are in relation to the other fighter, where it'll move a bit to the side when you're up close and unleashing melee attacks, while the rest of the time it sits nicely over your shoulder with the other fighter targeted off in the distance. The cool part is that you can flick the right analog stick in order to shift the camera over to your other shoulder, so if you're strafing to one side you can easily move the camera to the same side and get a better view of the action.



Each character has a total of five different special attacks, which can evolve or change depending upon which form you've taken. Instant Transmissions are also here obviously, and seem to work quite well and easily. You can pop behind and out in front of your opponent mid-combo, allowing you to string forward and reverse attacks together into one string. Performing an Instant Transmission is a simple, singular button press while locked on, so popping about from place to place is both natural and simple to do mid-combo.


One of the most impressive things we noticed about the game is its visuals. The game looks rather fantastic, excellently bringing the cell-based drawings of the series and movies into 3D form. The Dragon Ball Z games have generally gotten better and better looking over time, but it's quite easy to say that Tenkaichi 2 is easily the most visually impressive thus far.

Character detail is pretty good, doing well to mimic the hard lines around the characters and small, drawn folds in their clothing as well. While they're essentially flat-shaded, the texture work is nice in that the characters do seem to contain subtle hints of shading or even imperfections that you'd see from hand-colored drawings. It's difficult to explain, but it's easily noticeable once you see the game in action.


There's a certain hazing to the environments that helps make them look massive, subtle tweaks to the camera filter that gives it a "realistic" look, even though it's based off an animated series. Most impressive however are the particle effects that fill the screen, like dust kicking up in the wind or waves of heat that come from some of the most powerful attacks. Great stuff all around, and Dragon Ball Z fans will be really impressed with how good the game looks.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is looking really sharp at this point. There's so much content here that fans of the series will certainly find a ton to love about it, and the combat mechanics work well and are actually unique enough that even folks who aren't fans of the series may be interested in it. We'll have more on the game from the floor of E3 next week, so stick around.

 

[anarchistguy]

Edit:Never Mind

 

[Nathan]

New Videos on Gamespot.

 

[The FallenAngel]

Looks to be a pretty good game.

 

[mystic gohan]

pretty good more like flamin amazin

 

[Genesis 1.0]

GT Storyline and Multi-Player?

Beast Mode.

Oh hell yeah, I've been starving for a GT storyline. Tenkaichi was heaven for me, especially Broli, Vegeta SSJ4, and Super Frieza (most innovative characters). They've really built a fantastic dynasty here, and the destructible enviornment and 360 views are even better.

 

[mystic gohan]

well said genesis 1.0 i cant wait for this gt storyline

 

[Nathan]

Damn.... I was glad that I managed to almost evade the GT storyline completely, but now I'm going to be forced to play through the story or otherwise I won't be able to finish the game. -_-

 

[The Hurricane]

A GT stroy line woulsnt be bad too play. I hope you can be all the 7 dragons

 

[Genesis 1.0]

well said genesis 1.0 i cant wait for this gt storyline

Yeah, I was just tired of them giving you SSJ4 but without a plot line like the rest. Heh, they Bebi and SSJ4 in Tenkaichi but not GT storyline. I was just like WTF?

Now, I can die happy.

 

[anarchistguy]

FINALLY! Some positive thoughts about Tenkaichi. Everyone just keeps saying that it sucked compared to Budokai 3. I think Tenkaichi is closer to Dragon Ball than the Budokais will EVER be.

 

[anarchistguy]

Hey all!

Check out this E3! Demo of the game

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/dragonballzbudokaitenkaichi2/media.html

Enjoy!

 

[SouLeSS]

The very first one was awesome. Back in the day, like 03 or whatever, whenever it came out. All the one's since then have been like the Moral Kombat franchise after 2.

 

[Jplaya2023]

Dear Atari,

Please stop making games based on the Dragonball series. They suck. Really badly. You're making baby Jesus cry with the crapiness of those games. As a matter in fact, I hope you guys go out of business because your games suck. I hate them. Enter the Matrix sucked, Stuntman sucked, Driver sucked, your Dragonball games suck, almost everything you guys come out with automatically sucks.

Love,
Jesse White, the hippie_hunter

You cant be serious every dbz game released on ps2 was that fiya

 

[Jplaya2023]

Hey all!

Check out this E3! Demo of the game

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/dragonballzbudokaitenkaichi2/media.html

Enjoy!

Yo this shyt looks like fiya im definately coppin

 

[Super Kal]

aw crap... more over the shoulder camera views, just as bad and crappy as the first one.

 

[Dark-Kenshin]

That all sounds good and everything, but we had been given similar promises in the previous games. Something tells me that this game is still going to suck.

Sadly, they have suckered me into buying every single one of those games, to date(excluding the gba titles, and sagas).

 

[Nathan]

We have finally some new screens.

Tapion, Hildegarn and Fat Janemba are now confirmed.

 

[Nathan]

Ugh... We also have a Turles confirmation.

 

[Nathan]

And yet another confirmation. Metal Cooler is in.

http://www.gamed.nl/view/18180

Does anyone actually still care about this game? =/

 

[anarchistguy]

I do. I've just been busy as hell with real life.

To redeem myself, heres a new video:

Turles vs. Android 13:

http://media.putfile.com/BT2-Turles-vs-Android-13

 

[Sloth7d]

All DBZ games suck, exept for Budokai 1-3.
Instead of milking Dbz like it's a harvested cow they need to start working on something new.
A video game I'd love to see is Marvel vs Dc.
Now that'd be the hottness.

 

[Jplaya2023]

There is another DBZ game that comes out the 18th of july called super dragon ball z. That game looks good its created by the makers of street fighter and will play just like it


From the producer of the acclaimed Street Fighter II game comes Super DBZ®, a new, highly intense DBZ fighting experience unlike any other Dragon Ball Z game. Super DBZ features an all new DBZ fighting system plus intense combos for super damage! With multiple unique special attacks and fighting styles for all 18 characters, Super DBZ gives players a more hard-core 3D fighting experience in the air or on the ground, complete with enough super-fast combination moves and dynamic battle scenes to satisfy any DBZ buff.


http://www.atari.com/us/games/super_dragonballz/playstation2

Features:

• An all-new DBZ fighting system, with more intense combos that cause more damage than any DBZ game ever created
• Unique fighting moves and styles for all 18 characters
• Super-fast combination moves and battle scenes
• Ability to strategically use the terrain to fight
• 3D fighting on the ground and in the air
• All new version of Mecha Frieza to unlock

 

[Jplaya2023]

And yet another confirmation. Metal Cooler is in.

http://www.gamed.nl/view/18180

Does anyone actually still care about this game? =/

I am, cant wait for this to drop.