Game Reviews

At first glance, Dragon Ball: Origins 2 appears poised to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, an enjoyable adventure with gameplay strong enough to appeal to diehard followers of the anime and the uninitiated alike. But that impression quickly fades, courtesy of this sequel's wildly uneven difficulty and determination to punish you for failure. Origins 2 does have its charms, but they exist in the shadow of its baffling frustrations

Origins 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, finding young Goku soaring around on the Flying Nimbus, searching for dragon balls with the help of his trusty dragon radar. Along the way, he's hindered at every turn by the evil Red Ribbon Army and aided by a number of friends. It certainly helps to be a series aficionado to jump into this ongoing adventure, but the terrific storytelling here makes the tale accessible and entertaining to fans and newcomers alike. Cutscenes are fully animated using in-game graphics, and while you only get the occasional snippet of voice acting, the personalities of the characters come through loud and clear. It's hard not to be charmed by the sight of the adorable young Goku, supremely confident and bravely stepping forward to fight deadly opponents with a huge, goofy smile on his face.

Unfortunately all that fighting, while pleasant at times, isn't on a par with the excellent storytelling. The main story is broken up into episodes, each one finding Goku or his friends running through an environment and clobbering wolves, Red Ribbon Army soldiers, skeletal pirates, or other enemies who get in their way. Sometimes they'll also solve some basic environmental puzzles of the block-pushing or switch-tripping variety. Goku can attack with his fists or his power pole, having a variety of attacks for each fighting style. He also can unleash a long-range ki blast or the occasional devastating kamehameha. That variety in his repertoire helps make you feel like a skilled and powerful little fighter. It doesn't translate into really rewarding combat, however, because you can typically just pummel your foes with basic attacks and then run into the next area where you get to repeat the process. It's breezy and mildly engaging for a little while, but most levels drag on for far longer than this basic action can sustain them, and reaching the end of a chapter carries with it a sense of relief from what was quickly growing tedious.