Streets of Rage 2

Written by Tom Clare in MegaDrive Game Reviews, Friday 24 September, 2004

An outRAGEously good sequel!

Back in 1991, SEGA released the now-legendary scrolling beat 'em up Streets Of Rage; a fantastic, terrifically enjoyable title that simply oozed style and class. It made rivals such as Double Dragon look positively ancient, and did plenty to improve the image of video games by introducing console gaming to a broader audience.

Fast forward a year and SEGA are faced with the task of releasing the most eagerly awaited sequel since Sonic 2. Enter Streets Of Rage 2 (or Bare Knuckle 2 as it was to be known in its native Japan); a superb follow-up to a classic original, and a game that is every bit as enjoyable now as it was a decade ago.

The conclusion of the first Streets Of Rage saw the three breakaway cops Adam, Axel and Blaze defeat Mr. Big and his evil crime network to restore order and relative normality to the streets. It doesn't take long however for the city thugs get their revenge - they kidnap Adam. The city descends into chaos once more and it's up to Axel, Blaze, Adam's brother Skate and their friend Max to free the hopeless hero and defeat the new super-villain, Mr. X.

And so begins a horizontally-scrolling beat 'em up, which sees one or two-players battling it out against a frantic stream of rioting thugs, who will often play dirty to get one over on you...

Matching the quality and sheer enjoyment that the original delivered was always going to be an immense task, but despite Streets Of Rage 2's tendency to retread old ground, SEGA could hardly have judged it better - tweaking many of the elements that made the first game such a joy to play, whilst not altering anything too significantly as to undo all the good work already established.

The objective of the game is very straightforward - simply play through eight themed levels killing all enemies that cross your path, whilst taking out mid and end-of-level bosses. Sounds simple enough, though predictably there is more to the game than simply brushing aside goons.

The levels are fairly interactive, and certain parts of the scenery (such as boxes, cabinets, tables and chairs) can be destroyed with a simple punch. They often reveal much-needed health-bonuses, points, extra-lives and weaponry to aid you in your quest.

Weapons play a fairly big role in the fights, as not only can the player get hold of knives, pipes and swords, but the computer-controlled opponents will show a good awareness of their surroundings and snap up anything they see lying around.

Gameplay and controls remain largely unchanged from the first outing, except that the four playable characters now have special moves unique to them. Blaze for instance can perform a cool cartwheel-kick to get herself out of a sticky situation, whilst Axel delivers a powerful combo and uppercut no doubt inspired by the antics of the Street Fighter 2 posse. These special moves are a great addition, though cannot be used indefinitely as they knock off a portion of your health each time.

Its presentation is near-faultless; the bold, stylish intro-sequence is marvellous for recalling the story and briefing the player for this second instalment, and from then on the glittery, sparkling menus and high-score boards set the tone for a game that feels like it could have been ripped straight from an arcade cabinet. Everything moves so smoothly, even when there is a ridiculous amount of action taking place on the screen - Streets Of Rage 2 deals with it all effortlessly.

The levels are gorgeous to look at, and are as varied as they are pretty. One moment you'll be waltzing through a neon-drenched city street, and before you know it, you'll find yourself traversing a misty swamp. Then it's onto a pirate ship and a trip through the park towards a baseball ground. The fast pace of the action is all the more amazing when you appreciate all the little details that have gone into making it such a visual treat - animation and movement is of the highest quality, and the characters are always quick to respond to your often frenzied commands.

Yuzo Koshiro is the man behind the soundtrack, and you know he's created something pretty special when you see it's his name on the title screen rather than the producer's! His score for the first game has rarely been matched, though the songs on offer here are still great. Much like everything else in SOR2, the tunes are excellent in a familiar kind of way, and though the sound effects are good and convincing, it's the music that steals the limelight again.

The chief problem with SOR2 comes with the games design as an arcade-style beat 'em up - it wasn't designed primarily to last a long time. It's easy to finish in one sitting - probably clocking in at a little over an hour in total, though the real long-term appeal comes in playing as the four very different characters, testing yourself on the four skill settings, and playing the infinitely playable two-player mode, which will have you coming back to Streets Of Rage 2 time and time again. Rarely have I come across anything that's quite so satisfying as brawling alongside a mate - the developers have even included combination moves whereby you can team-up to perform new attacks. You really will never tire of this mode.

It's wonderfully easy to get into thanks to the simple but effective control configuration, and players of all ages should have no trouble learning the ropes; you'll be engrossed before you know it! There is no blood despite the fighting, and even young kids will realise that it is only cartoon violence anyway.

Probably not quite the game it's predecessor was, though Streets Of Rage 2 is still the second best scrolling-beat 'em up ever created and proof that even if it's graphics have aged over time, the gameplay is as fresh as ever. Smashing.

Leave a Reply