Dark Cloud 2

"Whoa! Suprised the Heck outta me!"

As days slowly went by I searched for a decent RPG for my brand spanking new PS2. I looked high and low for a RPG in the PS2's beginning life span that could quench my thirst. I purchased Dark Cloud after playing it for a few hours I was literally pulled into its quick action and astounding graphics. Those were some of the best times in front of my PS2! Now Level 5 has made a major come back with its Dark Cloud franchise! The game play is still quick paced, the graphics have been overhauled, and Dark Cloud 2 packs one mean punch!

You start out as the main character Max who has a knack for inventing things. Max's family is extremely rich yet Max is always bored at home so goes and helps out the local inventor named Cedric who is one heck of a handyman. During work Max tells Cedric he is on his way to the circus later tonight and then after arriving at the circus Max gets his ticket stolen. Max chases this mysterious red head boy and finally catches him. Max then realizes the boy is poor and offers to give the ticket to him and the boy replies ''You are worthy'' then disappears. After entering the circus Max tries to find a better place to see the acts going on and ends up overhearing the Mayor and the head circus man's plot. From here on out Max must discover what is going on and what must be done to save the world.

There has been a nice graphical change to Dark Cloud 2. The artist changed the graphics to cel shading which looks really good. The characters are very colorful and are given plenty of fluid animations. Even the monster are extremely colorful and well drawn, especially the boss of the second dungeon! The towns are pure eye candy that just sucks you right into your television to absorb every pixel! The music is also very well done, I always enjoy when a company spends extra time to get the job done right! The are plenty of good tunes in this game that will keep you humming and slapping you knee in unison. Even the battle song is done very nicely and really captures the feel of the atmosphere! I never once found myself bored with the songs of this game.

Dark Cloud 2 keeps a lot of the original game play and adds plenty of new ideas that are refreshing. The new invention system allows gamers to make things such as weapons, ride pod power ups, and items for synthesizing. The invention system basically works like this, you take pictures of various things then try mixing three pictures together and a new invention is made. The hardest part of creating something from scratch is that you'll need a good sense of creativity or a lot of time of mixing this picture with that picture. Just remember that even though you have invented an item you will need raw materials to actually make the invention ''ITS ALIVE, ITS ALIVE!!''

Then we have the ride pod that is literally an over sized robot that you can tweak to you satisfaction. The ride pod or his real name Steve can be used in battle. He can be upgraded through inventions or by purchasing items off its original master Cedric. The best part about the ride pod is you can make it one lean mean fighting machine or one bulky slow crappy machine depending on your taste. You can make you ride pod into a motorcycle that zips around levels or you can make two rocket launchers for him if that is what you want. The possibilities are endless!

Dark Cloud 2 keeps it's dungeon crawl aspect of the game, some may be familiar with this from the first one. The only difference is that the dungeons are a lot larger and take a lot longer to navigate. There is plenty more detail added to each level and they also included various objects that can be used as a throwing weapon such as boxes and rocks. You are also given various goals for each level of the dungeon, once completed you will receive a medal. After receiving enough medals it will open up something special but I will let you find that out.

There was a complete overhaul to the weapons system. If there's one thing from the first one you hated I bet I can guess it was, the weapon system! Nothing like having a thirty-seven-hour sword break on you in the middle of combo. Well set your worries to rest because it has been abolished, well almost. Do your weapons still break? Yes, Do you lose them like in the first Dark Cloud? No the attack power stays at zero until it is repaired. Now your next question is probably what about the thirst meter? What thirst meter the only time in the game when you'll need water is when you eat to many breads, a banana, or a piece of cheese. So now that I have explained that you should feel more at ease about purchasing this title.

Remember all the wonderful times you had with the fishing mini game? Since everyone seemed to enjoy it, they brought it back. You just whip out the old fishing rod near any lake or river and let it fly. You get to cast further in this one and you are also given the option to zoom in on the bobber, which makes fishing so much easier. Level 5 also added another mini game called Spheda. Spheda is basically golf with a twist. Okay here goes, the golf ball is actually a piece of time that is lost from a time distortion on a level. Since you cannot touch this piece of time with your hand you must whack it with a stick. The object is to hit the piece of time it the time distortion, beware every time you hit the ball (piece of time) it changes color. There are only two colors red and blue. You need to make sure that the color of the ball is the opposite color of the time distortion; otherwise it will repel the ball. Sound simple? It's not but fun nonetheless!

Can we still create worlds from scratch? Sure you can! With Dark Clouds new and improved Georama system. Once you receive a machine it will allow you to customize towns like in the first one. The difference in this one is that you find geostones throughout dungeons and up load them in the computer system of the machine. Once it's been uploaded you must use raw materials to create houses, rivers, and other items that can be placed on the land. There are still certain goals that must be met in order to progress the game, so if you ever find yourself stuck try working on the Georama of a town and that may open the path for you.

Dark Cloud 2 is loaded with goodies to keep you entertained for hours. This game in my book is a definite picker upper! If you like the first you will love this one without a doubt since Level 5 gets rid of the bad stuff and loaded the heck out of it with lots of goodies! If you have never played the first one try renting to get feel for this, who knows you might like it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 03/05/03