"Thumbs-up!"

Introduction
Dark Cloud 2 - Thumbs-up!

Dark Cloud 2 is probably one of the best Action/RPG that is not produced by Square or Capcom. Instead, a low profile but potential-filled designer company Level-5 did the job and it proved to be an eye-opening game. DC2 has a steady balance between the goods and the bads, but most of them are fun stuffs. Flaws are almost non-existence, and pros are flooding the game. This is definitely one of those games that you must get your hands on it no matter what! And you will never regret it for a lifetime.

Dark Cloud 2, the latest of the series improves the game in many ways. It changes the battle system, the weapon management and the majority of the Georama system. Also, since it's on the Playstation 2, it features excellent voice acting for majority of the characters. Add in some major replay elements, and you get one of the most astounding games of all time for the PS2.

Just going with the flow...
Recent big games like BOFV have inherited the usage of cel-shading graphics. Most of those games whom done that had incredible graphics, and Dark Cloud 2 is no exception. Introducing flawless astonishing pictures of the world, DC2 will never fail to absorb your senses into this wonderful world of adventure. Each and every character is drawn out in high detail, and the surroundings and backgrounds are pleasant to the eyes. Monsters have significant looks, and the weapons are awesome as well. What's there to say? This game is probably the best of the cel-shading families. I'm pretty sure cel-shading will overtake normal graphics, as games with it are really taking over the graphical industry now!

Flawless, multiple innovative features.
So, you basically start off with this dude named Maximilian, Max for short. He wields a Wrench that could upgrade through synthesizing. What's that? It's DC2 enhanced and interesting method of leveling up. Every traditional RPG would be, 'Fight, collect EXP, level up, gain stats.'' However, DC2 introduces something different. By collecting many different items, you can turn them into Synth Spheres and combine them with your original weapons to evolve them with enhanced abilities! This process is called Spectrumizing, and is a really cool word too! Basically, you grab something, which can be spectrumized, and you'll be informed with its usage and abilities and all that. When you're done, just spectrumize it in order to turn it into a Synth Sphere. When that's done, all you gotta do now is to synthesis it with the weapon of your choice. However, there are certain restrictions like the Synthesis points, but that would be covered in further details when you purchase this game.

Furthermore, you get 5 character slots now. When you get to a certain part of the game, 4 of the character slots are definitely going to be taken up. Max and the swordswoman, Monica, would take two of them up. Max's oversized metallic pal, the Ridepod, also known as Steve, would use another one. The other empty slot would be taken up by Monica's unique ability called the Monster Transformation. And of course, last but not least, the support character of your choice would use the final one. Its entirely optional, but you would be a complete nut if you do that! The Ridepod is invented by Cedric, your local mechanic. A small portion was done by Max, who fixed the fuel. The Ridepod will serve you as a really important character in the game! It has enhanced power and supreme strength. Also, Steve could be the only one in the game that has the ability to carry ballistics. Furthermore, it has got to be the best partner when battling head-to-head with another machine. Monica's special ability is of course, transforming to another monster of your choice. But, you'll first have to run some errands in order to acquire this special Beast coin. A Beast coin has the monster's name engraved on it, and this will enable you to transform into that particular monster. Each monster starts off as a pathetic weak fry, but over time to time, it gains experience and grows into different varieties of monster. Just like your weapons, you can choose which one you want to turn them into!

Not to forget, Max has another talent in inventing things. This is harder than it looks, so bear with me as I explain the basic procedure. When the time comes, Cedric will offer you his camera. Rejoice! For this would be your single item that brings you a lot of fun. It enables you to take pictures, like duh, but some pictures have a light bulb beside their names! When this happens, it means that you managed to snap an idea-photo! Be sure to save it in your photo book before deleting it, or else it would be gone forever. When you have collect enough photos, its time to play some thinking games. Think which items will link with one another, and then choose them and see whether Max can figure out any item, which he could invent. If you managed to get one, good for you! Its time to search for the materials, which could be bought either from Conda or from the Item shop. Ta-dah! DC2 sure provides you with excellent features, so what are you waiting for? But wait! There's more!

Guy meets girl, whole trouble begins.
The story is really basic. A guy meets a girl from the future, and they set off to kill the biggest baddy, Griffon. Along the way, you'll definitely meet up with problems like all traditional RPGs do. But of course, I won't be saying much, if not it would be spoiling for you. Just get the game, you'll never regret it.

Well, on second thought, I'll fill you in a bit. So, you take the role of a tech-whizzed kid named Max that lives in Palm Brinks. Apparently, he owns a pretty odd red jewel that is hung around his neck. That particular jewel is the reason why you're chased down by a wonky circus troupe. Never mind that, you'll dispose of them sooner or later. Along the way while you are trying to get outta Palm Brinks, Max will meet up with a girl, which comes from 100 years in the future. Her name is Monica, and that's she's your swordswoman. From there onwards, you would be introduced to the interesting Georama system, which I will be explaining later on in the review.

Play a mayor at the same time!
Another trademark feature of the DC series is its Georama system! With this, you would be able to rebuild towns! To sum it all up in a couple of sentences, it's the feature that enables you to construct a town of to your likings from scratch. You have a huge assortment of buildings, accessories, trees and many items to construct! However, this doesn't come in a package. You gotta search or buy for your items and then build them up according to the requirements. In addition to that, you will have to find these little pesky fiery stone called the Geostone. It supposedly contains the knowledge of the future in which the revolutionary machine, the Carpenterion can absorb the knowledge and thus enabling you to construct more advanced structures. When you reached a certain percentage, the story will continue. Combine this with DC2's excellent graphics, and you get another sorta mini-game. The purpose of building houses is of course, to move people in! You can enter their houses and explore, feel what it is like to live in your own city. The tradeoff? This isn't a city-building game at all! Yeah, it sounds weird. But its totally fun, so who really bothers about all that?

Dark Cloud 2, feat Kingdom Hearts?
What DC2 has in store for you is the randomizing areas, which is what we gamers call it, the ''dungeons''. Dungeons are areas that are specifically created for battles, and they are always randomized in DC2. This does increase the replay factor, but it does get a bit irritating sometimes. Each dungeon contains a pack of monsters for you to fight with, and you do get medals for completing some tougher objectives. To get out of a dungeon floor, you'll need to find the Gate Key. Each key looks different depending on the area you're in, so don't get them messed up. While you are hacking and slashing the enemies into small measly pieces, your current equipped weapons are going through two processes, gaining experience, and wearing.

For each monster you kill, you earn a certain amount of ABS, which looks like small blue balls of energy called Magic Grains. When you gain a certain amount of them, your particular weapon levels up and gains more synthesis points. That's cool, but whenever there's an up, there's always a down. For almost every hit the weapon executes, it wears a bit. This is represented by the WHP bar. If it hits zero, your weapon breaks. It doesn't disappear into thin air, but you won't be able to deal damage to the enemies and you'll lose a certain amount of ABS. To prevent this, always take note of the WHP amount and repair it when it drops low.

The battle system is much different from many RPGs. It doesn't have the turn-based system, but a totally different one. It plays much like an action game, which I call it the real-time system. Luckily, both of the characters are equally adept in their specialized weapons. As I mentioned before, Max utilizes his handy dandy wrench and pistol. Whereas Monica wields her dangerous-looking sword and her long-ranged magical armband. The Ridepod and the Monster Transformation are always behind them as backup support. Everything fits in properly, making DC2's battling a pleasing thing to do.

Voice-acting deserves special mention.
Dark Cloud 2 is simply a masterpiece. Being graphically flawless, having gameplay at its best, and now, audio and sounds at the exact perfection. Majority of the main characters have voice acting, and their dialogue displays the standards of the best. The game has a huge array of music in them, and you will never really hear the same tune over and over again unless of course, you're in a dungeon.

Time to hit the sack.
And well, this is certainly one of the longest review I ever wrote. Level-5 has created one of the best Action games that I had seen till date. Probably the game of the year? We shall see. But for now, Dark Cloud 2 will never fail to impress action games lovers for a long time to come. And with that, I end this review with a thumbs-up towards Dark Cloud 2.

Summary of the Pros and Cons
+ Excellent graphics
+ Innovative mini-games
- Too many Pros to list

Buy Or Rent: BUY
With so many new features, there's no reason to pass this one. You definitely must get this game, no matter what. Whether you're an action-game lover, or a RPG lover, this is your game.

Results
Gameplay: 10/10
Introducing a ton of features, Dark Cloud 2 will never bore you.
Graphics: 10/10
Cel-shading has really started to become a trend nowadays, for a good reason too.
Audio: 10/10
Dark Cloud 2 displays audio capabilities far beyond my imagination.
Story: 9/10
Probably one of the weakest link in the game, but it scores a perfect 9. The irony...
Replayability: 10/10
With the Georama system, mini-games, what's your reason to leave it in the shelves?

+Final Results+
10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/03, Updated 04/24/03