Alundra 2

"A huge dissapointment"

When I picked up Alundra 2 I thought it would be good due to the fact that the first one was great. But I was quite dissapointed in this one. It's not really a sequal at all, it's simply the story of a guy named Flint that hunts pirates, but you don't end up fighting pirates at all.

Gameplay - 3

The gameplay is far to similar to Zelda (not like that's a bad thing), but it mimics the Zelda gameplay far too much. Most of the puzzles are extremley hard, and a puzzle near the end is so hard it will take a long time, at least 2 hours. Learning skills can be far too childish due to the fact you need to tell someone about toilets to gain a sword skill. Sword combos can be obtained by collecting puzzle pieces and that is the only fun part of the gameplay. The tons of minigames are either well-hidden or extremely obvious. The more hidden a mini-game is the better it is.

Story - 1

There really isn't any storyline at all. You play as a pirate hunter, but you don't end up fighting any pirates at all. Most of the story is made up by completing puzzles and huge dungeons with a nearly impossible to beat boss at the end.

Audio - 5

The music is boring, there is almost no rhythem to the soundtrack and is mostly an array od sound effects put together to sound like a song.

Voice acting - 8

The voice acting is quite possibly the only good aspect of Alundra 2. There is only about 30 minutes of voice, but it's all done well.

Video - 6

The graphics are what you would expect from a Playstation game; 3D areas with a huge amount of colors.

Controls - 3

The camera angle switches to horrible positions every 3 to 4 seconds so you will see yourself holding the R and L button quite often. The sword attacks and jumping are nicley done, but throwing objects can be difficult due to the way the power of your throw varies constantly.

Replayability - 0

Whatever you do, never replay Alundra 2. The difficult puzzles will most likely stop you from finishing the game. Alundra 2 should only be replayed if you are a huge fan of the series.

Buy or rent

I don't reccomend touching Alundra 2. It's not worth the disk it's been burned on. Renting is a choice only if you have a spare $5, if you are looking for a good game, this is not one.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/03, Updated 07/10/03