MediEvil II

"Sir Fortesque saves the world again"

Intro:
Those who played the first game will have a better understanding of
this game as they are directly related in terms of story and general
game concept. Now for a little background for those who never played
the first MediEvil. In 1386 in the land of Gallowmere a wizard named
Zarok was trying to take over the land. In an attempt to stop him
the people of Gallowmere rose up and took arms against him. This is
where Sir Dan Fortesque comes into the story he was killed in the
very first battle (shot in the eye buy an arrow). The gods felt pity
on him and decided to give him a second chance to redeem himself thus
begins the first MediEvil. In the end Sir Dan overcomes Zarok and
comes out victorious. MediEvil II takes place 500yrs latter in London
and as you know a lot of things can happen in 500yrs. Sir Dan has been
moved into a museum and is now on display and parts of Zarok's spell
book are in the hands of the museum's curator Lord Palethorn. Well
Lord Palethorn begins messing around with the spells and brings all the
people in London back from the dead (including Sir Dan). Out of greed
and the want of respect Palethorn plans on taking over the world with
his new found powers. Fortesque being the Do-gooder that he is cannot
allow this hence MediEvil II begins.

Controls: 8/10
The Controls in this game are smooth and easy to use. While some may
not like the button combination feature I found them helpful if not vital.
The Analog was a bit difficult to use at first but it becomes second
nature after an hour or so.

Graphics: 10/10
I can't think of a playstation game with better 3-D graphics then this.
They are very colorful and yet at the same time atmospheric. There are
times when the frames shake but it does not happen often. Over all they
are a big improvement over the first game.

Camera and Game Engine: 7/10
Wow the Camera can be funky some times. The fixed camera angles make
jumping a pain sometimes but I've seen much worse cameras then this.
Sometimes though I could have screamed when I set the camera only to
have it change back to ''it's position'' in mid jump. Now the Game Engine
could have also used a little work before the final release. This being
a later generationed PSX game it should not have ''frame tripping''
(you know what I'm talking about when the screen shakes) problems. I
don't remember MediEvil having this problem but I could be wrong. Also
As some points in the game is slows down but It's hardly noticeable.
Over all with these small problems in both the Camera and Game Engine
I can say I've seen much worse.

Sound/Sound Effects/Voice: 9/10
The music is great. You probably won't remember the tunes when your not
playing the game but they fit the game very well and are not annoying.
The sound effects are also great. Everything from your WahBang to Ping
is included in this game. One thing that I really enjoyed about this
game was the voice actors. They did a super job my only complaint is
why did the change Sir Dan's voice I liked it better in the first game.

Game Play: 9/10
MediEvil II is packed with clever puzzles throughout the game. I like
to hack and slash more then I like to think in these kinds of games but
I enjoyed how they balanced the two out in this game. The game also has
cut scenes to help move the story along. The gameplay is pretty decent
in this game.

Summary and Personal thoughts:
MidiEvil II is the best over all 3-D platform to hit the PSX so far. It
is one sharp game that will keep you playing for hours. Well MediEvil II
may have Medievil beat in many ways if I had to choose between the two
I would take the original. Not that MediEvil II is not a good game I
just enjoyed the first more. buy them both, they are worth the money.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/00, Updated 05/27/00