Fuzion Frenzy 2

"An experience that does not last very long."

Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a party game that offers you the choice of several mini-games to try and successfully complete. During your course you'll always be confronted by the host of the "game show" - an annoying and repetitive character that you'll sure want to skip past once you've heard his voice. It's great that you can skip him on single player but if you ever play any online modes you will not be able to skip. At first he can prove helpful but after a while he'll start repeating himself like you just don't understand him.

You have a choice of several characters that each have their own quotes to say. It doesn't matter which one you choose - they are all equal to each other. Now, thing is, you have to play through a tournament with each of these characters to unlock the achievements. Having said achievements, I would say there isn't much variety in them at all because for a good selection of those, you are just playing through the game with a different character. So, once you get the hang of winning tournaments you should breeze through many of the achievements.

There are several different worlds themed around a particular environment. Some planets contain some challenging mini-games whilst others like Earth are easy to do. The mini-games have at least some variety - a few mini-games require you to press the right buttons at the right time and others require you to mash those buttons like there is no tomorrow. Most of the mini-games let you move your character around - usually with the left thumbstick. So, you can then run around whilst tapping X to hopefully beat up your opponent like you are in a wrestling ring. They can be quite fun but once you've mastered them on single player I think your only option left is to play with some friends (since it's a party game after all). There will be some that let you control balls, machines and such - where some will just be so annoying and others will be somewhat fun. Many of the mini-games available require you to be quick and accurate. If you're not good enough the opponents will easily get straight past you. However, if you think you're really good at the mini-games then of course the CPU difficulty can be set higher making it a more challenging (and often frustrating) experience. Remember, Fuzion Frenzy 2 is simple to do since it usually only requires you to use only a small selection of buttons. These are explained to you just before the mini-game begins. Each mini-game also lets you practice it if you want to make sure you're good on the single-player mode.

You'll have a selection of modes available. One lets you go into a tournament by yourself of with some friends. Playing with different characters will earn you new mini-games to unlock. During the course of a tournament you will have these playing cards that give your score a boost. There may be a multiplier card that doubles or even quadruples your score. However, other cards may affect your use of the current card. You'll get to choose how many planets you want to go on but I stuck to the minimum of two planets. It can go on for many painful hours if more planets are selected. I'd rather just play through two planets and get it done in around 20-30 minutes. If you just don't feel like playing through a tournament then you can jump right in and choose only your favourite mini-games. With the addition of online multiplayer you are never at a loss of playing against someone real. It's pretty much similar to the single-player modes. Tournaments can be played and you can choose a mode that lets you put in only the mini-games you choose. The online experience proves good and there isn't lag; something you would not expect in this type of game. However, if the other player has not proceeded through the menus you may occasionally see a loading screen pop-up.

Graphics-wise it proves to be okay for a party game. The environments around you look pretty and lively. Characters are sharp but could of done with a bit of improvement. The host of the game who you will regularly bump into looks like he could of done with a major improvement though. His commentary never seems to match up with his lips. That's something I instantly noticed when I first played through Fuzion Frenzy 2. As for sound, you are going to have to put up with the ever-so slightly annoying voice of his. Characters will often recycle the same lines at the end of mini-games and well, really there isn't too much variety in what these characters say.

If you're looking for a game to blast right through then Fuzion Frenzy 2 is your friend. It's something you may just want to try out with a few friends every now and then when you get bored or for the rather quick and easy achievements. The only "difficult" achievements would be the online ones. However, finding a friend can easily get these done and dusted for you. Fuzion Frenzy 2 lasts for a few hours but it's not something that I would want to play on a regular basis.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/07