Double Dragon 2
Reviewed by Brian Mulholland
Double Dragon 1 was such a great game that an attempt to meet the promise
was inevitable. This game fails to live up to such gaudy expectations, but
it's certainly not a bad game. In fact given how bad some of Nintendo's
sequel games were Dragon 2 deserves legitimate praise for at least
being playable and enjoyable.
Graphics 7.5 out of 10
Double Dragon one was so great for it's day graphics wise that it's pretty
clear the designers of Double Dragon 2 felt pressure to outdo themselves
and managed to fall into the same trap that inevitably claims games that
put to much weight on graphics...the game screen is frequently over crowded,
the inanimate objects look laughably unreal, and often things that are not
on line with you strike you despite the fact that the first dragon was so
good at such things. It's not that the enemies aren't detailed or don't move
well just that the programmers ran amuck on graphics and lost the 'feel' of
the original.
Music and Sound 7.5 out of 10
Like Double Dragon, Double Dragon 2 has decent music, but unlike the
original many of the tunes in Double Dragon 2 cross that thin line between
good music that gets you into the game and music that distracts you from
it. The effects in Double Dragon 2 are somewhat better than from the first
game. Metal actually sounds like metal, but the game uses a lot of weird
noises where simple effects would have been better than the attempt to
sound special came off.
Game Challenge 9 out of 10
This game is a lot like the first one in difficulty. You should have few
problems wading through the bad guys...in fact the only time the enemies
themselves are a threat is at the very end and just before the helicopter
when a pair of very fast enemies can be hard to take down when they double
team you. But like the first one most of the challenge comes from spikes
and other instant deaths. There's a particularly lethal series of jumps
involving spikes, disappearing platforms, gears, and such that you can
breeze through with practice but which can just as easily be insurmountable.
This game like the first is probably to short.
Game Play-Fun 7 out of 10
Double Dragon 2 is reasonably fun, particularly in tandem mode where you
can play with a buddy this game can be quite entertaining. But the weaker
player will hit spots where they die out losing multiple lives in a matter
of moments because they cannot traverse an obstacle. Also the game doesn't
offer the same thrills the original did choosing instead to hit you with gimmicks.
Frustration
The frustration of this game can be exasperating. None of the obstacles are
unbeatable, but that many instant death spots naturally means a lot of players
will get stuck, and get angry.
Replayability 7 out of 10
This is not a super-addictive game, but like the original you can play it
intermittently and have a good time. It's also nice that it's a tandem game
since playing together was something not enough NES games permitted.
Overall 7.5 out of 10
Overall this is a good game. Solid graphics in most respects, good sound...usually,
and decent gameplay...kind of. There are some weaknesses but it's a better
than average game that I look upon more harshly because of the name on the
cover. If it wasn't a sequel, but instead was a stand alone game it would be
worth some praise.