Rider Game Review: Battride War 2

[RiderGaming]

Disclaimer: In the words of Jiraya, I don't speak Japanese. This review is not intended to give an in depth view of the game's story, writing etc. It only serves as my overall personal opinion on the game, and whether or not it's worth your time and money. I can't speak for the Wii U version of the game, this review covers the PS3 Version only.

With all that out of the way, onto the review.


RIDERGAMING REVIEWS: KAMEN RIDER BATTRIDE WAR 2

Battride War 2 is the sequel to the original Dynasty Warriors-esque PS3 exclusive, and the second in the newest series of yearly video games released alongside a Rider show. The addition of new characters as well as an extra drop of polish are very welcome, but are they enough to keep this game from stagnating?

Gameplay:
Battride War 2 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in effectively being a clone of Koei's popular Dynasty Warriors series. For the uninitiated, they're a series of games where the player takes on the role of a warrior on a battlefield, slicing their way through hordes of identikit enemy soldiers, fighting officers and bosses and generally trying to be the last man standing when the dust settles. The original Battride War took the basic principles of that series, simplified it a bit for the younger audience, and added a nice coat of Kamen Rider-themed paint. However, rather than being developed by Koei, Battride War was instead created by Eighting. The studio are very familiar with the property after having developed the Climax Heroes games since Decade, but they were unfamiliar with the different style of gameplay compared to that series and it showed in the lack of polish.

Thankfully, this game shows the developer finding its feet. While previously, the game was a mishmash of features awkwardly pasted over from other games in the same vein, Battride War 2 refines the formula and addresses a lot of the small niggles and issues that all added up in the first game and stopped it from truly becoming more than an average slog through enemies. The controls feel far more definite and precise. There's a cancel move that allows the player to keep a combo going for longer, and yet doesn't feel cheap thanks to the skill needed to use it precisely. Character movement feels smoother, giving the game a better sense of speed and helping the player feel powerful. And they should feel powerful, because one feature this series has that Dynasty Warriors and its offshoots don't, is the form change system. The majority of the game's playable characters have more than one form, as they do in the show, and the game allows players to seamlessly transform into each of them on the fly. Kuuga, for example, can go from being a long range sniper in Pegasus Form to a brutish tank in Titan form. This not only allows for the player to adapt their playstyle quickly to different situations, but is used in a few interesting ways. OOO, for example, starts off in his basic TaToBa form, and unlocks more transformations as he goes through the mission by defeating enemies and building up combos.

Despite the improvements over the previous game, BW2 does have numerous issues. Another unique feature of the game is the ability for the riders to call upon their motorcycles at any point during gameplay. This does allow for them to move around the stages quicker, but overall doesn't add too much to the game, save for a few stages in which the player character rides a horse or fights while riding the bike. It's more of a cute feature for the fans, with each Rider having their own bike from the show. And speaking of riders, while the number of playable characters has expanded to include Gaim and Baron (As well as Zangetsu through free DLC) there still aren't enough of them. Only Neo-Heisei era Secondary riders are playable (The first ten act as assist characters) And Showa Riders have been left out altogether. It's disappointing that so many of the Riders that actually appear in the game as bosses and assists aren't actually available to play as, considering that they clearly have full movesets during their fights.

The stages on which gameplay takes place, while perfectly adequate for this sort of game, don't really match up to what they're supposed to represent. The unique selling point of the game is that there are stages based on each Rider's movie, and while there are a few where the Story and Setting match (Such as Fourze's movie stage taking place on the moon) Most of them take place on the generic stages, of which there aren't enough to keep them from stagnating. You'll get very familiar with the Mountain, the Abandoned Warehouse district, The Forest, and the like, and it becomes quite a bore after a while.

Presentation and Content:
Battride War 2 is on Playstation 3, but it honestly doesn't look like it. The graphics can't be described with any word kinder than 'Trash.' Character models generally look well-made and polished for the most part, though some are a little weird (Several of the Rider's eyepieces in particular look like they aren't being rendered properly) However, the same can't be said for the environments. Many are just totally reused from the last game and haven't been improved graphically, with plenty of rough edges. There's some detail, but low-quality textures mean that the game just isn't all that great to look at. Thankfully it's not so much of a problem when the game is in motion, as the screen is usually crowded with special effects.

These visual effects, as well as the sounds that accompany them, are very much show-accurate, in some cases looking far improved over the show's cheap CG. However, the game's soundtrack is a different matter. When buying this game, try to get a hold of the Premium TV or Movie sound editions, as those have the soundtracks used in the show, which really add to the game. It genuinely feels like you're playing out scenes from the Rider movies with an awesome soundtrack playing in the background as it actually would in the movie or show. The Standard version has a generic sounding, repetitive soundtrack (Break the Shell is overused in the menus and such) though a custom soundtrack feature does allow for a workaround.

The game has a LOT of story mode stages, plus survival and extra stages, as well as those high ranks to grind for to unlock each of the large collection of figures (Stat-boosting enhancements in gameplay) so your inner completionist has plenty to go for and collect. The difficulty is unbalanced at first as you'll struggle to get any higher than a C-Rank, though unlocking higher difficulties allows you to use the score multipliers on them, encouraging the player to come back and complete the levels again on a higher difficulty.


Pros and Cons:

+Vast improvements over previous game
+Large amount of content keeps players coming back
+Form changes make for a diverse and unique mechanic
+Fanservice in the form of original voice actors reprising their roles

-Shoddy Graphical Presentation
-Not enough playable Characters
-Gameplay can become a boring slog over time
-Woefully small selection of gameplay environments


Final Verdict:
This is one for the fans. It's very difficult to recommend this game to anyone who isn't a hardcore follower of Kamen Rider, and even then, There are other games in the same vein that do this style of play better. If it's a good Dynasty Warriors game you want, Try 6 or 7, or one of the Pirate Warriors games. If you can pick one of the Premium Sound versions of the game up for cheap and save money on shipping, It does scratch an itch for Rider games that was previously only catered to by the likes of Super Climax Heroes. If you enjoyed the first, you'll like this one for sure.

Overall Score: 6.75/10

END TRANSMISSION

Well, that's my first review. Constructive feedback is appreciated, even if it just consists of telling me I'm a mental for thinking anyone would want to read this. I look forward to hearing your comments, as well as what you thought of the game!

[takenoko]

I didn't read most of it and skipped straight to the Final Verdict. But that speaks more to my ADD than anything lol.

I wouldn't even recommend the Premium Sound version. Just rip your own music and create a custom list.

I definitely wish I had some time to finish it off, but it's been half a year. Guess it really didn't hook me in, despite making some improvements over last year's iteration.