Review No. 2 Kingdom Hearts 2 - PS2 (12+)

Strong Points:
Good storyline
Amazing characters
Good weapons
Brilliant Disney worlds
Minigames
Introduces Organization 13

Weak Points:
Some worlds are boring
Not as good storyline as Kingdom Hearts 1
No co-op mode

In-depth Review:

Release Dates:
Japan: December 22, 2005
North America: March 28, 2006
Australia: September 28, 2006
Europe: September 29, 2006

Controls:

Circle Button: jump        

Triangle Button: reaction command

Square Button: use an ability   

X button: attack

D-Pad: select a command           

L1: shortcut

L2: change function of R3

Left Analogue Stick: move the controllable character     

R1: target lock 

R2: fix camera/switch targets

R3: centre the camera  

Right Analogue Stick: move Camera

Start: main menu/pause/pause cutscene          

Select: first-person

Kingdom Hearts 2 is the sequel to Kingdom Hearts, a game which has filled the hearts of many. Now with sleeker graphics, improved controls and an amazing storyline, Kingdom Hearts 2 showed real promise. The worlds you go through (Twilight Town, Beast's Castle (Beauty and the Beast), Land of Dragons (Mulan), Olympus Coliseum, (Hercules), Disney Castle, Hollow Bastion, Space Paranoids (Tron), Port Royal (Pirates of the Caribbean), Atlantica (The Little Mermaid), Halloween Town (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Agrabah (Aladdin), Pride Lands (Lion King), The World That Never Was each have their own special characteristics like being a lion in Pride Lands and a musical extravaganza in Atlantica.

You play as Roxas in the first world which acts as an in-game tutorial teaching you the basics of the game. After the first world you play as Sora, the main character from the first game. The Gummi Ship travel has been simplified from the last game so that you only need to ride to the world once before you can warp there. The partners and magic are brilliant as always and the new enemies, the Nobodies, are a real challenge. The new enemy organisation is Organisation 13 who are trying to get enough hearts to get their own hearts back. I love Organisation 13 and love their contribution to the series.

There are a few problems however with the Coliseum getting rid of the tournaments and the Gummi ship travel isn't as fun as the old game. I also, personally, don't think the story is as good.

Conclusion: this game is amazing. Buy it. Just buy it. I can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Rating: 96%

Thanks for reading, Satamer.