Recently Infogames brought us one of the best Dragon Ball Z videogames I've ever played in the form of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. Budokai brought us a simple fighting game that was wrapped in an excellent package. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 is more of the same, but the package isn't as appealing.

For those who didn't play DBZ: Budokai, it was a simple fighter whose biggest flaw was that every character seemed just about identical. Unfortunately DBZ: Budokai 2 didn't make any massive strides in improving that area of gameplay. In fact the fighting just didn't feel as polished as it did in the first game. The few improvements that were made took away from the overall experience.

Graphically I enjoyed the cell-shaded graphics. It helped bring the game closer to its anime origins. Unfortunately I didn't notice any extra pixels, and the levels felt a great deal like the ones from the first Budokai.

Atari also made some tweaks to the story mode. First off they took away the seamless cut scene to gameplay that I enjoyed so much about the first game, and replaced it with something reminiscent of a board game. You control your selected character around a board. Your character even looks a little like a game-piece. This does add a little to the strategy, but really doesn't improve gameplay at all. If anything it gets in the way of the fighting.

When it comes down to it, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 doesn't feel as polished as its predecessor, and for me it wasn't as much fun either. If you are a fan of everything DBZ then check it out and have some fun with your favorite Z fighter. If you're not the biggest DBZ fan, I would suggest trying the first Budokai before you try this one.