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- Developer:Bandai Namco
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Genre: Fighting
- Release Date: 28/10/2016
- Platforms: Xbox One, Playstation 4, Steam
- Game Supplied by: Bandai Namco
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Anime culture is getting bigger year on year and is beginning to influence a lot of gamers who want to see these franchises in the form of Video Games. Dragonball Z is probably one of the more popular series to come out of Japan.
DragonBall Xenoverse 2 expands on the original game providing a bigger interactive hub in Conton City. It offers a mix of single player as well as Multiplayer game modes, this also offers more areas of exploration than before, and because of this a larger area, your movement around the city is quicker which is made possible with your own hoverboard, sounds cool right? but it takes a bit of time to master.
As with any Dragonball game you take the role of a Time Patroller which means you will assist some familiar characters from the series such as Gohan, Piccolo and Krillen, as you battle it out with renowned bad guys in the form of the Ginyu Force, Raditz and Frieza to restore the timeline. Even though some of these characters provide some decent dialogue within the game and during cut scenes, due to large amount of characters scattered around Conton city their are some encounters where you will be lucky to get a word out of some of the generic NPCs.
Dragonball Xenoverse 2 offers a lot in the way of character customisation from the start you can customise your appearance from 5 races such as Human, Sian etc, your characters looks such as hair, face and body can all be customised but to create your ideal fighter you can customise your character’s clothing, skills as well as your special & super moves can be changed to provide maximum damage during battle.
Dragonball Xenoverse 2 does expand on the original as your character from the original is incorporated into the game as the town hero from Toki Toki City and does appear throughout the game.
The game itself offers a single player story mode called the Time Patrol which structures missions into multiple parts with an easy difficulty to start off with, right through to the final stage which is far more difficult. However for me the missions looked and played far too similar to the first game which felt a bit disappointing as there wasn’t anything distinguishably different.
For me, it was the Parallel Quests that had the most to offer, as this is something Destiny players will be able to associate with, as these quests are all about defeating enemies within a certain time. You can acquire rare items, but also if you are quick you can acquire a rare Dragonball, which you will have to collect 7 in total. In this mode you can select from over 60 characters and create a squad of three or go solo for a bigger challenge, this is a nice little side quest that players can try to complete, and even though its was enjoyable to play it does get a bit repetitive after a while, but with more areas to explore than in the previous game there are some nice side quests away from the main story to keep you entertained. These side quests can be replayed if you fail but will result in you having to do a retrieval side quest to collect more dragon balls.
Dragonball offers online missions as well, where you can join with up to 6 players to complete various quests or one on one fights in various arenas. Dragonball Xenoverse is primarily a fighting game with some RPG elements intertwined into the game.
The fighting mechanics of DBX2 consist of two basic attacks which use a standard two button approach combining light and heavy attacks which allow you to pull off some outstanding and varied combo attacks, plus the ability to change your skills around it can give you maximum damage during battles, this also allows for some fast paced fighting action on the ground or in mid air due to the unrestricted movement.
Another feature of DBX2 is the ability to learn new moves through instructors, these battles help you learn specific power attacks and gaining certain items which can improve your attacks or defence. Also Elder Kai and the Advancement Test Desk Droid within the Orange Star school grounds will give you challenges to complete to increase your character’s level.
It’s not all fighting in DBX2 as the shops of Conton city provide a chance to replenish items used in battle, these items can be purchased using in game money called Zeni but also you can purchase certain items such as skills with TP Medals. These items can be extremely helpful during fights but can also be used to trade with certain NPC’s for rarer items. These shops can also be used to create and craft items through a process of mixing, this is great if you need a specific item to trade.
Graphics of DBX2 have improved slightly over the original game, yes they still have that authentic Anime look based on the cartoon series, but to the naked eye everything looks more sharper and feels solid with a very vibrant use of colour in the environments but also on the game’s characters. To some gamers it might look almost similar to the first game but you have to take a closer look at the finer detail to notice the changes, as DBX2 has a more polished presentation than before with little touches such as additional cutscenes prior to battles and throughout the game.
One of the downsides to the game is a maximum limit of 3 hours in multiplayer lobby which kicks you out once you reach this limit.
SUMMARY
Dragonball Xenoverse 2 is an improvement with some sharper detail in the graphics, and even though aspects of the game are true to the anime series the game felt far too similar to the original even with the large amount of missions on offer and some extra features does not make the game that distinctly different.
Overall I felt it was a decent game which is presented extremely well with plenty of character customisation and side quests, but overall I felt it would appeal to a more younger group of gamers with its cute and overacting characters..
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