Another year, another video game foray into Dragon Ball.
The first good thing about this game, in my opinion, is the roster. I've seen a lot of complaints and forum topics comparing it to the huge roster of Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and saying that it's a disappointing step backwards, but I have to disagree. There's no need for such a large roster and there's no need to have characters (even though it is kind of funny...) such as Yajirobe, Master Roshi, etc. included in a roster of super elite fighters.
The gameplay of the game is very similar to the Budokai Tenkaichi series, which the game is obviously a kind of pseudo-sequel to, with a few new techniques here and there.
The graphics are pretty well done. I imagine they could have been done a bit better, but not by much.
The sound effects/music are fair to middle, on par with just about any other Dragon Ball game out there. Catchy rock rifts and the same voices we've been listening to since the days of the anime... By no means great, but not bad, either.
The presentation is good, the menus are now actually animated instead of being fancy text accompanied by an animated GIF-type image.
THE BAD:
The weakness of most of the Dragon Ball games out there returns to haunt this latest installment as well: the speed. While having the action move as fast as a fight in the anime is cool and adds to feeling of playing out an episode of the show, it also tends to get frustrating, at least for me, because there are a ton of cool little combos and ways to punish your opponent, but by the time you process the thought of how to do it and when to do it, the window of opportunity has passed and you find yourself being pummeled by the opponent. Which brings up defense. As with the Budokai Tenkaichi series, the action moves so fast and the defense moves require such precise timing, you often find yourself smashing the defense button in frustration hoping something will happen.
The difficulty is falling into the rut that most games seem to have nowadays... easy is either way too easy or is the new normal and normal is hard, and hard is extreme (and so on, and so on...). This becomes problematic for a casual gamer who's looking for the middle ground to be challenged just enough, but not so much that he has to devote several hours of practice to become a master.
THE UGLY:
The new health/ki meter is way too small and subtle. Although it looks neat, it isn't practical. It's easy to forget about and by the time you do remember to check it, it's usually too late.
The camera is also a little quirky. It does some odd things, especially if you're trapped in a corner or your opponent is floating directly above or below you. Luckily, though, you can usually correct this by simply changing the angle by tapping either left or right on the D-pad or performing a simple, but useful, move called a 'Homing Dash'.
The game overall is fair. It's almost like a remake of any one of the Budokai Tenkaichi games, following what's becoming the standard operation procedure of sequels; take the previous game and slap on a nice, new, shiny coat of paint and add a couple new features and changes to gameplay.