Point Blank 2 has plenty of new content that's worth entering this Theme Park for.
Game Title: Point Blank 2
Platform: PlayStation
Developer: Namco Limited
Publisher: Namco Limited
Genre: Light Gun Shooter
Age Rating: ELSPA: 3+, ESRB: T for Teen
Release Date: 08/06/98 (Japan), 04/30/99 (America), 09/01/99 (Europe)
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Game Score: 8.0/10
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Summery:
Point Blank 2 has plenty of new content that's worth entering this Theme Park for.
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Point Blank 2 launched in the arcades in Japan as GunBarl just after the original game got Home console ported and after a while the wacky Light Gun sequel makes it's way onto the PlayStation platform with G-Con 45 compatibility, 70 new minigame style stages and new content for it's console release.
Point Blank 2 has a Theme Park setting to it and like the original game I talked about it's a Light Gun Shooter where your goal is to shoot the required targets in order to qualify otherwise failing to qualify takes a life away as well as shooting forbidden targets like Bombs, cardboard civilians, other players target colour and so on. The best way to play is to successfully complete each task in the game and earn the highest amount of points possible. Each stage in the game is varied between Black and White and coloured stages, Criminal Stages, Grouping Stages, Rapid Fire Stages, Defense Stages where you need to protect Dr Dan and Dr Don, Single-Shot Stages where you need to take a target with one shot, Animal Target Stages which means no cruelty to defenceless animals, Brain Teasers and other stages like a stage from Namco's Arcade game Galaga, firing off some Fireworks and taking on Cardboard Ninjas. These stages are enjoyable and provide a challenge except that some can be a bit frustrating to beat like one of them has a Spot the Difference style level where the screen is scrolling so unless you're mastered Spot the difference you're going to end up failing so hard since any error takes a life away. It was one of my most hated levels in the game.
Point Blank 2 has the Point Blank Castle where the game features the Arcade Mode where you can pick from 4 difficulty settings from Practice to the extremely hard Insane stages. Beginner and above play for 16 random stages that the game picks out before you have a bonus stage and eventually the final stage where you need to shoot down 21 fireworks within 5 seconds. When completing the game you are ranked in which the game will tell you to play the harder difficulties to maybe play the Beginner stages. While the Arcade mode lasts for about 15 minutes you'll get different levels upon playing again. One thing to mention is that some levels from the Arcade version of the game are missing which is rather odd so if any of those stages were your favourite then that's a downside.
There's also the Versus Mode where you can compete with another player to see who can get the Highest Score through 16 Stages on any difficulty and the Endurance Mode where both players compete to see who can go up the highest from the stage order, both are fun but better with a friend who can join anytime by plugging in another controller.
Speaking of controllers the game is compatible with the G-Con 45 as well as the standard controller but using the G-Con 45 is better for it's accuracy, even against Third party Light Gun Controllers which has the G-Con mode on them. Using a controller makes the game difficult cause of the slow crosshair. You can change the button layout and also increase the hit size to help make the game easier to play.
Back to the game modes, the game has the party modes which are best played with 2-4 players but the plus side is that you only need one controller, that is you wish for both players to play separately. The party mode consists of Tournament Mode where 2-4 players compete in 4 random minigames to see who can get the highest score to beat the other player before making it to the top. Team Battle is where up to 8 players battle in 2 teams of 4 players and the players have to get the highest score to defeat their opponent. Lastly you have Turf War which is the best of the party games where up to 4 players have to take control of the amount of tiles in the game. To do this shoot one tile and complete a challenge and get a high score before your opponent. These minigames are enjoyable but you'll have a lot of fun with the Turf War game.
There's also the Training Mode that you chose which level you want to practice your skills on and finally there's the Theme Park Mode where the game discards the RPG style of it's predecessor and instead goes for a more straight forward story with it's own minigame attractions. In the story the King's Princess goes missing and it's up to you (the Hero) to go and find her. You chose from 4 attractions to play from with each having it's own theme to play. Cosmic Dive where you're in space shooting aliens and Galagas, Haunted House where you got to navigate through a dark maze, Abyss Tours where you're under the sea where you need to navigate through rings and Super Bullet Train where you shoot down Black and White targets and get the highest amount possible. Along the way you need to pickup Life points to keep playing and also you'll a challenge stage at the end. You'll earn powerups which you can use for your next attraction which comes in 5 different powerups but the last one is nearly impossible to get. These are Shotgun, Bazooka, Machine gun to a Super Machine Gun. Upon completion you'll also get a clue as to how you'll be able to find the Princess and when you get the right clues you'll unlock the last minigame called Cosmo Gang which is Point Blank's version of Namco's arcade game of the same name before you use the clues to decide who is the real princess. The minigames are fun but the downside is that the storymode is over in about 20 minutes which is rather disappointing.
The graphics in Point Blank 2 are less different from the original with it's sprite animations, cardboard and glass targets, decent explosion effects and a small screen resolution during a challenge stage. The soundtrack is nice with it's nice techno and catchy beats and the sound effects are cool.
If you're looking to get the best of content in the Light Gun games then Point Blank 2 has plenty of new content that's worth entering this Theme Park for. The stages are challenging and the party games are just crazy fun, especially when the loser gets very humorous penalties for losing. The only issue I had with this game is when I ran this on my PS2 some of the text does not show properly. If you enjoyed the original then you've got yourself a nice ticket with the sequel aspecially the deal you can get the and also the gun together.
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The Good Points:
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1. The 70 stages are challenging, enjoyable and have plenty of variety.
2. Party modes including Turf Wars are just plain fun
3. Cosmo Gang and Galaga themed stages
4. Loads of content for a Light Gun Game
The Bad Points:
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1. Some stages can be frustrating and some from the Arcade version are removed
2. Theme Park Mode is very brief
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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