You've left out the fact that Deadra's hair is even better this time round.
http://www.wasder.net/zeno-clash-2-review/
Zeno Clash II Review
Game Emblems
The Good
The Bad
Some might call it strange, some might call it bizarre; I just call it a pretty damn good first-person adventure.
Just like its predecessor, Zeno Clash II is a mediocre first-person brawler memorable mainly for its psychedelic storytelling and art.
Combat goes too far in the other direction. Like the first Zeno Clash, this sequel is all about simplistically punching enemies in the face. Ghat and his buddies solve all of their problems by beating the crap out of all comers. It's somewhat unusual, taking the standard first-person shooter style and swapping out the usual collection of big guns for two fists, clubs, and the odd projectile weapon. When encountering freaks who want to rumble, you often go into a brief setup screen where you pick allies to help out, and then you wade into the fisticuffs. Punching and kicking are done with simple mouse clicks or gamepad button presses, and are augmented by a suite of combos that let you link attacks into fist-of-fury explosions. At least everything zips by quickly. While there is a fair bit of combat in the game, it's not incessant, and you never get bogged down in battles for long stretches of time, even when tackling hordes of goons.
More options have been added beyond your dukes, although they don't add up to much. Skull bombs are almost useless because they take forever to explode, leaving enemies with oodles of time to run away from the blasts. The new sun/moon gauntlet is pretty cool, in that you can use it to focus the energies of either celestial body (the game runs through a full day-night cycle) and then blast away at foes. It's great when taking on crowds, but it's tough to effectively use because you have to take your attention off foes and spend a few moments gazing skyward. This gives baddies a great free shot to pound you in the chops. Golem link lets you mirror attacks with linked foes to spread around the pain. This is the most useful of the new gimmicks, especially if you're taking on a small number of enemies or are near a cliff where you can knock two foes to their deaths with one punch.
Overall, though, the add-ons in Zeno Clash II don't improve the melee combat. It's almost always easiest to rely on your fists. Combos are straightforward and simplistic. You can get past a lot of enemies just by doing the old "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" thing. Moving quickly and peppering foes with rapid punches and powerhouse uppercuts are all you need a lot of the time, although some of the new combos--most notably the reverse kick that is prompted every time an enemy comes up behind you--can be useful in a pinch. Some of the more involved combos are tough to pull off, though, especially with a standard desktop mouse. Clicks are often ignored, and single clicks are translated into two or more, which makes some of the four- to five-move combos frustratingly difficult to complete.
Totems can be collected around the map to let you boost role-playing-game-style stats for strength, stamina, and leadership. This latter category is what governs how you can add friends to your punching parties, so you can enter brawls with a couple of pals to balance the odds. Punching alongside AI allies doesn't add much to the game, however. You discover new pals when exploring the maps, but your allies aren't bright enough to make a huge difference in battle except when it comes to distracting enemies in big gang brawls. To really benefit from fighting alongside an ally, you need to play cooperatively online with a fellow human brawler.
If you're looking for something different, or even really, really different, Zeno Clash II might just fit the bill. You won't find this sort of art design anywhere else except in the first game and on old psychedelic album covers from the '70s. But the gameplay remains a letdown, and the few refinements and changes don't build anything significant atop the original game's "Hulk smash!" mindset. This, plus the off-putting way that Zeno Clash II tosses you onto an ice floe in the middle of a sea of insanity, where you can't identify with the characters, understand the plot, or even figure out exactly what or where you are, makes it easier to appreciate the game's crazy attitude than to actually enjoy the act of playing it.
53 comments
1 Like "There is a good tutorial that walks you through combat, but it doesn't touch on anything else in the game" The tutorial includes background story information for the first game. It informs new players about your siblings and your adventure. It may not have been best to put this when you are trying to master combos, but it's there.
Very little is mentioned in this review about how the open areas improve combat. You won't be backed into a small space and need to beat people like the first game. I didn't really have problems with enemies punching my while using the gauntlet either. I think the tools are game changes, completely altering the combat approach. Linking enemies and doing twice the punch power is awesome. The first game was rather mediocre and the story is still problematic, but I think this game is much better than its predecessor.
1 Like Funny, I thought Gamespot liked games with no gameplay and no story, why else did one win game of the year last year? lmfao This should be a 10 out of 10 by Gamesport standards. smh
2 Like Simplistic melee combat? Dude, this is the most advanced first person melee combat I've seen so far. The only thing that comes close that I can recall is Breakdown.
There are even juggle combo's in this that require finesse to pull off.
The first one was actually pretty good and this looks to be more of the same. Really decent combat system, solid story and bananas visuals. I'll buy it when it's on sale mostly because I can't justify spending twenty dollars on a nine hour game. I mostly just play WRPG's to begin with so I rate length and depth.
2 Like @DrYnot I never quite understood the length argument as value. There are great games out there that are 6-12 hours in length. They value much more to me than dragged out mediocre 80 hour experiences.
If anything, I prefer shorter games. It gives me more time to play more different types of games. Sticking with one game for a long period of time gets tedious no matter how great it is.
I'd rather play 20 awesome games in a year than 4.
Wait, what? You've rated this game as "Mediocre"? Am I going crazy? From what I could tell from the review, this is anything BUT mediocre.
You have to have played the first game for the dialogue and plot of this one to make any sense. What is wrong with that? What???? This is a crazy game. A lot of people play this game for its crazy factor. It sounds as if they dislike the idea of a game based on craziness and dislike the series overall. I have not played number 2 yet, but if it even resembles number 1 then it will be a crazy blast; good, simple and bizarre in most moments, difficult and surprising in its best. Give them a shot if your looking for a different type of brawler or just a good crazy game.
Terrible review. I disagree in almost all fronts, and more specifically, the plot. While it is not spoon-fed, it gets explained and doesn't leave holes. The origin of the setting and its inhabitants is even discovered in a sidequest. This makes me believe the reviewer didn't put any effort and played the game with a closed mind.
4 Like WTF this game has some of the best first person melee combat out there.... and a cool art design.... and a budget price.
I have to say though, the art style had me intrigued. Gonna have to hear see some more reviews though.
2 Like Man from first glimpse at that thumbnail I thought that was a screen capture from Morrowind, then I looked a little more and realised their fists weren't squares.
3 Like "GOTY! 10/10!" - Hieronymus Bosch
"Inspiring!" - Salvadore Dali
"Hmmm..." - Everybody else.
1 Like @LE5LO I don't think they would have liked it either. Art is about more than interesting images.
5 Like I wouldn't consider the first game as "mediocre", it had a good reception (has a 77 avg on metacritic), just sayin'...
This one seems similar, but with better graphics and an open world setting.
@CursedCheetos Caveat: I've not played either Zeno Clash.
That said, this seems a similar issue to the Dead Island: Riptide review. The reviewer says it's basically the same as the first game, then docks it two points for no fully explained reason. If someone liked the first game (6.5 on GS in this case) they need to know why the sequel is 'worse'.
1 Like @maki206 You don't play Skyrim for the combat, you play it for...well, everything else. Fisticuffs seems to be all this game has. If it had a coherant plot and stronger RPG elements I would consider picking this up.
@e5115271 @maki206 Im going to assume it has a coherent plot, but you have to have played the first game. The clip in the video review that was supposed to show how nonsensical the plot is made complete sense to me soley because i played the first one. And the game is not an rpg. the rpg elements in it are just a spice, the game is about the first person brawling, bizarre setting and characters, and strange but specifically coherent plot.
5 Like Condemned 2 now that´s a game with really good first person beat-um-up mechanics...and aamazing atmosphere and sound design
Well I cant remember the combat being simplistic in the first one.. so I cant see how they could ahve messed it up for the second.. I thought the melee system was probally one of the best i have seen in an fps.. was hoping for more of the same.. might just wait until its on sale i guess.
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From what I am seeing it looks like this game is really trying to be like it is predecessor but oh well...
2 Like ugh this game looks so disgusting, the kind of thing that'd make you sick too look at.
@airboard360 @LazyGamerX There's nothing wrong with his comment. I could see a lot of people getting sick looking at the imagery in this game. It's really cool, but a lot of times, also really disgusting.
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Zeno Clash II
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- Publisher(s): ATLUS
- Developer(s): Ace Games
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Release:
- ESRB: T
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