Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 Hands-On

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 is the sequel to last year’s Raging Blast. This installment is also developed by Spike and published by Namco Bandai. Players once again take control of the Z Fighters, along with various villains from the Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT series.

The controls are similar to those in the previous game, with the right shoulder and bumpers controlling flight and the face buttons controlling most basic attacks. The fight may start on the ground, but it can be taken to the sky or deep underwater. The fast-paced action started on Namek near Bulma’s spacecraft but quickly ended at the bottom of a lake.

Among the new characters featured are Turles, Dabura, and Janemba. Turles is a comboer’s dream, able to easily score a 24-hit combo with only a few button presses. Janemba wields a sword, and while slower, he makes up for it with power. Dabura also relies on blades but is nicely balanced among power and speed. Many players, however, will prefer the familiarity of fan favorites such as Goku and Krillin. The latter is especially brutal at dispatching slow heavy hitters, such as Cell or Janemba.

Graphically the sequel remains the same as its predecessor. The anime textures and lighting feel at home with Akira Toriyama’s unique character designs. The visuals may seem over the top, but just like the graphics in the anime it’s based on, Raging Blasts’ graphics can truly make you feel as if you are in the show.

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 will be released on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and is slated for a fall 2010 release.