John McClane fails to take justice in a poorly delivered sequel which ultimately fells way to similar or worse then.....
Game Title: Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas
Platform: PlayStation
Developer: N-Space
Publisher: Fox Interactive
Genre: Action
Age Rating: BBFC: 15+. ESRB: M for Mature
Release Date: February 28th 2000 (North America), 2000 (Europe)
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Game Score: 5.0/10
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Summery:
John McClane fails to take justice in a poorly delivered sequel which ultimately fells way to similar or worse then it's predecessor.
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Oddly titled Die Hard Trilogy 2, it's a sequel to the superb PlayStation hit Die Hard Trilogy with the same three in one gaming perspectives. The ending result is a game where it fails in mostly fronts that leaves you to Die really Hard.
The game takes place inside a holiday city that never sleeps called Las Vegas where John McClane's old friend invite him to a party for his celebration of being the warden of Mesa Grande Prison. John McClane soon gets himself into big trouble when inmates run riot and prison guards helping them escape...for some reason, why I do not know. John's best solution to those issues is to point and shoot at bad guys without much in the way of giving doesn't much F-Bombs and the way Brace Willis has always portrayed his character in the movies. On the plus side there is some decent voice acting dispute a few dry lines including John's famous line "Yippe kai yay!" and also Brace Willis does not portray his role of John McClane like in the movies.
Just like with it's predecessor Viva Las Vegas has 3 different perspectives. One game places John McClane in a third person shooter where you shoot down bad guys, solve some environmental puzzles to advance further and collect better weapons as you go. The second game is an On-Rails Shooter where Light Gun is supported, you shoot down bad guys and you can get power-ups from some downed enemies. The Third game is a driving game where like in the original trilogy you got to disarm Bombs across Las Vegas by driving over them before time runs out. You can find extra time, repair kits and nitros laying each area to make driving a lot easier especially during car chases. You can play through all three of these games through the Story mode or you can play through one of either game types through Arcade mode or Practice mode to practice before playing the main games.
The flaws are as follows: In the Third person shooter levels you wonder large levels that are mostly uninteresting to play. There are a few puzzles like finding keycards and switches which allow you to access locked areas to rescue hostages and find better weapons and explosives. The AI is very flat and also the controls are very difficult to learn. There is a auto aim system which eliminates the First person aiming aiming system that you have.
There is also the driving stages which at first controls way better but each stage is nearly the same as the original trilogy. You drive over bombs to defuse them which sounds simple but however car chases appear far to frequently this time and they can sometimes be annoying as they can easily avoid you and can sometimes plant mines on you. There is a simple time limit this time I should like to point out and it goes up to 3 minutes.
Lastly there are the Light Gun levels which are the best in the overall package. You shoot bad guys before their crosshair turns red which they will shoot you. There are plenty of Health and Armour power ups as well as other weapons you can use. You can switch weapons unlike the original and also the game supports the Mouse as well as the Konami HyperBlaster and also the game finally allowing the Namco Gun to be compatible. Still there are issues like the Light Gun accuracy being inaccurate unlike the Namco titles and also there are some parts where enemies are planted across the screen in which you're always taking damage, the Hostages are extremely dumb and won't hesitate to literally dive into your line of fire and sometimes also the enemies which can sometimes make these levels very frustrating. Overall the entire gameplay is well spent on the Light Gun levels while the Third person and Driving aren't enjoyable at all and can also be frustrating.
The graphical are also very similar to the original with minor enhancements to the character models. Their animations are dimwitted and it's pretty stupid to see someone rolling around like crazy after being blasted by a rocket launcher. Still the environmental details do look nice and the explosion effects are pretty cool. In the Third Person levels John McClane has the power to see through the environment since it allows you to see who is inside the rooms. The sound effects are aright, the music tracks inspired by BT, Lil' Zane, Black Rob and Tony Touch are decent mixes of technical beats and rock music.
Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas isn't a sequel that really is made for Die Hard fans of the franchise. Having three gaming perspectives in one is great and all but however each gametype has a series of flaws that Bruce Willis would be disappointed to hear about. It's good for a cheap buy but you're better off with the original trilogy which is way better.
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The Good Points:
1. 3 Gaming Perspectives in one game
2. Finally has Namco gun support
The Bad Points:
1. Third Person stages are very uninteresting
2. Hostages are very stupid in the Light Gun Levels
3. Driving stages can sometimes be frustrating
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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