Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is here! Join us now, dear reader, as we leave no stone unturned and expend every effort to find out whether the latest instalment of the yellow-haired, Kamehameha slinging ones is worth your time.
Look, who doesn’t want to fly around the sky shooting fireballs and performing impossible combos? Dragon Ball Z is a fantastic empowerment fantasy that allows us to imagine ourselves as harder/better/faster/stronger, to quote those erstwhile philosophers Daft Punk. It does this all with a goofy, childish sense humour that’s pretty easy to love. So it’s no surprise that Dragon Ball translates into the gaming medium as if to the manner born.
Anyhow, we promised you a review here folks and by gosh, a review is what we’re gonna deliver you. No messing around, shooting straight from the hip with quickfire opinions and incisive commentary. Ahem. Anyway, the first thing I should say is that it’s pretty awesome. Straight out of the gate the game delivers excellent cartoon-like visuals that make the experience pop with a vibrancy which draws you into Xenoverse’s world.
The ability to create your own character has been smartly kept from the previous instalment. While very basic at the outset, the customisation options expand as you acquire more accessories later in the game and it’s always a joy to see your very own character exploring the Dragon Ball universe. DBX2 also allows you to port over your character from the first Xenoverse game, showing that the devs know how attached we gamers can get to our personalised characters. It’s a nice touch.
Story-wise, the familiar Time Patrol angle also makes a return, tasking the player with preserving the correct version of events by getting into punch-ups at various points throughout Dragon Ball history. It’s a bit like participating in a “Now that’s what I call Dragon Ball” greatest hits compilation album; slightly patchy and disjointed, but it covers enough bases to give players a good idea of the shows flavour.
The fighting itself, which has always been the meat and potatoes of DBX, has been refined and made easier by a more intuitive and responsive system. Continuing combos and stringing together close-in and ranged attacks has now been made easier, and the system is smartly introduced by a solid training mode. It may not be a hardcore fighter but it works perfectly well for what it is and the action looks amazingly sharp and frantic. It’s hard not to get swept up in the drama of the battles, but I sometimes found myself wishing for a bit more depth to the encounters.
However, underscoring the fights is a subtle RPG element. This guides the player into making intelligent choices as to which attributes to boost and which equipment to select. This aspect does provide the game with a degree of depth that makes conquering late-game fights more rewarding, as when the difficulty starts to spike, the correct selection of gear a becomes a vital decision.
Aside from the main story there are plenty of Parallel Quests you can go on to earn additional equipment and techniques, and a tightened-up Mentor mode that opens up access to further unique skills. You’ll encounter also all manner of familiar NPCs while walking around Cotton City, many of whom you can challenge to a fight for some much-needed experience points. The map and hud system is well laid out and does a decent job of orienting the player and allowing them to easily explore the city at their leisure.
To sum up
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 feels like a gentle evolution for the series, subtly building on the foundations of what came before. The expanded character roster and increased number of activities help to increase the longevity and makes the game world feel more fleshed out and alive. The only things keeping DBX2 from true greatness are a few inconveniently long loading screens and a lack of depth to the fighting system. But for fans of the show and newcomers alike, DBX2 is a fun and immersive experience that frequently delights and only occasionally frustrates. Recommended.
Version reviewed: PS4
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is out now on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.