Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Review

Dragon Ball Xenoverse didn't exactly blow us away, despite being an admittedly excellent bit of fan service. Nonetheless, it didn't really make for all that great a game, not by a long chalk. It was repetitive and a bit dull. Yet, enough people liked it that it's garnered a sequel, so here we are with a new chapter in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. And it's not bad! Not bad at all. Most definitely a significant improvement over its predecessor.

Picking up almost immediately where the first game left off with Conton City (previously known as Tokitoki City) bearing the marks of every change that occurred during the first game, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 enables you to transfer your previous character or build a new one from scratch, creating an old hero to erect as a statue at the centre of the city. You're then off on a new adventure, completing quests and beating up the bad guys.

Turles is a bit of a git, isn't he?

Taking up the mantle of Time Patroller once more, under the tutelage of Elder Kai and the Supreme Kai of Time, voyaging into various timelines to put things right and keep events on track to unfold exactly as they should, you'll team up with the likes of Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Nail and Piccolo, battling baddies like Frieza, Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Turles and the always irritating Ginyu Force. That means more button-mashing combat, soaring through the air throwing balls of energy and laser beams at one another, powering up and unleashing devastating combos.

It hasn't really come all that far in gameplay terms since the last game, but I found myself enjoying Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 a lot more than I did the first one. For starters, the twitchy camera is mercifully a lot less prevalent, while the range of missions and activities you'll find peppered throughout the hub city provide plenty of distractions to tide you over between Story Missions. You can level up and boost your character's attributes, deck them out in new duds, go off on Time Patrols, train, go online and more.

There are still issues, however, this time with the lock-on system. On numerous occasions I'd find myself engaged in a heated battle only to have my character suddenly face the wrong direction for no apparent reason. It's something that's easily remedied by evading and boosting to safety, but it's still a niggle we could have done without. That it's the worst Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 has to offer in terms of glitches is indicative of how good the rest of the game is.

Every bit as colourful and stylish as the anime, Xenoverse 2 looks great, all flashy fireballs and explosive pyrotechnics. But it's the returning Parallel Quests and slew of other missions that make for a far better experience, as you're able to chop and change between what you're doing. Struggling to complete a Story Mission objective? Then go deliver some milk for Krillin, carry out some quests for Hercule, join the Great Saiyamen, put some time in training and learning new moves, or protect and gather Dragon Balls for Nail.

Getting around Conton City, meanwhile, is a lot easier now that you can summon a hoverboard-type vehicle at the touch of a button, and once you've acquired your flight licence, you can soar through the air unimpeded. You're also able to visit miniature locations via small platforms suspended above the city, completing side activities for Majin Buu, Nail, Hercule, and Vegeta. There's loads to see and do.

Factor in the wealth of online modes, including Battles, Endless Battle and Online Parallel Quests, as well as the ability to interact with other players dotted throughout Conton City, and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is about as fully-featured and content rich a game as you could possibly hope for. Stores selling new accessories, clothing, items and mixing options give you ample stuff to spend your hard-earned zeni and TF medals on too, so you can equip your character with all manner of cosmetic and attribute altering gear.

That's going to hurt in the morning.

As for the online portion of the game, it's all remarkably robust, getting you into matches quickly and smoothly, with nary a hint of lag. At least the array of battles we took part in were smooth and free of technical hitches, anyway. You might find yourself outmatched online if you take in an under-levelled character, but the option to play with restrictions means you're able to level the playing field a bit, if you want. All in all, it seems that developer Dimps has pretty much thought of everything.

Unfortunately that consideration hasn't quite extended to the achievement list, which is largely identical to the previous game's, albeit with one or two different objectives chucked in for good measure. Complete the story, clear the Parallel Quests... You'll need to do pretty much everything to bag the full 1000G. If you enjoyed completing Dragon Ball Xenoverse's list, then you'll no doubt get a kick out of essentially doing it all over again for the sequel. Arguably more so, as it's a better game.

Still suffering a little from somewhat repetitious combat and an unshakeable sense of deja-vu, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is nonetheless an enjoyable and engaging fighter with a nice smattering of RPG depth. The niggles with the first game have been mostly addressed and eradicated, with the erratic camera a thing of the past, while the content on offer is slightly more varied, beyond Time Patrols and Parallel Quests. Add it all up, and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 makes for an infinitely more enjoyable, less laborious and dare we say it, fun, experience. Kamehameha!