Samurai Shodown 2

All hail Caffeine Nicotine!!! The most pernicious and puny miscreant to ever infiltrate a video game but you know what, I love the little guy. If this game hadn't come to the arcades I'd still be happy with Shodown 1 but now that you can bring this amazing battle into your living room, I don't think I'll ever leave my house again. Samurai Showdown 2 is simply perfect. The developers took an already perfect fighter, tweaked it, prettied up the graphics, sound effects and music; added a few characters and changed some of the older characters' weapons and special moves and presto instant one-upmanship. They've also added the ability to magically break your opponent's sword in one gigantic dramatic swipe. I love SNK.

Firstly, I've got to say that in Shodown 1, I felt the most affinity towards Haomaru but now with the superior control of the Neo Geo CD (I'll never be able to go back to 3DO SS again) and more fighters to choose from, the act of picking my favourite combatant is a lot more difficult. With SS 2 in the arcade, I loved using Wan-Fu. His big stomping pillar is hilarious. Any guy that beats his head against his stone weapon, just to get riled up, is okay in my book. Genjuro is a wicked new character but he is very similar to Haomaru and people call me cheap when I use him. None the less, a fierce fighter.

Cham Cham and the aforementioned Caffeine Nicotine are the two deadly smaller sprites in the game. They might be more diminutive compared to the other fighters but their reach is long, thanks to Cham Cham's boomerang and Nicotine's staff. They also have very effective special moves and are both enormous fun to play. Whacking somebody with your big metal hat doesn't seem to be the most cultivated fighting technique but Nicotine makes it look so natural, it works for me. Actually that little old dude doesn't look like he breaks a sweat until he starts celebrating after a win. Cham Cham in contrast, is a whirling dervish. Running, jumping and slicing her way towards a frantic victory; she is most fun to watch.

The other new fighter is Sieger. This guy's gotta have the biggest gauntlet in the world. Just be thankful he doesn't challenge you to a duel by slapping you with that thing, let me tell you. He is an imposing mother, this Sieger but his play technique is just slightly more stiff than the other new fighters, so, consequently, he's not as much fun to play as he should be but that's just one man's opinion. And besides, you do have 14 other characters at your disposal!!!

One of the coolest brush strokes of creativity comes in Ukyo's new disposition. The handsome and vain heart breaker from Shodown 1 has fallen ill. He has been consumed by the lethal flowers he has grown. Actually the continuation of the story is great. Like some grand Shakespearian legend, each of the characters has grown. Duplicitous, honourable and evil fighters exist in this diversion and with characters as diverse and rich as these, playing the game becomes an exercise of constant discovery.

I've already explained that the special moves in Shodown are gravy. It's just so darn cool to send sparks off of each other's weapons that standing back and throwing stuff just doesn't seem as rewarding somehow. Well, Shodown 2 has some of the most amazing special moves in video games today. Expect to be blown away by the fireworks of the game. Nicotine's Exorcist Charm Slice is a great sparkler. Genan, the repulsive floor crawling Freddy Kruger wannabe, has a very painful Weapon Smash Wasa; The Magic Diving Claw, which sends him racing towards his opponent jumping up and doing that spin drill thing all over him/her and then flying in the air to give his enemy one more enormous thwack. Boom! There goes that weapon.

It's really a drag losing your weapon in the game but it's not the end of the world. Granted, you don't want to hang around and act as a sharpener for your adversary's blade but there are some things you can do to sneak in close and inflict some devastation. For one thing you can stop your rival's sword with your bare hands (umm, don't try this on non-virtual battlefields kids) and throw them to the dirt. You can also avoid the oncoming low thrusts and slices by hopping up and punching your competitor in the noggin. You hop by pressing the 'B' & 'C' buttons simultaneously. There is really so much technique in this game, it will take you until a day after forever to get bored with it.

That's the thing with games that are as great as Shodown 2, there really isn't much to talk about. Go buy this game, it is fantastic. The graphics, the music, the sound effects, the control, the longevity, the rounded and unique characters and the addictive fun of the game will have you under their spell in seconds. It doesn't get better than this in interactive entertainment. This is, unquestionably, the best work to come out of SNK's offices and with Shodown 3 and Shodown RPG both fast approaching, you can feel secure in the knowledge that your soon to be favourite fighters will be around for a long, long time.

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line