Every bit as good as the first.
*que scary lady who says the name all crazy*
Gameplay: Solid. The controlls are excelent. They do a great job of setting up the weapon system to let you switch between weapons to truly make the most out of your combos, which is something I think Ninja Gaiden 2 should take into consideration. Switching styles without going to a hour glass would have been nice.
Graphics: They are smooth and the cinematics look great. This was last years game and it looks looks great this year.
Presentation: Although Dante is younger and cockier, he is still cool. He's got some dumb one liners, but they take a back seat to the increadible action that you see unfold through the in game movies. The dark tone that was set in the first game is here and it looks and feels amazing.
Sound: It becomes annoying at certain points because Dante only has one song when you enter a battle. I would have liked it a lot more if every section of the game had a different theme.
Value: It's $20. It doesn't get much better than that really. The special edition also features Vergil (a.k.a. Neloangelo), and yes, you can play as him. I was a little dissipointed to see that there are no cutscenes when you play as Vergil, and you go through all of Dante's levels. The Bloody Palace was also added to the Special Edition, which is much like the Pits of Hell in Onimusha Warlords. All in all you can't go wrong, and it is truly a great game.