Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 1/2?
User Rating: 6.6 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi PS2
This was a game with a lot of spark but no gas, if you get my drift. The now known as "Resident Evil 4 over the shoulder view" doesn't seem very fitting for a Dragon Ball Z game, but fans and some others will get used to it after a little while of playing, if you stay on it that long. The gameplay itself seems somewhat taken away from by the fact that there is only one attack button. And why after 3 newer DBZ games they would change the block button from "X" to "O", is the bigger mystery to me. It probably took me about 4 hours to stop dashing right into my buddie's attacks and super moves, and actually block a move or two. I got wiped with the floor during the first fight of the game. Also, it is extremely easy to teleport while pummeling the opposition, thus greatly increasing the number of hits you get off, but when a giant "Supernova" attack or "Super Khamehameha" is coming your way (very, very quickly), teleporting seems like a slang word in Webster's old dictionary, meaning, non-existent. Having been a fan of the series since I was but a child, I do have to give the game it's dues. It has the biggest selection of DBZ characters ever. You can even play as the giant ape that the saiyans turn into after seeing the full moon. After learning how to play, you can and will have some fun playing around with the free roaming and fully destructible environments. There's nothing more glorifying than sending a friend smashing through the mountainside or throwing someone through a few buildings, followed up by an "Instant Transmission" (which puts you right behind the opponent no matter how far away they are) and giving him the old "Destructo Disc" before he even knows he just got slammed through half a city block's worth of buildings. Fighting underwater ispretty cool, too. The animations are superb, but the game can seem a little choppy at times. Free roaming has it's drawbacks as you soon will learn on the deuling (2 player) mode when, for the first time on the Budokai games, the screen is split. All in all, if you're a fan, at least rent it and see if you like the changes. Non fans may even find the "Zone of the Enders"-ish type deuling battles pretty fun, too. 
