Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a fun party-game, though not without its flaws.
Despite what one may think based on a large number of negative user reviews, this game does have its positive sides. The quality of many of the mini-games is great - I cannot count how many times I've played Sumo, Conveyor Smash or Tube Racer. I've also enjoyed Over The Falls and Judgement Tower a lot. However, some games are a little lacking in quality, IMO - I do not like the asteroid evasion game or Collision Collusion, to name a couple.
As a game to play at a party it works great - I've had this game running at many gaming events, mainly at my house or at those organized by my Uni's gaming society. Those times, there are always many players available, so it's great fun to have 4 people trying to shove everyone off the platform into lava, or smash each other into bits with hammers. However, its "fun-factor" decreases significantly with every additional AI-controlled player. Simply put, the difficulty is not very good. There are mini-games, such as Judgement Tower, where the AI is clueless and fails utterly, even against the worst of human players. Other mini-games have AI that will own you many times, even on the easiest difficulty.
Speaking of computer characters - the DJ is extremely annoying. The quantity of lines is too small, so be prepared to hear him repeat the same line(s) every mini-game ("I've never seen a mini-game this crazy!!!" - yes you have, you just said so last game!), if not multiple times in the same mini-game. During tournament mode he's even worse. And speaking of which...
Tournament mode is not as good as the original's Fuzion Frenzy. I enjoy the concept of playing against other players, trying to win mini-games and "dominate" planets. However, the inclusion of special cards makes the game too chancy. Multipliers, dividers and steals ruin the game, as they can too easily shift the balance away from the person who has won every game, just by the use of he right multiplier. The only positive side of the cards is that it's always fun to engage in a bit of psychological warfare. The last time I played tournament mode with some friends, for a couple of rounds no one had cards, save one of my friends and I. He had a steal card (or a divider, can't remember), whereas I had a x6 multiplier. Those couple of rounds were much fun (I didn't think so at the time though!) as we tried to out-think each other and figure out when the other player would (or wouldn't) play their card.
Lastly, the online component. Having not played this game till early 2012 (about a month ago), I seem to have missed out on any online activity. I have yet to find a session online.
In short, I enjoy this game a lot. Despite the crappy AI, which can be remedied by playing with friends, and the annoying announcer, it is a lot of fun. I can recommend this game to those who enjoy party games. I personally bought it used for 5 quid/8 dollars/6 euros, but I would buy it at even double that.
TL:DR version:
Pros:
- most mini-games are a lot of fun
- competition is friends
- online play (when it works)
Cons:
- annoying announcer
- erratic AI
- a few crappy mini-games.
Dave aka Exon