There is no better way to save the universe than using your funky moves!
This game will definitely be better enjoyed by the ones who have played the first game (unfortunately, not my case). After the incidents of the first game, a mad guy from a rival TV station goes for the world domination, capturing several people in his way. Now it's up to the journalist Ulala from the TV station Space Channel 5 to save the world with her funky moves.
Who has already played the previous game will most probably feel quite familiar with this game. You have to mime each of every move the enemy does. If you succeed, you increase the percentage of people watching. If you fail, the percentage decreases and if the number reaches to zero, you'll get a Game Over. In the end of each chapter, the total percentage is converted to stars, which will determine how many times you can miss the command before being defeated. The better your rating percentage, the more stars you get.
The controls are very simple: the enemy will alternate between direction commands and either the commands "hey" or "chu". You have the press the buttons in the same order as the one dictated by your enemy, always following the rhythm and the timing. If you miss a single command, you will fail all the rest of them and will get no points for it. As you go further in the game, the commands sequence grows longer and in several occasions it gets hard to figure what exactly you have to press. And as if this wasn't enough challenge, some conditions may change what exact button you should be pressing.
Graphically, the game is pretty good. The characters are very charismatic and colorful and as you get more points and fulfill certain conditions you unlock more characters and outfits. The environment is not half bad, but honestly, I think that it could have had more details since the game is linear and you can't go to any alternative paths in case you miss or get a certain amount of points. The animations between each challenge may change, but other than this, there aren't many complex cutscenes or anything of that sort.
The sounds and music of this game are very catchy and the rhythm is well defined. It's not very likely that you'll have any problems with the right timing to press the buttons.
There is one problem on the PC version of the game: some computers may experience a delay that severely affects the timing to press the buttons. Gamers with a crappy graphic device like mine may have to spend some time trying to figure out how to fix it (I still didn't find that out).
As for the console version, I felt that in sequences that require a fast response, the controls do not respond in the same speed, which may result in a miss in the commands you are absolutely sure you got right.
In spite of these small issues, Space Channel 5 part 2 is definitely a "must play" for fans of rhythm games.