Previous Next

Just when the City had returned to some semblance of normality following the crime reign of Mr. Big, the unthinkable happened... and how! Although the figurehead that was Mr. Big was "removed" from "office", the machinery of organised crime remained, enabling one of the ex-kingpin's twisted lieutenants to take up the reins of power. However, this guy is ten times worse than Mr. Big ever was... once more, the streets run cold with blood as organised crime sweeps across the city! To add insult to injury, this new figure of crime kidnaps Adam (he of the original Streets Of Rage) and threatens a terrible vengeance if the police act against him!

It's down to two ex-cops, Blaze and Axel, along with another couple of helpers, Max and Skate (who's actually Adam's little bro') to traverse the scrolling Streets Of Rage, dismantling the criminal empire by beating up every one of its members! Hurrah!

Sounds similar to Streets Of Rage I? Well, perhaps it is, but this time it's bigger and much, much better!

Streets Of Rage II is a fairly derivative scrolling beat-'em-up, but has a lot of elements derived from Street Fighter II.

Traverse the Streets Of Rage kickng the excrement out of everyone!

Streets Of Rage II isn't just a simple horizontally scrolling beat-'em-up. Sometimes the action moves down-screen as the crime-busting heroes moves further into some of the levels. To see this effect (rather similar to the Turtles coin-op), take a look at the mega Sega video attached to this issue (which you probably have already!).

Adding to the fun is the brilliant duel mode of Streets Of Rage II. This enables two players to face up to one another in a fab Street Fighter II type competition. Along with each character's plethora of special moves, there are also plenty of weapons lying about that the players can use to beat the seven shades of shinola out of their opponents!

Aiding our quarter of heroes in their battle against organised crime is the vast range of weapons, either left lying around the streets or hidden in smashable containers. The line-up of tools isn't really that different from the weapons found in the first game, so look out for the like of swords, lead pipes and knives! With every weapon you can attempt a basic attack or just chuck it at your foe for mega damage!

There are four heroes to select in Streets Of Rage II, each with their own special abilities and offensive manoeuvres! Here's the list of characters you can control:

1. Axel
   Axel's spent the time since the end of the last Streets Of Rage caper in learning even more martial arts skills. Even though he's still a dab hand at the old fisticuffs and headbutts, he's learned a few more special moves, including one that bears something of a resemblance to Ryu's dragon punch in Street Fighter II!
   
   Power: 2, Technique: 3: Speed: 2, Jump: 1, Stamina: 2
2. Blaze
   Fearing another criminal onslaught, vigilante Blaze Fielding has kept in shape following the last Streets Of Rage game. What's more, she's learned a few more attacks, including a somersault kick (a bit like Guile's in Street Fighter II) as well as a mega damage-inducing short range fireball!
   
   Blaze is probably the best character of the lot.
   
   Power: 2, Technique: 2: Speed: 2, Jump: 2, Stamina: 2
3. Max
   One of the new boys in the neighbourhood, Max is a street-tough customer whose power attacks are second-to-none. Unfortunately, owing to his not inconsiderable bulk, Max is a bit slow. One of his favourite moves is charging his enemies!
   
   Power: 3, Technique: 3: Speed: 1, Jump: 1, Stamina: 3
4. Skate
   Make way for Skate, the brother of Adam - a streetwise kid brought up on the eponymous Streets of Rage. His speed and jumping power are superb, but his stamina and power levels are very dodgy indeed. His special moves are great. He jumps on people's shoulders and smack their head in! Alternatively, a fab Dhalsim-style yoga-spear inflicts multiple hits on his prey. Nasty.
   
   Power: 1, Technique: 2: Speed: 3, Jump: 3, Stamina: 1

Streets Of Rage II is a truly arcade quality beat-'em-up from Sega! And when I mean arcade quality, I mean a game that actually beats the spots off any Neo Geo beat-'em-up! The basic gameplay hasn't been changed much from the original, but the execution is far, far superior.

The graphics are brilliant. Each character has brilliant animation and around twenty different moves (according to Sega) and the sheer amount of different backdrops (all of them completely fab) will leave you gasping. The sound (from the guy who did the music for the original game and Revenge Of Shinobi) has come up trumps with a totally stunning set of highly atmospheric tunes - you'll be stunned by their quality, I guarantee you.

Streets Of Rage II is simply the best scrolling beat-'em-up you can get for a console (It's a bit unfair to compare it with Super NES Street Fighter II because they're different games).

My only gripe is that is it too easy in Easy mode - leave it in Normal mode and you're in for a highly challenging, mega-quality game! Buy it now!

Having had a quick scan at the screenshots, my initial reaction was, hmmm, a snazzed up version of the original but with a few added extras. How wrong I was! This one eats the prequel for breakfast, spits it out and then comes back for more. The graphics are outstanding with massively improved, speeded up sprites, not a hint of slow down when the going gets tough, and a whole range of new moves and attributes - all different for each player. So, if you're a bit of a speed freak, you'd go for Skate or for Blaze if it's all round ability you prefer.

The backgrounds are stunning, with stacks of animation, and the sound has improved ten-fold (it was damn good in the first one!) with bowel-bustingly brill music booming at you throughout.

Will my praise for this game ever stop? I don't think so. The arcade mode with eight sizeable levels and more geeks to batter (including your mate if it takes your fancy) than you can shake a stick at is entertainment enough but the addition of a duel mode where you can fight any of the other characters is just mega (Blaze can also fight Blaze etc without cheating, so eat your heart out, Streetfighter II freaks).

Basically, if you like beat-'em-ups, you have to buy this and if you don't like beat-'em-ups, buy it anyway because this game will convert you.

Presentation 91%
P. A brilliant range of options to tweak, along with a truly excellent, polished feel to the game itself. There are some nice presentation screens as well.

Graphics 94%
P. A vast range of sprites and backdrops, the quality of which will amaze you! The animation on each character you slap around is also nothing short of astounding.

Sound 97%
P. The guy who programmed the music for the prequel has come up with a host of ace house tunes - probably the best ever on the Megadrive. The effects serve their purpose remarkably well too.

Playability 97%
P. Laying into legions of bad guys and mastering the special moves is excellent fun and instantly addictive, while the duel mode satiates that need for one-on-one combat.

Lastability 95%
P. Eight massive levels (each with sub-levels) and the two-player modes add to the fun!
N. But use the Easy mode and you'll finish it in a couple of days.

Overall 90%
Let's make no bones about it, Streets Of Rage II is the greatest sequel we've seen for ages and is certainly the best scrolling beat-'em-up ever to hit a home console!