Death Jr. II: Root of Evil
Score: 92% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Konami Developer: Backbone Entertainment Media: UMD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Action/ Platformer (3D)/ Third Person Shooter
Graphics & Sound: The first game in this series brought to mind the narrowing line between PS2 graphics and PSP graphics. Suddenly the little system felt like the big system... I'm sure there were other games at the time with comparable sophistication, but it also had to do with rich design and imagination. Death Jr. II: Root of Evil plays from the same book as its predecessor and goes a little further. Levels are built now with more purpose and direction, less of any sense that you are wandering around a box filled with pretty scenery. Now it feels like a "romp on rails" with very little room to get lost or turned around and very intense action. In the later levels, you are running full steam with action happening all around you and there are still lots of nice touches everywhere. The sound and lighting are better than I would have believed possible from the first generation of PSP games. Playing as DJ or Pandora, you have a wide range of attack options that all include some fantastic carnage. Blowing up enemies has a visceral quality to it and even the hand-to-hand attacks are vivid. Especially when it comes to lighting effects, Root of Evil pulls out all the stops. I wish that the perspective were a bit more dynamic and had some variety from level to level. Remember the old Crash games where you would shift from looking over-the-shoulder to running downscreen away from a huge enemy? This was copied a few times, but it's never too late to borrow from a good playbook...
Gameplay: Third party action and platforming perfection. When you think of the best in this category, you might think of a title like Tomb Raider and you wouldn't be wrong. For those who like their game with a stronger dose of humor, Root of Evil fits the bill nicely. The story - there actually is a story - revolves around an experiment gone wrong and an evil-bigger-than-evil unleashed. Death Jr., or DJ to his friends, is the cavalry. Or Pandora. The option to choose between these two characters immediately increases the replay value of Root of Evil . Pandora has a wide range of attack options and can use a unique set of weapons. DJ's weapons are no less interesting - try the C4 Hamster, for example - and both characters have access to some common tools and attack combos. Each level plays out in a similar fashion, which is about the only downside of the game. Rather than divert to other characters or mini-games and break up the action, there are just oodles of platforming action. Boss battles interspersed make for some good fun and I never approached boredom. There are constantly new platforming mechanics introduced along the way and the option to upgrade weapons and moves by collecting points keeps things fresh. The weapon upgrades also help to energize gameplay. If the single-player experience does start to drag, you can enlist a friend for multiplayer mayhem, but multiplayer isn't configured as a major part of the game. Replay value is definitely high when you take into account the option to play two different characters and upgrade with different weapons, but Root of Evil isn't going to keep you glued to your PSP for months trying to "crack the code." This is a jaunt for action/platforming types, and a well executed one.
Difficulty: Adjustable levels of play allow you to customize the experience quite a bit. More seasoned players will find that the A.I. can be dialed up quite high. Even at a lower level, the enemies can be overwhelming and the boss fights take some serious button-mashing. Death Jr. II: Root of Evil could be accused of being a thumb-mashers paradise, but the higher levels reward a thoughtful approach as much as anything. Learning to mix ranged attacks with close-up finishing moves is the secret to success. There are rewards to be had when you use the environment strategically. Many items have strategic value, especially against stronger opponents. Explosives litter many of the levels and can be used with devastating effect against mobs. Pinpointing areas in each level that aren't accessible to some enemies will also give you (ahem) the "upper hand." Root of Evil does reward persistence and you won't breeze your way through unless you dial the difficulty all the way down to the bottom.
Game Mechanics: One of the best things about the first Death Jr. game was the smooth control. There were some camera issues that have been largely ironed out in Death Jr. II: Root of Evil and the control is silkier than before. The move system is intuitive and includes a group of simple button combinations that produce a large number of cool actions. Auto-target and lock-on makes using the ranged weapons simple. A powerful but simple idea is that ranged weapons are connected to a different button than close-in weapons. Moving between the two is as difficult as a single button-press. Some double-clutching is needed to switch between ranged weapons, but you usually won't do that on the fly. Another good design move that simplifies mechanics is to have common ammunition for all weapons. Putting the focus on gameplay and eschewing difficult mechanics is a smart move that elevates Root of Evil beyond "average" status. We all enjoy the challenge of a deep game or one with particularly tricky combos and puzzles. But in the end, it's all about fun for most of us and Root of Evil manages to provide one hell (no pun) of a lot of fun. There aren't a lot of "extras," but what's here is solid. Anyone with a hankering for action platforming will divert many happy hours to Root of Evil.
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
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