The third Dragon Ball Z game in a Nintendo Home console finally makes its way through. Before Atari had only offered 2 titles for the GameCube which are Dragon Ball Z Budokai 1 and 2. Both were ports of the PS2 versions but with faster loading. After that Atari decided not to bring anymore DBZ games to the Cube. As a matter of fact it was long before anyone ever saw a title from Atari to the Cube. Now with the Wii all that seems to have changed. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 made it to the Wii as well as the PS2 but right now we?re focusing on the Wii.

Dragon Ball Z BT 2 features over 120 playable characters from the entire DB, DBZ and DBGT series however the story line focuses more on DBZ than any other story line. It starts off with the Saiyan Saga and ends up with the Majin Buu Saga. All the events are here including the events that took place in the movies. If you are a DBZ fan you will be pleased with the fighting as well as the 120 characters and all the different kinds of moves that are portrayed in this game. However you will be very, very, very, VERY disappointed with the story line mode. If you watched DBZ you will notice that many parts have been cut out and changed as well as events cut short. For example in the Tree of might Saga as a final battle instead of fighting Turles one last time the announcer says having to use the Super Spirit Bomb Goku Finally defeats Turles and blah blah blah while Goku just stays there standing still. This goes on with many other events which makes the story sound cheesy. The events that are complete are cut short by changing the story line a bit which DBZ fans will notice and could be very happy or very disappointed.

The controls take a while to get used to not because they are hard but because they don?t bother explaining to you how it?s done right. Not even in the tutorials do they teach you how to use it you have to read and then figure it out on your own. I read the booklet and it told me to do a Kamehameha I have to pull the Wii-Mote back and the forward. The picture next to it showed me to pull both hands back as if I was doing the Kamehameha wave however after the 55^th time I got tired and just put the Wii-mote down and walked away. Yes it will get frustrating if you don?t figure it out. Finally I decide to give it one last shot and I figured it out. You don?t exactly have to copy the picture just pull the Wii-Mote back and forward real quick. As soon as the controls are figured out doing combos and special moves comes natural, however from time to time the commands will not work until maybe the third or fourth time you try them.

Even though the story line is cut short and most of their moments are cheesy the Voice over is great. All the actual voice actors from the Dragon Ball Z series are here, even the announcer guy is here narrating the story. There are some minor bugs in the game that are hardly noticeable but one that is really noticeable is at the end of the Frieza Saga when Kami and Mr. Popo resurrect planet namek and the announcer guy says ?King Kai?, even though on the subtitle screen and on the actual story line it is Kami and Mr. Popo.? The other bug which I think is actually what the developers chose to stay with is Perfect Cells Voice over while fighting. He still has that Rusty voice from his fist stage and when performing an finishing move his actual voice returns.

The Graphics are mixed, it is a full scale 3-D environment but the characters look cell-shaded. Not exactly the way they looked in DBZ B2 but a little bit more 3-D like. Every time you hit a character with a powerful move you can see their scars and their customs ripping apart. The environments are not interactive other than you can hide and blow up some parts and although they are on earth there appears to be no humans inhabiting the land.

Upgrading your characters is a fun yet dull thing to do. For one you have to buy the upgrades they don?t just give them to you if you win a battle like they used to give them to you in DBZ Budokai 1. Equipping those power ups is a must other wise you will not be able to grow levels. One of the things that is annoying is having to equip every Z fighter you use in story mode with those power ups. In other words you have to equip every single (120) character with all those power ups. Having to look one by one which ones have it which ones don?t, do you have enough, or will it be enough for every one. From time to time you will not want to deal with this.

One of the things that I hate the most of this game is, having to move the cursor and actually click on the menu screen. You can?t just move the joystick and select what menu you want to got to although in some cases you can do that but it forces you to move the cursor by pointing it with the Wii-Mote and pressing A. This irritates me because for every little thing that you want to click on you have to move the Wii-Mote. I know that Atari is just trying to incorporate the Wii-Mote and they actually did a good job on this game but when it comes to selecting menu screens or something else come on just stick to the old style of highlighting it with the joystick and pressing A. Or at least give the person an option to choose how they want to do it.

Closing Comments:

I have always been a dragon ball Z fan and ever since Atari decided not to bring budokai 3 to the Cube I?ve not bought a single Dragon Ball Z game. I have a PS2 but I prefer Nintendo?s version better. Now with DBZ: BT2 I am happy to have bought it and play it. Although it has its ups and downs it is still a solid game. It has many features and challenges such as: Dueling, Dragon Adventure, Ultimate Battle Z, Dragon tournament and Ultimate training to keep you entertained for a while. Although it is cut short by only 16 levels which is not enough for a Dragon Ball Game with the entire history of Dragon Ball Z. They kept the same style of fighting while adding some new elements as well as new combos and power ups for each individual character. If you are a Dragon Ball Z fan and have a Wii (That does not sound right) You must get this game, or if you hate Dragon Ball Z it is still a great fighting game.

Game Play: Hard to play at first but once you figure it out its smooth ass kicking. 8/10

Graphics: Detailed environments as well as characters from the entire Dragon Ball Z universe. 9/10

Controls: Great use of the Wii-Mote?s capabilities however annoying in the menu select. 7/10

Sound: Original Cast and original Music as well as original Sound effects from the DBZ universe. 10/10

Life Span: over 100 characters each customizable and different combinations of moves for every single one of them. Hours of Game Play which will only feel like minutes. 9/10

Bonus Points: Cheesy and uncompleted story line which cuts short you experience with this game. -5/5

Total Score: 76 = C

Game Info:

Dragon Ball Z?: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 takes the acrobatic and intense 3D flying and fighting dynamic made popular in last year?s blockbuster and takes it to a whole new level with exciting new features sure to please die-hard Dragon Ball fans and those new to the franchise. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 offers the complete DBZ mythology from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball GT with a staggering roster of over 100 DBZ heroes and villains and an expansive story mode that allows players to recreate some of the storied confrontations from the TV show, or all-new showdowns of their own with characters that never actually fought in the animated series. Lightning-fast fighting, light RPG and action gameplay elements give players the power to engage in titanic battles set in 15 vast and vibrant 3D highly destructible environments. The game also features levels that are twice the size of those in the original, in-game transformations, tag battles, an all new vanishing attack and complete environmental destruction.

* Over 100 DBZ warriors, including many that have never been seen before in a video game

* In-game transformations players can trigger in real-time

* Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to recreate character super-moves

* Team up with up to two other Z-Warriors to complete exciting missions ripped right from the TV show

* Post customizable character codes to the Internet

* Nine different game modes, including single and multiplayer battles

* Mini-games and tag-team fighting.