3D Streets of Rage 2 (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Streets of Rage 2 is a side-scrolling fighter that uses the foundation laid out by its predecessor, but improves on it in many ways. First of all, two new playable characters are introduced, bringing the total to four (it would have been five, if Adam from the first game hadn't gotten himself kidnapped!).

Axel and Blaze team up with Max and Skate in an effort to take down the illusive Mr. X, saving Adam in the process. Each of the four protagonists has unique move sets and attributes, with Skate being the speedy character and Max being the heavy, whilst Axel and Blaze are fairly balanced.

The combat has also improved on the original's, with there being more attacks in addition to the already existing ones; the most notable being Axel's Grand Upper, where he thrusts himself forward into a deadly uppercut. This move can be pulled off by double tapping the D-pad in the direction he is facing and pressing the attack button - other characters also have similar moves that are performed in the same way. As well as this, each one of them has two unique special manoeuvres that are activated with Y and consume a small amount of health.

Like its predecessor, there are eight stages, which play out in a similar manner: take down bad guys, fight a mini boss, take down more enemies, and then face the stage's true boss. Each level introduces new foe types and several mini bosses appear at the same time in later stages, increasing the difficulty as progress is made.

In terms of new content, 3D Streets of Rage 2 has a fair amount, with the Fists of Death mode from 3D Streets of Rage making a return. In this mode, all enemies and bosses can be defeated in just a single hit. There's also Casual Mode, which is similar, but knocking adversaries to the ground in order to vanquish them is required.

However, the most noteworthy addition is Rage Relay. Here, players select the four characters in their order of choice and work through as normal, but each time they lose a life they will respawn as the next person in the relay. This gives the opportunity to try them all out in a single run.