Developed by: Capcom | Published by: Capcom | Played: 2/10/03

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The game has a very addictive and free rhythm and flow. The player is constantly rewarded with cool visuals and sounds. It has a very super-heroish feel to it with the depth of field, and also in the nature of the art style. The way you move, the spectacle, and pace all contribute to it.

The visuals and sounds are top notch and high quality (for PS2). Very good.

The game play setup gives the player freedom of choice and versatility. You can shoot it out, swing your sword, demon transform, jump around, use special power-ups, dodge and more. It's much better than just a limited number of choices for tackling the enemies. It makes the player feel free and therefore relaxed, while still excited because tons of enemies are coming right at him.

Each area has it's own unique thing. Cityscape, underground, european village, waterway...

Collecting orbs to buy upgrades is another added diversity to the game play.

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Too much Rambo. Just shoot your gun and swing your sword. It gets kind of repeditive.

The gameplay isn't sophisticated enough. Most of the time, fighting enemies is just standing in one spot and continually firing you pistols.

100% linear.

Lack of story development. Too much like an arcade, not another world to immerse yourself into. It's just monster after monster after platform jump after monster. And there is also much less story development this time than in the original. The last one was about 60% monster slashing, but this one is almost 100% monster slashing.

The environments are very dark. So dark it's often difficult to see, and you have to turn up the brightness on the TV.

Calling each section of the game a "mission" takes away from escapism.