Power Stone 2 is a 3D arena fighting game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2000. It is the sequel to the original Power Stone, and features the original cast (minus the hidden characters Kraken and Valgas, who are only playable in Power Stone Collection ) as well as several new.
There's a well supported theory out there that it's difficult to fully appreciate games in the arcade. Oh, maybe it's the notion of fellow arcade-goers scrutinizing you as you play, leaning in on you and laughing if you should make a mistake (at least, that's my experience. Kids can be cruel). There's also the lack of comfort associated with playing while standing, and who really likes to play games on a pay-per play basis?I'm not sure if the theory is 100% true, but Capcom's certainly supports it, at least in my mind.
I played through the arcade version while on test at my local arcade, and found it to be the most confusing game EVER out of. And yes, I'd already played through Marvel VS Capcom 2. However, after having sat down with the home version of the game for only a couple of rounds, I was already getting the hang of things even beyond what my arcade experiences would allow. And when you've got a game as confusing as, that's a good, good thing.You've already read our preview of the game, along with our impressions from the Tokyo Game Show, so I won't bore you with all the details on how Power Stone 2 plays. Suffice to say that this is a different game entirely from part 1, and while the arcade version at first left me in doubt, I'm sure of it now: I LOVE THE GAME.
It's fast, fun, and there's so much variety to what you can do in the stages of play that you can spend night after night playing through the game and still see new things.Thankfully, Capcom has prepared a suitable home game for the Dreamcast version, complete with minimal load time, and a whole wealth of new modes beyond the arcade version. In addition to the arcade mode, you'll find a one on one adventure mode, an internet mode for fighting online and accessing the game's webpage, and a mode that everyone was hoping for: team battle. This handy-dandy mode allows you to set up teams of between one and three people. Want three on one? One on three?
See the first option. You can even set it up so you have only three or two players. The CPU can be set up to fight as some of the players, so you in effect have the much longed for versus CPU mode. Let's keep this feature in ALL other fighting games, Capcom.On top of the new modes of play, you'll find a wealth of secrets waiting to be unlocked. What are these secrets? Be damned if I know.
I've only been playing the game for half an hour! There seem to be some things going on with the VMU, though, but I'll have to play around with the game to find out for sure. Let's hope there are a few new stages in there, as it looks like the five backgrounds may grow stale after a while, despite their being absolute masterpieces of design.Our review of the game will follow shortly, but check out these screens and videos in the meanwhile. The videos show off the transitions in four of the stages as you go through a fight. Enjoy!-, IGNDC. UPDATE: 3/17/00After subjecting the gaming community to Street Fighter sequel after Street Fighter sequel, Capcom's Power Stone proved that there's still some innovation left in the old boys yet.
With its multi-layered arenas, 360-degree freedom of movement, and the ability to use just about every item as a lethal weapon, Power Stone was a rollicking 3D fighter that begged for a sequel.But don't expect a handful of graphical tweaks and gameplay recycling - Power Stone 2 is a brand new game packed with incredible battles through sea, air, and land. Though there are a handful of new fighters (including a cowboy and a plump chef), the real stars of the game are the environments, which contain features too numerous to list. One battle begins on an airship, which slowly catches on fire, and breaks apart. All of the combatants battle over a single parachute during a free-fall sequence, and the folks who don't wind up splattered wind up duking it out in a courtyard. I also particularly enjoyed the sea battle, where you fight on the back of a moving battleship.
Other ships pull up, and you can jump overboard, swim to the other vessel, and man the loaded turrets on the other side of the screen. And I won't even get into the tank-driving sequence.These environments are simply alive, and each fight can progress through three or more areas. Some of them are broken up by mini-games? The run-from-the-boulder sequence look like it's been ripped right out of Mario Party - and the ability for four-player simultaneous combat makes for positively awesome social play.
There's plenty to do when you're not fighting, too? We caught glimpse of an item room, where character-enhancing goodies could be bought and traded.Graphically, Power Stone 2 maintains the 'moving anime' look of the original game, with bright colors, gorgeous character animations, and effects aplenty. Everything is still locked at 60fps without a hint of slowdown, and is, as always, Capcom's testament to the power of the NAOMI board.Power Stone 2 is already on test? Check out for impressions of the version at Golfland in Sunnyvale, complete with video? And the Dreamcast version is expected for Japanese release on April 27. Whether or not the American arcade version will feature ports for DC controllers and VMU compatibility isn't certain? But at least we'll be getting one kick-ass game.- Colin Williamson, IGNDC.
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