Streets of Rage 2

I find it amazing how all the fighting moves have been preserved despite the fact that Game Gear only has two buttons. This game rates sky-high in terms of fun. There's nothing quite like the feeling of walking down a street and wacking complete strangers with a long lead pipe. Even the music sounds like the original. Two players can link up for some cooperative action. Streets of Rage 2 is a stellar title, and Sega did one heck of a job of squeezing it into a Game Gear cartridge.

The game is still linear, but the screen occasionally scrolls diagonally instead of side-to-side. Like the first game, the thugs all tend to wear the same outfits in different colors. There are fire-breathing fat guys, motorcyclists, guys in jetpacks, and of course the obligatory scantily clad women with whips (gratuitous for sure, but always welcome!) The audio is a bit disappointing. The music doesn't compare up to the awesome tunes from the first game, even though it's in the same style. The same muffled yell and scream samples are used for all the thugs. I also felt that the designers missed a big opportunity to incorporate more cooperative moves into the game. There are only one or two of them, and they're not very effective. Despite these minor quibbles, Streets of Rage 2 is still the best game in the series.

Certainly Streets of Rage 2 is the king of Genesis beat-'em-ups and maybe even the king of console beat-'em-ups in general! I don't think there's ANY game I've rented more than this! This is even cooler if you have a Nomad. This is truly a must-own since there isn't one thing about that isn't excellent other than the plot- but this is a beat-em-up, so who cares?

SOR2 shows what the power of 16 megs can do on the Genesis. This long awaited sequel is the best side scroll fighter I've ever played, with huge characters, hard hitting sound effects, sharp graphics, and music only Yuzo can deliver. Two new characters join the fight for the best fighting sequel of '92.

Play as characters Blaze, Skate, Max, or Axel to rid the world of Dr. X. Alright not the most inventive of sinister opponents, but trust me, this game is where it is at. I spent so many hours in my youth traversing the 2D levels with a friend and now I can relive that experience yet again over Xbox Live with a whole new set of people. Yes nostalgia has truly set in for me, but Streets of Rage 2 is certainly worth a look.

Street of Rage 2 non è un gioco impegnativo perché l’azione è l’elemento dominante. Se volete passare qualche ora da soli o in compagnia lasciando per un po’ il cervello in stand-by questo gioco fa al caso vostro. In conclusione questo picchiaduro a scorrimento orizzontale è altamente consigliato a tutti perché merita di essere giocato, guardato e anche ascoltato. C’è anche una modalità di gioco che permette a due giocatori di picchiarsi fra di loro e ovviamente c’è anche la possibilità di poter ascoltare nel menu delle opzioni tutte le fantastiche musiche del gioco.

Sega's 1991 sleeper hit game of vigilante justice, which chronicled the story of three ex-peace officers in their struggle to bring down Mr. X and his diverse group of street thugs, receives a 16-meg sequel with more moves, two new characters, and a two-player head-to-head option.

Fans of arcade beat-em-ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others, will feel well at home here. Streets of Rage 2 is one of the finest pieces of game code on the Sega Genesis. To satisfy us old-timers, it is even available on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console. Whether you want to buy the original cart or a downloadable ROM of the original, Streets of Rage 2 is not a game that you should pass up for any reason.

Streets of Rage 2 has been one of the most wanted titles for the VC's Genesis line-up since the launch of the Wii. It's obvious why – the game is a blast. Played co-operatively or just by yourself, SoR2 is a great beat-'em-up experience and one of the best Genesis titles ever made. It's a highly recommended download, and takes its place near the top of the Sega Virtual Console crop – only the excessively explosive Gunstar Heroes outranks it at the moment.

This is how all ports should be. It retains everything we all know and love from the Genesis version. If you can't think of a reason to own a Game Gear, this is as good of a reason as you can get. It's a perfect road trip title, and the replay value stems from the simple fact that it's a wonderful game.

Though Streets of Rage 2 for XBLA doesn't feature the sound-test mode where you can listen to the game's catchy soundtrack on its own, there are other perks, such as the ability to save your progress at any time, full online leaderboards, and some fairly attainable achievements. Streets of Rage 2 is one of the best beat-'em-up experiences you'll have anywhere, and this is a really solid version. For 400 points, or about $5, it's a great deal for a classic game.

Streets of Rage 2 offers an excellent retro experience and should be added to the collection of any gamer who likes to go back in time. Beating up bad guys was never so fun and especially with a co-op buddy it’s a blast. Improving your Gamerscore shouldn’t be a problem either as over 75 percent can be achieved quite easily. The Xbox Live part should be ignored for the most part as it’s poorly programmed and causes lag too often. On higher difficulty levels the game should keep even experienced gamers busy for at least a few hours if not longer.

So that's Streets of Rage 2, then. Top notch side-scrolling brawler from 1993, and, in many respects almost as much fun now as it was then. For the sake of few quid, this is definitely a worth firing up the trial to check out, and, for the fans, a worthy addition to your Live Arcade collection. But please SEGA, please please resist the urge to dump your entire Mega Drive back catalogue onto XBLA - there aren't that many of your old titles that qualify for classic status.

If the version of Final Fight that was released for the Wii Virtual Console had been the arcade version rather than the hobbled SNES version, it would have been a real toss-up as to whether that or Streets of Rage 2 would be the go-to beat-'em-up. As it stands, though, Streets of Rage 2 wins, hands down. Simply put, Streets of Rage 2 stands on its own as one of the best beat-'em-up experiences you'll have, anywhere.

Streets of Rage II is really graphically intense. The sound is excellent, and the control is also well done. Unfortunately, the game seems to suffer from repetitive enemies. While Streets of Rage II has a rather low skill level--particularly for gamers familiar with the first--the sheer length of the game helps make up for it. Streets of Rage II is definitely one of the longest fight games I have ever played. A very solid title, but it could have used more originality.

Streets of Rage 2 really does stand the test of time. It is still one of the finest side-scrollers ever made. It's got a decent length for a game of its time and it certainly worth playing more than once. The visuals are surprisingly vibrant. Most importantly, it's fun. But the online portion of SOR2 is executed poorly. And, once again, Backbone Entertainment presents a classic SEGA title with absolutely no extras. Weak sauce. If you plan on playing SOR2 offline, this is a great buy, even for 400 Microsoft Points (US$5). But if your plan is to tackle the Streets online, you're better off passing up this classic.

The Streets Of Rage series was the evolution of the side-scrolling co-op fighting genre, and at least more worthy of your MS Points than Double Dragon. Exactly what that means will differ for each gamer, as the game's innovations are old news at this point. Those looking to recapture their youth, and some difficult achievements, will find this to their liking. Anyone looking for a 'new' button-masher to eat up Arcade time will likely be a bit under whelmed.

Streets of Rage 2 is still an enjoyable experience to this day, but like other traditional beat-em ups, the game shows its age with its limited gameplay that gets old far too quickly.

Sega's 1991 sleeper hit game of vigilante justice, which chronicled the story of three ex-peace officers in their struggle to bring down Mr. X and his diverse group of street thugs, receives a 16-meg sequel with more moves, two new characters, and a two-player head-to-head option.

All in all it's a fine game for simplicity and nostalgic purposes if nothing else, but it compares poorly by today's standards, and if you get too attached to the game, you'd better be willing to either find an adapter so you can play at home, or be willing to fork out tons of cash to keep batteries in a system that goes through six at a time like they were oxygen.

What is certain though is that Streets of Rage 2 is a classic title that fully deserves to be revived and remembered in modern day gaming. Now, pass me the pain relief and I’ll be on my way…

This is a disappointment on multiple levels. Fans of this series should still check it out without question since it does have the oddball levels. Everyone should probably just head to the Game Gear if they're dying for 8-bit "Streets of Rage." There's little reason for this port.