Ring II: Twilight of the Gods

The Good
This game had some very beautiful graphics with fluid animation and I liked how the main character grew up through the course of it from a boy to a man. Also puzzles were a bit more puzzle-like than the first installment.

The Bad
I didn't like that the space opera framework story from the first game was done away with for the sequel. It was the most interesting part of the first game, in my opinion, and it was to be continued so now we'll never know how it ended. It also fit with the sci-fi sets and costuming which did continue into the second part, but now seem out of place. Also, I didn't care for the departure from Wagner's storyline to one which didn't make a lot of sense due to it being culled from a variety of sources. Also the cutscenes left a lot to be desired, especially when compared to the beautifully cutscenes from the first game that were perfectly choreographed to the music. Music was also a problem in that it was looped from much shorter segments (possibly to make it fit on fewer CDs?) and the final cutscene ends abruptly in the middle of a song.

The Bottom Line
This isn't really a sequel to the first game, but more a separate game with the same graphical style. None of the plot is continued and gameplay also differs significantly. In comparison to the first game it breaks as much as it fixes, but like the first game is definitely worth a look more for artistic curiosity than fun. Both games are very entertaining for people with an open mind as to what a game should be, and as far as creativity goes may even be modest classics.