I went into this game with zero expectations. (In fact, I haven't even played the first game.) To further substantiate the Schwartz Theory of Low Expectation Media Consumption, my initial reaction to the game was super positive. In fact, SoE2 (as I will call it henceforth) was a blast to play! The game opens with your character inside the death chamber at a prison -- uh oh! Fortunately for him, someone was kind enough to strap a gun to the bottom of his chair. (Yes, check credibility at the door for this one, folks.) Time to make with the carnage!
I should have known something was up when I could not figure out how to exit the FIRST ROOM in the game. Apparently, I did something that prevented the correct story trigger to occur, because once I rebooted and did it again, progress flowed smoothly. The gameplay is typical third-person action: shooting, running, sniping, grenading, ducking around corners. The gimmick here, like in the first game, is that there are a whole lot of NPC characters running around the levels, making for a very chaotic "moblike" atmosphere. Once you bust all the prisoners out of their cells, the game succeeds remarkably well in this area. There are indeed lots of (often identical) chumps running around getting in your way, and woe is the prisoner who gets between you and a guard with a shotgun.
The game is tough. VERY tough. I kept failing the missions, even in the early stages. But unlike GTA, I was not frustrated -- not yet, anyway. Just the opposite: the challenge level was just high enough to make me want to keep trying again and again, without the fun factor diminishing. This is an astonishing achievement, considering modern games often become intolerable when the learning curve is too punishing. (The spinning towers of blades at the end of God of War jump to mind.) In the case of SoE2, the frustration was part of the fun.
Oh, but then how things went wrong. Horribly wrong. Eventually, you break one of your buddies out of prison, and suddenly you have multiple playable characters that you can hotswap during the action. Too bad your buddies are NO FUCKING HELP WHATSOEVER. Too bad there are suddenly CRACKSHOT SNIPERS ON EVERY GUARD TOWER who are all too ready to blow your head off at 2,000 paces. Too bad the levels are IMPOSSIBLY BLAND with nowhere to hide. Too bad it takes FOREVER TO SWITCH WEAPONS. And did I mention that the friendly AI is MADE OF PUDDING?
At a few hours into the game, the punishing challenge suddenly made a hard turn into the No Fun Zone. I started seeing SoE2 it for what it really was: an example of bad programming. Or bad level design, or bad enemy AI, whatever. (Note to developers: enemies that can hit you from across the level when you can't even see them is no longer acceptable.) Frankly, the game had so much going for it. Cool weapons, lots of explosions, a funny delivery and sense of attitude. Not to mention the first scene that takes place inside a DEATH CHAMBER. But ultimately, I turned off my PS2 in a huff and sent the damn game back to GameFly. Who has time for this stuff when there are so many other good games to play?
I love it when an overlooked gem or a budget title, having fallen victim to the oversaturated market, suddenly breaks through and impresses you with its sheer level of quality or awesome budget-ness. Unfortunately, SoE2 is just another game that could have been so much more.
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