Fuzion Frenzy 2 is the resulting effect when Mario Party collides with an X-Treme ad campaign, all to the beat of a Megaman soundtrack.
Funzion Frenzy 2 (FF2) feels a lot like your typical party game. You have up to four players (three of which can be CPUs for you hermits out there) to play in a series of mini games in order to net points towards an overall game of who comes out with the highest overall score.
However, FF2, like the later installments of Mario Party, kind of scews this concept up with cards. Each player gets cards that either multiply their invidual scores at the end of the game or steal away the effects of other used cards or even divide the effects of others, and a few misc. ones as well. This results in you may have winning the match, but if someone used a x6 card, they will most likely top you and you will have technically lost. You'll get the same amount of points, but they'll get much much more. So there is some "strategy" in this in that you have to decide if your opponet will use a multiply card so you can steal it or if they will play it safe and you can safely play your own times card. Still, though, with the way they tip the scales so easily, they scew the game up way too much.
You get a selection of seven [extreme] players to play on seven planets, all which thier own "unique" mini-games. I'm no fasion expert, but these people should not be allowed to dress themselves. You don't need to be one of the Fab Five to know that purple does not go with orange, and these characters, including the obnoxious DJ, are all commiters of fasion crime. That doesn't take away from their play style, though, thankfully. They all play the same, just have some discernable main color so you can pick them out from the rest.
The mini games are not as numerous as your other party games, with only 40 some games to play, your menu runs short. However, some of these games can be well in length, taking away from the 5 second quick match draw minigames in titles such as Mario Party. Of them there are your typical rythm tests and fast thumb hitting drills, but also you'll get all out brawls, sometimes with complicated controls, but you pick up quickly enough after a practice or two - and few games rarely give anything up to luck, which is a HUGE plus.
The sound in the game is nothing to be proud of. Again, think the soundtrack from an old SNES or Genisis game. Lots of synthesizing and techno beats, all to the sound of the DJ. The DJ acts as the MC of the games and never ever shuts up. He will prattle on and on about every occurance that happens in every single game. And after awhile, hearing "Ooo, Player 1 - how does that feel?!" gets tired. To make matters worse, he has the worse tacked on X-Treme sports anouncer voice in video game, or any media, history. It's so over the top that you will be thankful that you can turn his volume off in the main menu.
Graphically the game doesn't fail in that you wouldn't expect this game to have high end next gen graphics. These are, at best, last gen graphics with a shiny overcoat. However, you can't fault the game for that. Because, again, it's not trying to visually stimulate you. Things have to be kept simple so you don't get overwelmed with details and you miss your cue to hit X.
Online play is typical enough. You have tournament where you go to play 3 minigames, including a Frenzy match, on as many number of planets as you need to get the set number of needed planets to win. Custom allows the host to set which games happen when and Frenzy is just play any ol' minigame for the hell of it.
In sort, FF2 doesn't try to wow you with high end graphics or amazing sound, but in the area it should be trying to impress you (fun factor and replayability) it sadly drops short of a good party title. It's good for an easy 1,000 points, however, and if you happen to fall into posession of it, you can keep it around for when the crew comes over and you all want to play a few rounds of Tail Blazer with some X-Treme sports anouncing in the backround to the sound of rejected Sonic songs.
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