Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - PS4

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Dragon Ball Xenoverse and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (PS4)
Viewed: 3D Third-person, over the shoulder Genre:
Beat 'Em Up
Compilation
Media: Blu-Ray Arcade origin:No
Developer: Dimps Soft. Co.: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
Publishers: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment UK (GB)
Released: 9 Nov 2018 (GB)
Ratings: PEGI 12+
Connectivity: PlayStation Plus, Remote Play, Network play
Accessories: DualShock 4 Vibration function
Features: 1080p, 720p, 1080i

Summary

Dragon Ball Xenoverse

Dragon Ball Xenoverse is the game many fans had been waiting for - a sprawling epic into which players can insert themselves.

The premise for Xenoverse is pretty simple - someone is travelling through time and altering historical events for an unknown purpose. Trunks uses the Dragon Balls to summon Shenron and asks the great Dragon to provide him with a warrior capable enough to deal with these evil doers and find out the truth behind their schemes. This is where you get to create your own hero.

If you choose to play offline, the hub city will be mostly populated by NPCs, some of which will offer side quests. Other players' characters will show up too, but you won't be able to interact with the players themselves. Instead, their avatar will appear and you can hire them for a set amount of zeni. If other players hire your warrior, you will receive experience points and zeni the next time you play the game. Online mode is better if you're the socialising type - you will share the city with your fellow warriors.

Fighting itself is pretty basic on the surface but can be fast, furious and a lot of fun with more depth and complexity emerging as you get further in. You can choose to play a character you have unlocked or you can be your customised warrior.

For battle you have the usual suspects - light and heavy attacks (which can be chained together for various combos), blocking, throws, ki blasts and teleportation if you time it right. Items can be used with the d-pad to heal health points, stamina etc. There are also special items that you can equip called Z Souls which, when activated in battle after certain conditions are met, will provide you with some nice boosts.

There are also a few PVP options - starting at 1v1, you can have up to 3v3 showdowns. Also of course a Dragon Ball game would not be complete without a World Tournament and this game is no exception. You can also duke it out with a friend in local battles so there are plenty of options for PVP lovers.

The main story missions are staying true to the Dragon Ball universe but have a nice little twist - history is being altered and you are thrust in the middle of these legendary fights in order to make sure that the fight goes the way it should.

All in all this game is an epic addition to the Dragon Ball universe and a great and fresh approach to the story.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Building on the success of the first Xenoverse game, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 looks to dig right back into the madness that exposed a whole generation of fans not just to Dragon Ball Z, but to anime as a whole.

It's safe to say that the game is built to tap into the nostalgia many anime fans feel for Dragon Ball Z's first explosion onto our screens in the '90s. Xenoverse 2 has a gloriously silly premise - a group of baddies have shown up with the intention of travelling through time to ensure that our heroes lose at every turn, wreaking havoc on the timeline. It's your job, as a member of an elite group of Time Patrollers, to travel back and stop them.

It is, in essence, an excuse to revisit some of the greatest moments in Dragon Ball history, and the game jumps at the opportunity. The result is a gloriously over the top rumble RPG in which you get to create your own character and take part in some of the most iconic fights in the storied franchise.

The game stays fairly true to the style of the series, meaning that unlike more traditional beat-'em-ups such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, fights take place in 3D arenas and can involve multiple fighters at once. Another key difference is the fact that right from the start your character is gifted with powers that would give Superman a run for his money. You'll be able to fly, fire off energy balls, punch through steel and teleport to your heart's content.

Beyond the single-player campaign, the game of course offers extensive multiplayer options including basic versus, royal rumbles and co-op-based big-boss battles.

For Dragon Ball Z fans, Xenoverse 2 is a truly iconic game.