As one of the only defenders of the first game, I can't in good conscience say that this one passes the test. It feels tossed-off, committing the grave sequel sin of trying too hard to rush into a potential franchise rather than fleshing out into its own game first. Ugly graphics, truly and deeply janky gameplay, a story that the writers couldn't have cared any less about, along with having one of the shittiest combat systems of all time. Still, it's a passable bout of seventh-generation dumb fun for a couple playthroughs - and many of the good directions taken in the first game do reappear here (I'm a sucker for those electrical P2P puzzles). But sadly this remains weaker than its predecessor in pretty much every respect and is perfectly indicative of Konami's knack for beating its poor franchises into the ground at this point in time.