This review contains spoilers
Not much to say about this that hasn't been said already. It's a big improvement on the first game. Strafing improves combat massively, there's more variety, there's more levels etc. It is a bit more gimmicky, which can be hit or miss but I did enjoy the faster hoverbike races and the expanded air battles. Didn't so much enjoy the Clank boss battles (or any clank part), but at least there's only 2 of them. The arenas especially were a great addition to complement the improved battle mechanics.
And speaking of combat, you can tell how much more focused this game is on it because there's now a whopping 80 total health to get, 10 times more than the last game. Of course this is balanced by the fact some enemies can shred off more bars at once than others, further adding to the sense of power scaling.
One thing I wanna get into is this weapon upgrade system. The idea of using a weapon more meaning it gets exp and eventually upgrades itself is fine in theory, but when playing all it meant was that I was forcing myself to use weapons in the wrong context just to get it the exp it needed, while avoiding any weapons I'd already upgraded because using those felt like wasted exp. Some weapons are also far more a pain in the ass to upgrade than others, like weapons with low ammo count and/or extremely situational weapons like the spider glove. I guess the point is more that you pick the guns that suit your play style and then they get better, but then why have a skill point specifically needed for upgrading them all? The devs are telling you that if you wanna unlock everything, you gotta play in a way that feels unnatural, and just less fun. But at least balance the mechanic around the types of guns though, jeez.
And speaking of combat, you can tell how much more focused this game is on it because there's now a whopping 80 total health to get, 10 times more than the last game. Of course this is balanced by the fact some enemies can shred off more bars at once than others, further adding to the sense of power scaling.
One thing I wanna get into is this weapon upgrade system. The idea of using a weapon more meaning it gets exp and eventually upgrades itself is fine in theory, but when playing all it meant was that I was forcing myself to use weapons in the wrong context just to get it the exp it needed, while avoiding any weapons I'd already upgraded because using those felt like wasted exp. Some weapons are also far more a pain in the ass to upgrade than others, like weapons with low ammo count and/or extremely situational weapons like the spider glove. I guess the point is more that you pick the guns that suit your play style and then they get better, but then why have a skill point specifically needed for upgrading them all? The devs are telling you that if you wanna unlock everything, you gotta play in a way that feels unnatural, and just less fun. But at least balance the mechanic around the types of guns though, jeez.