Parappa The Rapper 2 screenshot   The Final Say! Gameplay 6.0 Graphics 7.0 Sound 8.0 Value 7.5 Parappa The Rapper 2 - reviewed by Tory F Review Date: 24 February 2002 Review Score: 7/10 Distributed By: Sony Computer Entertainment

"That funny little dog is back with fresh tunes in Parappa the Rapper 2" For those of you who have already met Parappa in the past, please go onto the next paragraph while I introduce Parappa to everyone else. OK, now that they have gone, the storyline is simple: You being Parappa, are a dog that raps! It's that simple, Parappa hooks up with his friends who all rap to him and he has to rap back by you pressing the correct buttons in time to the music.   In this action packed instalment, Parappa has won a lifetime's supply of noodles and of course as a result he is doing nothing else but eating noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner which irks his friends and girlfriend especially.   So we have to help Parappa interact with his friends in order to learn a little more about food (really!). The game's functionality is extremely limited with characters merely rhyming and you have to hit the correct sequence of buttons in time to the music to make Parappa mimic the onscreen prompts. In as far as the game goes, it executes it's purpose perfectly and the tunes will have you bopping your head like a metronome in time to the music. Even if you don't like the music, you will need to mark the tunes somehow! The beats are funky however and as ridiculous as the rhymes are, you will button mash your heart out.

A flaw in the game is if you fail to keep rhyming in time to the music. You MUST start again from the beginning of that lesson/level which is aggravating to say the least. This could mean anything up to five minutes of catch-up.

Most of the spoken parts of the game are nonsensical so don't try to make sense of them. The title is fun and one of it's saving features is the two player party mode which is great.

The game does promote good eye hand coordination and kids especially will have a blast playing it. Quite possibly the adult market will prefer something more along the lines of Space Channel 5. I would reasonably suggest this title to be most suitable for serious playing by children aged possibly from 5 through to 14 or 15 years. It would also be suitable as a party title for adults, quite possibly as a rental.

Whilst I personally enjoyed Parappa the Rapper 2, if you are over 15, try the game as a rental before forking over your money for it. The game is most definitely hit or miss and you should know after about 10 minutes or so if you would do well to purchase the title.

Also, unless you want to be scratching your head even more, skip all movie scenes or just enjoy the bad "Engrish!".

- Tory F