(Import)
Review By: Chris Lee
Developer:	H2O
Publisher:	THQ
# of Players:	1-4
Genre:	Puzzle
ESRB:	Everyone
Date Posted:	2-15-00

Let's cut the cute and witty opening and get straight to the point. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 is without a doubt the best wrestling game created. The game has the All-Japan Pro Wrestling license so it features all of the major superstars from that promotion as well as a ton of superstars from all over Japan, I'll get to that later. VPW 2 is the Japanese version of Wrestlemania 2000, but it's more like Wrestlemania 2001. This game is so much more than WM2K. It has more moves, taunts, characters, options, features and personality. If you're a fan of puroresu then you absolutely CANNOT pass this by. Let's get to it.

GAMEPLAY

This if by far the toughest department to cover because there's so much to talk about, but here goes. They have added two new difficulty levels, very easy and Very hard. That wouldn't really mean anything unless they actually tweaked the AI. And boy did they. In Wrestlemania when the computer went for a tag it wouldn't ever defend itself, that is NOT the case here. In Virtual Pro 2 the computer is very intelligent, it might go for the tag while defending himself or he might fake going for the tag to throw you off. Another thing is that in Wrestlemania you could lock on a submission on the computer anytime you wanted to and it would never reverse, once again that's not the case in Virtual Pro 2. If the computer has good spirit it can and will reverse you. Those two things really make he game more competitive and fun. There's also new grappling feature. If you run and press the A button you can pull off all sorts of great moves like a swinging neckbreaker, tornado DDT, Floatover DDT(The Rock used to do that one), and various suplexes.

That one feature adds so much more to the gameplay without being cheesy. It can be reversed with L just like any other grappling attempt. Imagine you're The Great Sasuke, someone tries to back suplex you and you flip over their back, run and hit A and BAM face crusher. It adds that extra element of excitement that's present in wrestling but hasn't been thus far in wrestling games.

With the inclusion of so many characters I really thought they'd skimp on character specific taunts and moves. Boy was I wrong. The characters persona are almost lovingly recreated here. Chono finally has a lifelike representation of his Mafia kick and arm pump taunt. The Great Muta can spit mist in your face and has his mist rana(all the mist can be varying colors depending on what button you press, neat eh?). I could go on here but trust me, if they do it in real life, they do it here. If you're familiar with Toryumon(Ultimo Dragon's Promotion) then you've heard of some of the most talked about young superstars not only in Japan but in the world. Tokyo Magnum, Shiima Nobunaga, and Dragon Kid. Once I heard that they were in the game I was so happy but then I thought that they'd be watered down versions of themselves, seeing as how they aren't MAJOR players yet.. I can't tell you how it felt to see Tokyo's Gyration-Rana and Shiima's Tornado Plancha, and not to mention Dragon Kids 450 Rana (you have to see it to believe it). Now while all these things may not mean much to wrestling fans who are unfamiliar with the Japanese stars, I can tell you that if you are a wrestling fan period that you'll love the personality that they've added. Each and every character in the game has his exact personality from real life. All the moves, all the taunts are there.

While on the subject of moves, I'm sure many of you are wondering if the game has that many more moves that would warrant an import of the game. Not only are all the moves and taunts from WCW/NWO Revenge in the game but every single move and taunt from Wrestlemania 2000 is in the game. The game has, I dare say, double the moves of Wrestlemania. There's more top rope moves, turnbuckle moves, submissions, strikes, grapples, taunts and anything else you can think of. If you're a fan of Japanese wrestling then prepare to mark out like crazy. And if you're NOT a fan of Japanese wrestling then you've more than likely never seen half of these moves therefore warranting a purchase right? Haha well you can decide after you read the rest of the review.

Speaking of moves, there's yet another huge inclusion in VPW2. They've added a second special move. Some wrestlers in the game have the ability to activate a second more devastating special. The method to activating it is easy. Once you've activated your first special meter, simply tap the analog again and complete the taunt and the meter will light up into a fiery yellow. This move can only be activated once per match whether you execute the move or not, and it fades VERY quickly. So you better be quicker than a Hardy Boyz double team if you wanna pull it out.

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