Joe Danger 2: The Movie is a recently (14th September 2012) released Xbox Live Arcade game developed by Hello Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It is a sequel to the original Joe Danger, a highly popular platform/racing game, so the standard has already been set. Personally at a cost of 1200 Microsoft Points this has to be as good as or better to live up to its price tag, but does it?
Joe has moved onto the big time in the world of stuntmen, getting starring roles in some huge (and made-up) movies but now he has to prove he has the skills to back up his pay check. This is the heart of the game, Movie Mode, where you must perform certain objectives and goals to complete each level (scene) using a variety of vehicles. The films and scenes are (my interpretation) almost a homage to classics such as Indiana Jones and James Bond such as escaping erupting volcanoes or an incoming avalanche whilst being hounded by villains trying to bring you down. With six acts in total there’s plenty of variety to keep you going and each scene can have many objectives for example collecting stars or simply surviving the scene (more difficult that it sounds!). The best part about these scenes are the fact it might have multiple things to collect and do but you don’t necessarily have to do them all in one run, it will save the objectives you complete allowing you to attempt the task from another angle or style in order to achieve the rest. After completing all scenes within an act it shows you a mashed up video of them and I can’t help but feel they missed a trick by not using real footage from your attempts, instead it’s rather generic.
You will have to replay most of these scenes in order to gain enough stars by completing more goals to unlock some of the later scenes, now you may think repetitive but the fast paced style which is present in the majority of them will keep it fresh and you’ll probably discover new ways to navigate your vehicle to the finish. Speaking of vehicles I was pleased to see that they mix it up quite often, from the classic motorbike to a jetpack or even a unicycle, the latter being incredibly tough to ride when trying to speed boost. The art of mastering each one is a task in itself but the times I crashed and needed a restart, I got slightly better at controlling them each time and never once felt frustrating.
This is where I move onto the “Deleted Scenes” which are slightly trickier levels than in Movie Mode and by slightly I mean this is the part that became frustrating. Everything is basically the same layout/ideas just harder and when you have a certain amount of bananas to collect within a time limit yet you cannot quite reach the last two without the clock hitting zero. There were times when it took me 50 or more attempts but I still couldn’t work out other ways the make up the extra time, when I finally did though the frustration instantly transformed into joy. It is one of those games where you may get a little annoyed but the addictiveness will make sure you don’t give up and the relief will come along with the happy times upon completion. There are six parts to this as well, jam packed with innovative levels that will test your nerve and your reflexes for sure.
Multiplayer mode is the most disappointing aspect unfortunately, despite allowing up to 4 players to race there are only five tracks to use. That’s not all though, it’s only offline multiplayer and with today’s constantly growing online gamer it would have been better to be able to play vs friends across Xbox live so no matter where they are, without having to be in the same room.
Last but not least is the option to expand your selection of levels to compete in and complete via Movie Maker which is simply creating your own levels from scratch. Pick the environment and your vehicle of choice then add various obstacles, ramps and even place stars to collect. The customisation is so vast that there are many possibilities, almost endless, meaning that should you come up an idea that would be a cool layout you’ll almost definitely be able to make it with ease. Simple to use and even shows a tutorial that is rather basic but covers most of what you’d need to know to build an exciting course to navigate. It also lets you download levels that other users have made.
I found this to be more exciting, addictive and fun than its predecessor whilst also offering plenty of levels/stunt runs to keep you going for many hours and replay-ability is definitely there. For 1200 MS Points it’s more than worth buying, especially if you already own the original you will not be disappointed.
8/10