BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

The presentation is that of a runner, but make no mistake: this is a rhythm game through and through. The game combines sound and visuals really well, which makes for almost a synesthesia-like experience. The challenge (and your available actions) starts out relatively low, but builds up over time. By the time you get to the end, it's fairly difficult, especially if you enjoy trying to go for perfect scores. The presentation is fantastic overall. It has a great quirky charm to it that's just pure fun, and it's incredibly colorful. My main criticism is that it's too short. It spends a fair amount of time ramping up the challenge by adding new mechanics and obstacles, but then doesn't spend too many levels simply exploring those mechanics. Also, this is more like a neutral, but be aware that this game really shines if you push yourself to go for perfect runs. If you simply play to get through it, there isn't much there in terms of challenge or reason to keep playing. I'd expect most people would manage to get a weekend's worth of playtime out of it; probably somewhere around 6 hours to simply get through the game, and longer if you get hooked on getting higher scores. For me, I find it relaxing enough just to sort of chill out to --- it's not that it's a chill game, just that rhythm games fill that niche for me.

I really enjoyed the game. I originally bought and beat this on the Xbox 360. So much so that I decided to purchase it again on the PC now that I no longer have a 360. Its just as much fun as I remember! The levels are challenging and the music is nice! The quirky art style grows on you. Such an odd sense of humor as well. The only thing I wish it had was achievements. Maybe in a future patch, but I suspect that all development has stopped on this outside of any game breaking bugs, of which I have not encountered any. I very much recommend the game!

I was really hoping to like this. The first game had a decent idea that was royally screwed up at every turn. I had heard good things about this one, and while it fixes many of the issues I had with Runner 1, it creates even more ridiculous issues along the way. The awkward camera slants, things that jump out at you to block your view, and random slowdowns all make this an extremely frustrating experience. What's more, the framerate issues of the last game persist here. I gave it a shot, but was left pretty disappointed. It's a real shame, because I still find the idea to have had a lot of potential.

There is always a delay after I press jump. I really tried to continue playing the same level over and over again, but e.g. a slight delay before the latter ruins the level. The background color is almost the same as enemy color. Seriously? Didn't anyone QC the game before release? And in the soundtrack, there are no certain rythm points to give feedback the user. The animation is also just not synch'd with the ryhtm. I think I'll give this series another chance - getting the first game. Maybe only fun in the first 30 minutes, not more.