I’ve been trying to find Xbox 360 games that are for 4 players because I bought all the controllers. It feels like 3 out of the 4 just sit there. I never played the original Fuzion Frenzy but Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a bundle of 4-player mini-games set in outer space. You’ll find that Fuzion Frenzy 2 is quite different than many of the party games that you’d find on other consoles. Instead of relying on blind luck, some of these games actually take a bit of skill.The premise behind Fuzion Frenzy 2 is that Fuzion Frenzy was a tournament that used to be held on Earth until the leaders of Earth banned the competition. Due to a problem with overpopulation, humans began to immigrate into space. To encourage this immigration, Fuzion Frenzy was started up again. This time, the tournament was held on different planets, each with its own theme. So here’s where you get to play one of the six characters in this intergalactic version of Fear Factor.
You can compete over Xbox Live in two different modes. One allows you to compete for ranking and the other doesn’t. Offline, you can play in Tournament mode where you need to conquer a specific number of planets to win. Mini-Game Frenzy mode allows you to pick and choose the mini-games that you want to play. There is the option of customizing your own tournament too.
Frenzy cards add a little something extra into the mix, or at the very least it adds a bit of randomness to the game. You are given cards at the beginning of the game and they are distributed throughout Tournament mode. They can add a multiplier to your score but if someone has a steal card they can take the multiplier from you. Some cards let you choose which planet to go to next if you’re not the winner. The card system isn’t exactly the greatest feature of the game, especially since it doesn’t make the game fair if you won the mini-game and someone decides to use a multiplier and jump ahead of you in points. Along with Tournament mode comes the incredibly annoying announcer that never shuts up. You’re better off just playing random mini-games for fun since you get to avoid the cards and the announcer. A good portion of the 40+ mini-games are unlocked for you, but unfortunately, you do need to sludge through Tournament mode with various characters if you want to unlock them all.
Since this is a game show that is based in space, you’ll notice the entire space theme throughout the game. There are a lot of games that involve lasers and maneuvering bulky technology. The mini-games themselves are fun, although I’m not a huge fan of the ones where you can also attack your opponent. I guess it adds a little more competition but it’s a bit distracting trying to club one of the 3 opponents while still accomplishing your goal. There are some that are button mashers but as a whole the collection of games from Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a lot more involved that what you would find from other party games. Before each game there is a brief description of what you need to do. Many of these games are fairly intuitive, worst case you can always do a practice run.
The characters look like they came out of Phantasy Star, but the graphics are nicely done. Voice acting, however, can be improved or just removed. Thankfully you do get the option to skip scenes so you can get straight to business. The music doesn’t really do much except keep it from being completely silent.
The variety of mini-games is worth a try, especially if you’re looking for some 4-player mayhem. The tournament mode is just there for you to unlock achievements, but otherwise you’re better off just playing in Mini-Game Frenzy mode. The announcer is by far the worst aspect of the game, if only there was a way to remove him completely the game would be much better.
I haven’t had the opportunity to play online, although I’m hesitant with playing against people I don’t know. For now as a party game for the Xbox 360, Fuzion Frenzy 2 does the job. Although if we’re talking about how it ranks in terms of a party game as a whole, I’d rather play on the GameCube or the Wii.
I am a Canadian living in California with my husband and my precious baby Bailey (95lbs of labrador fun). I work full time and go to school, so finding the time to play video games is tough. I still manage to sneak some time in, whether it's playing on my GBA while I wait in line or sitting in the back seat of my car so I can use our dvd player to play the Gamecube on long trips. I've always been fairly decent at playing games to give my younger brother some competition. I started at the early age of 6 when I inherited an Atari 2600. I played any computer game I could get my hands on during those Commodore 64 days. Now I'll play anything from RPGs to first person shooters, racing games or basically anything that's fun and allows me to play with at least 3 other people.
