Bad Boys, Bad Boys watcha gonna do when they come for you… erm lets see wreck havoc with a semi-automatic machine gun on their ass!! Yep, time for some Bad Boys action and it comes in the form of Bad Boys II: The sequel to the oh so old skool original movie.

Gameplay:

Bad Boys II puts you in the capable or not so capable hands of Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett who are part of the Tactical Narcotics Team. This time round they are on duty to round up the drug scene in Miami or more specifically something even bigger going down in Miami. Of course you’ll bump into a few old faces along the way, namely from the original movie. The game is played in a 3rd person perspective most of the time and sometimes 1st person when you are ducking or zooming in which works quite nicely in game.

The game comprises of 15 stages which are sometimes sectioned off into other areas to assist the storyline, speaking of the storyline it’s not too bad yet it’s not exactly top notch scripted stuff either. For a video game it’s above average and follows the film to a reasonable degree. The game plays very reminiscent of a combination of Tomb Raider and Time Crisis/Virtua Cop style and is very enjoyable to play as it’s very simple to control. So content wise the game will last a good amount of time and playing through the game poses a good challenge an extraordinarily high amount of fun, whether this is down to the gore level or sheer fun of kicking criminal ass is yet to be seen. But before you get started in the game there’s the basic tutorial which is vital to your success as it teaches you how to move about in the game and dodge behind things, use weapons correctly and will ensure you get through the game in one piece. The approach it takes is quite Splinter Cell like so fans of Splinter Cell will enjoy this. You either have two options in game: either be stealthy and pick off the enemies or go in all guns blazing. I feel the mix of both pays off quite nicely.

You’ll also get to play as Mike and Marcus who both supply their own brand of unique humour throughout the game and will have you laughing as they remark on things that happen, such as shooting Marcus in the leg for instance. All the scenery is fully interactive and can be destroyed with explosive and enjoyable effect. The AI has a half decent amount of intelligence and if you come out from a crouching position they’ll shoot you but sometimes you can get in positions where they can shoot you yet they don’t. Enemies also randomly appear all over the place at times. The bosses you encounter pack a reasonable amount of challenge before completing a stage. They game plays smoothly and involves a ranking system to judge your performance to improve, which you will need to do.

Graphics:

Bad Boys II looks above average but also upholds a mix of effects to produce some nicely detailed worlds, as the worlds are fully destructible explosions, shattered windscreens and pretty much anything that looks like it can be destroyed can be. Many Splinter Cell type light effects are also used and the cut scenes play as if in 90’s style VHS tape, which makes good viewing. No slowdown at all and the only stick I can probe at the graphics is the fact that some of the characters and landscape could have been that bit more detailed to give that ’wow’ factor.

Sound:

Now this is a game that sticks its head out true to the film and you will come across many soundtrack type tracks throughout the game. The music in game gets very serious and occasionally reacts to what’s happening around you. Aesthetically everything sounds very pleasing, perhaps the option of hard drive music may have been a good option, but nether the less this is very nice sound-wise.

Longetivity:

This is where the game lacks a little. Although you have the option of extensive training, looking at evidence and checking out gun specification which sounds great, you are left with only one thing left and that is the main game. With only 15 stages which to be fair are split up in sub stage there’s not a lot left as there’s no online support and absolutely no multiplayer mode at all! Now I would have thought this is the ideal game for 2-player co-op, and would play quite similar to Streets of Rage but in 3D obviously. So what you’re left with is training mode, the story mode with optional extras to view.

Round Up:

Bad Boys II is all round a great game to play as you get 15+ stages to move around taking advantage of some sweet weapons and whooping some major ass. If you’re a fan of the Bad Boys films this is a must and even if you’re not this is great to play to get some anger out of your system!