Rise 2: Resurrection (0)

Overview

Resurrection: Rise 2 is the sequel to Rise of the Robots, a game that was heavily hyped up prior to release due to its relatively large budget and impressive graphical style, but went on to be received very poorly by gamers and critics alike. This sequel fared no better, with players praising the visual style and admitting that improvements had been made to the fighting system, but complaining about nearly every other facet of the game. The story of the first title was continued, picking up right where Rise of the Robots left off, and continuing the story of Coton the cyborg. There were 23 characters in total, some available from the start and others hidden. Several new robots were added, but all of the old ones remained, each being upgraded with new moves and abilities. The game also introduced a palette-swap mechanic, where the player could essentially change the color of any robot, with up to 256 available colors.

The fighting system of the game, despite the poor reception from critics, was technically very much improved. More combos were added, a counter system was introduced, all of the fighters were given several new special moves, and every robot had a super move that could be unleashed once an energy bar was full. One of the features heavily touted before release was the inclusion of 'Termination' moves, very similar to the Fatalities of Mortal Kombat, however many gamers were left disappointed upon purchasing the game to discover there were very few actual Termination moves in the game, and most of them were not up to the standard of MK's fatalities.

As mentioned earlier, Brian May, who contributed to the soundtrack of the first game, returned with another track for Rise 2 entitled 'Cyborg'.

Story

The story picks up from the end of Rise of the Robots. Coton is defeated by the Supervisor, and assimilated into her being, granting her even greater intelligence, and the ability to upgrade all of her existing robot guards (this explained how the robots from the previous game were all improved in Rise 2). For a time, it is feared that Coton is lost for good, with the scientists who deployed him eventually resorting to unleashing the virus from the original game. This virus infects all robots in the city, including most of the Supervisor's guard, causing them to turn against one another, vastly depleting the Supervisor's resources. It is at this time, we see Coton return, making the most of the chaos to slip away unnoticed, uploading himself into a new robot.

The game is left open at this point, perhaps in anticipation of another sequel, or to let the player draw their own conclusions. Coton is left with the choice of escaping the facility altogether, or fighting the Supervisor one last time.