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The first Joe Danger was really a gem that came out of nowhere. It was fun, addictive and challenging. Let me be the first to say, the sequel is all that but in an even bigger package. Grab your motorcycle and get ready to hit some ramps. Joe Danger is back, and he’s made the big time.
After the first game that had Joe Danger coming out of retirement to become the world’s best stunt driver, he’s now got paying gigs in Joe Danger 2: The Movie. Joe will star in a number of different movies and act out the action, chase and stunt scenes himself, and it’s up to you to guide him through the different movies showing off his crazy tricks and jumps while still trying not to crash and end up in the ER.
The standard game play of Joe Danger is present in the sequel. The game is a 2D side scrolling racing game where you play as Joe on a variety of moving objects. He can jump, duck and boost as well as pull wheelies and perform tricks in the air after a big jump on a ramp. The game is a lot like Trials HD. You can control the direction Joe is moving with the triggers and how he rotates using the left analog stick.
The object of each level is to complete certain objectives while still trying to make it to the end in the fastest time possible. These objectives may be to collect a certain number of stars in a level, collect D-A-N-G-E-R (a la Tony Hawk), and combo the entire level with wheelies and tricks. Some levels have a Pro medal that will only unlock if you complete all the bonus objectives. These medals will provide Joe with new costumes to use in the game.
The movies Joe will be starring in range from an Indiana Jones rip-off that features a mine cart race to a secret agent movie that sees Joe strapping on a jetpack and boosting around a mountain base loaded with nuclear warheads. The environments and special mission objectives for some of the levels are really fun and break up the same old “collect this to progress” objectives.
The difficulty in some of the later levels was a big problem I had with the first game. Luckily, Joe Danger 2 eases the difficulty in, and I never really hit a wall. After the campaign has been bested, you can move over to the deleted scenes portion of the game. These levels provide a bigger challenge and can keep even the best Joe Danger players busy for a while.
There is also local multiplayer that has you and other players racing against each other and competing for the best score. It’s a fun mode, but I really wish it had online multiplayer. It would have been a blast playing with my friends over Xbox Live.
It is a cupcake riding a motorcycle, how awesome is that?
The level creator is back from the first game, and just like last time, you can create some really crazy levels to upload and share with the community, as well as download levels that others have made and give them a shot. There’s even a tutorial to show you how to create your own levels step by step.
That is what is so great about Joe Danger. The small things the game gives you to make sure you completely understand how everything works. There’s a tutorial for practically everything and the tutorials never feel overly complicated or drawn out. The optional ghosts show how you, friends and other random players performed on previous runs is a great feature that keeps me wanting to improve my score or time.
With the full campaign mode taking you through different movies, the deleted scenes with their challenging levels and objectives, level creator that lets you upload and download levels online, and the local multiplayer, you have a ton of content all in a small $15 package. It really is a steal for what you’re getting. The game play is fun and addicting, and the small problems I had with the first game have been ironed out completely. I highly suggest Joe Danger 2: The Movie without any doubts.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
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