Anime fans are very protective of their franchises. It is one of those genres where people are judged based on what they choose to like. A Cowboy Bebop viewer is likely to be heralded as a connoisseur with taste, while a Dragonball Z fan is likely to be shunned. That doesn't mean Dragonball Z fans take their disapproving glances lightly, as they are always quick to defend the anime they love, and that includes the several games that have branched forth from the series. Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is the next fighting game in the Dragonball Z Budokai franchise, and it is set to bring fans the same fighting action with their beloved characters.

By choosing the cell shaded graphical styling over more realistic character models, the developers really tap into the anime series and it feels almost exactly like the player is controlling the action during one of the show's episodes. I've seen practically the entire Dragonball Z series, so trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about. I've mentioned before about cell shaded graphics and how hit or miss they can be, but with Budokai Tenkaichi (what a seemingly nonsensical name) I wouldn't want the styling any other way. When I'm controlling Gohan I like Gohan actually looking like Gohan, because it instantly brings back all my fond memories of the series, such as when he went Super Saiyan for the first time.

The environments are the same open areas featuring nothing but a few rocky hills, but that is okay because the fighters need some room to fly about in. Also, the environments are the same way in the anime series, so it is still keeping that flavor. Though the environments are fairly void, there is a limited amount of interactivity as the player has the ability to hit enemies against and even through some of the rock walls. Otherwise, the environments are mostly air, so that the player has plenty of room to fight about and fly through.

By what I could tell – though the roster wasn't finalized in the E3 preview on the show floor - Budokai Tenkaichi looks to feature as many fighters as it can possibly squeeze onto one disc. Of course fan favorites like Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Piccolo will be present as always, but it looked as if slightly more obscure characters will be available as well to do battle. No definitive number of fighters was listed, but rest assured that fan favorites will most likely be in the final game, along with the series more popular villains.

As stated, the environments and characters are really quite nice, but sadly the gameplay seemed a little dumbed down. The combos and attacks were very simply – almost hack and slash – tap one button over and over to damage. As I was playing, it never really felt like I was performing the exact moves I wanted, but rather I got lucky and managed once and a while to perform some unique attack. Besides the regular hand-to-hand attacks, chi like attacks were also at the player's disposal, which are powerful blasts the characters can channel from their hands. To anyone who has seen the show, the chi blasts will seem like second nature by now. My single largest complaint about the actual fighting gameplay is the fact that every character seems to play exactly the same with the exact same combat moves; really, the only thing I ever noticed different were the character models performing the moves.

Fans of Dragonball Z could probably care less about any complaints, because all they are probably hearing is "Oh, tons of characters! Oh, more DBZ fighting!" For everyone else out there, the style is certainly there, but I have hope that the gameplay will go through some tweaking before the final product is released.