PS2 Lupin III: Columbus no Isan wa Akenisomar - New Import

The subtitle of the second Lupin game on PS2 translates roughly to "The Inheritance of Columbus." Join Lupin crew in a new 3-D adventure with polished visuals which make the Lupin gang somewhat more rounded than they should be. These are sharp-edged characters and the cuddly look does them a disservice. Lupin looks particularly "off" in his PS2 incarnation. Game wise however, the control and action follow closely in the footsteps of the original PS2 Lupin III game subtitled Majutsu no Isan.    Player control is over Lupin primarily but the other main heroes such as Jigen and Goemon may be played as well in certain episodes. Walk around a 3-D world and engage in stealth action, slap fighting, and fooling foes with various disguises and outfits. The game engine is nigh identical to the first Lupin but the locales are more varied and the enemy AI is a bit improved. When Fujiko is in play, male characters may be dazzled by her womanly charms and they'll stand around in goofy stupor while she makes her escape. The supporting cast in the game consists of the usual core group of Lupin, Fujiko, Jigen, Goemon, Zenigata and new vestigial players such as Gable, Johnson, Gommah, and Nadia. A number of cut scenes move the story along and are a bit better edited than the enduring cinemas in the original game. Overall, an improvement on the first Lupin III game but needs further tweaking when/if BPS goes for a third Lupin III on PS2.