Developed by Ancient and published by Sega in 1992.

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Following the success that was the original Streets of Rage, Sega set about developing a sequel that would not only be an excellent fighting game in it's own right, but one that would also prove to Nintendo and their fans that the Mega Drive was equally as capable as the recently released SNES console.

The game begins directly where it's predecessor left off. The evil crime lord Mr. X has been defeated and peace has returned to the city streets. Unfortunately, this was not to last; one year later, it becomes apparent that Mr. X is not dead and now has a personal vendetta against the police officers who defeated him. In an act of revenge, Mr. X kidnaps Adam Hunter and holds him hostage.

Adam's younger brother, Skate, makes contact with Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding, informing them of what has happened and that they are in danger. With the city streets being overrun by gang members and thugs, Axel, Blaze, Skate decide to take the fight to Mr. X and his goons. Also along for the ride is Max Thunder, a friend of Axel and former professional wrestler. Together, they must rescue Adam and defeat Mr. X as they risk their very lives on the Streets of Rage.

With four characters to choose from, there's something that should cater to every player's fighting style. Axel and Blaze occupy the middle ground as all-rounders, whilst Max sacrifices speed an agility for raw power. At the other end of the spectrum is Skate, who lacks power, but possesses the highest speed and reflexes.

SOR 2 does little to deviate from the tried and tested beat 'em up formula, but it would be wrong to say that there is nothing new on offer here. This is a game about evolution rather than revolution, with the developers introducing a range of tweaks, improvements and refinements that would also lay much of the groundwork for the next game in the series, Streets Of Rage 3.

Firstly, the number of moves that each character can execute has been increased, providing more tactical options when fighting opponents. The most significant change here is the introduction of special moves for each fighter, replacing the the original game's one-shot smart bomb attack.The specials can be be used at any time, although a small portion of the player's health will be consumed if they actually hit any enemies. Whilst the amount of energy lost is quite small, over-reliance on the special attacks will leave you on low health if not careful.

The variety of enemies in the game has been increased significantly. As well as lowly thugs, the heroes must fight karate masters, ninjas, kickboxers and much more. Each enemy has their own unique move-set, some of which even include blocks and deflections that guard against your attacks. Each and every enemy in the game is capable of bringing you down if you're not careful, so you must be on your guard at all times; you must work out the best strategy to bring each of the different enemies down as fast as possible, without putting yourself at risk.

The game is undoubtedly one of the most polished in the console's library. Each character has more frames of animation than before and everything scrolls at a silky smooth 50 FPS at all times. SOR 2 offers a level of polish and fluidity typically reserved for dedicated arcade hardware, let alone home consoles.

Yuzo Koshiro is, once again, responsible for creating some truly fantastic in-game music. Although I still prefer the original game's music more, there's no arguing with the fact that SOR 2 sounds excellent. The game also features an extensive range of digital voice samples, most of which are exceptionally clear given the technology available at the time.

Most of importantly, the actual combat is mostly excellent. Punches and kicks connect with a resounding smack, stunning enemies and allowing you to follow up with a combination. Although the original game was good, punching and body-slamming bad guys feels so much more satisfying this time around.

However, I did note that there was a delay imposed on how quickly you could throw punches and follow-up attacks, which meant the fighting didn't always feel as fluid as it could have done. I still feel that Streets Of Rage 3 has the best and most responsive fighting in the series.

Even so, Streets Of Rage 2 most definitely set the template for what was to follow and it's remarkable just how much the developers got right here. Whether it's on the original Mega Drive hardware, Xbox Live Arcade, or any other platform for that matter, Streets Of Rage 2 is an absolute blast and comes highly recommended.
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