If you picked up last year’s Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory you were thrust into a world conceived by an interesting concept but fell short of many things that could have made this a thrilling action game with a good story. The fact is that while it is intriguing to survive a tower where war reigns supreme, there was nothing that made gamers want to keep playing this lackluster action game. Sadly, the same can be said about Rengoku II: Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. for the PSP, a game that mimics all the things we didn’t like about the first game.

This second outing follows the same formula and takes us back into a future world where the ravages of war have overtaken Earth and are now fought by ADAMs (Autonomous Dueling Armed Machines) within a the familiar tower. We witness, as the game loads up, footage of real wars and we come to discover that the tower itself is like a huge homage to war and violence. You assume the role of an A.D.A.M who suddenly and uncharacteristically tries to make sense of the tower and attempts to survive it. This sounds like the beginning of an epic only that game doesn’t push a story nor will you come to identify with your lone character fighting for survival. In fact, much like The Tower of Purgatory, don’t expect much of a story or plot. 

What we can come to expect is the same type of actions and areas. Your A.D.A.M starts out naked and unarmed and the only way he is able to keep on breathing is by unleashing a few moves on an opponent, kill them and then search their bodies for weapons and upgrades parameter upgrades (individual armor pieces). You notice that you can equip armor pieces for most parts of your body from head to toe. You can pick up a large number of weapons and weapon types like swords, different guns and close-combat weapons that add more impact to punches. In fact, the game claims to offer up over 300 weapons and upgrades and I must confess that having played through the whole game I wasn’t even able to get to see half of the many weapons you can equip to each button although I got good use out of the battle axe.

Speaking of battle, this game still allows you to customize and use your weapons and upgrades anyway you like so you can use a sword and a shield if you’re interested in being up close and personal or a long-ranged weapon to take enemies out from afar. There are no taking prisoners in this game and that's Ok since killing opponents leads to scavenging for upgrades and items left behind by the dead. While you’re free to use whatever weapons you like, your limbs can “heat up” during battle and thus rendering it useless until it cools off.

The problem, however, is that the enemies you’ll face are as bland and repetitive as the environments themselves. The tower is basically a dungeon where your goal is to climb to the top, going up against enemies that look a lot like you (no offense to talented master illustrator Jun Suemi but the characters just look like hideous Tron rejects). There’s no real battle variety and thus making this a stale hack-and-slash with not much to offer in the battle front … that is until you play the game’s multiplayer mode. Pancratium Mode allows up to four players to battle it out in Normal (a variety of weapons are available to you), Insane only high-powered weapons are available) and Grapple mode (only short-range weapons like swords are available). The great part is that your friends don’t even have to own a copy of the game to play. Trust me when I say that the multiplayer aspect is the best part about Rengoku II.

Rengoku II, as I mentioned above, suffers from some poorly rendered characters and some of the most unimpressive environments you’ll see on your PSP. While the opening cinema will not fail to wow you, the rest will not fail to turn you off with its washed out look and dull visual effects. The game’s soundtrack is not bad at all, on the other hand, and thankfully it’s not repetitive either. Too bad the sound effects, mainly muffled explosions and dull gunfire, are just not as cool as it could have been.

Rengoku II: Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. is the type of PSP game you want to like because, let’s face it; it’s always great to find an original action game on Sony’s portable gaming machine. The problem is that while most sequels improve what went wrong the first time, Rengoku II seems to replicate every single flaw from the original. If it’s a great story you wish to get lost in you are in for a big disappointment and if you’re looking for a visually pleasing game with innovative action, well, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Gameplay: 5.5
Rengoku II’s gameplay remains relatively the same from the first game with the exception of one or two new elements. Sadly, the battles become as repetitive as the game’s backgrounds even with the numerous weapons and upgrades. The level design and enemy variety leaves much to be desired.

Graphics: 4.5
Despite a cool opening intro cinematic, the rest of the game is made up of dull character models that look like poorly designed Tron characters. Worst yet, the environments all look alike and the visual effects just aren’t spectacular in any way.

Sound: 5.5
The game’s music is actually pretty good and never repetitive and the sound effects are nice but nothing really special.

Difficulty: Medium
Some of the enemies you’ll encounter will make short work of you later on in the game but you’ll come across some tough opponents throughout the game so you’ll be glad that there are just way too many weapons that will help you even the odds.

Concept: 5.5
You can go online to check out the game’s Web site that includes game art from character designer Jun Suemi. Your friends can download the four player Ad Hoc multiplayer Pancratium Mode and battle it out deathmatch style. The multiplayer matches run perfectly, which makes this the game’s strongest feature.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Up to four players can fight it out in three different battle modes and the best part is that your friends don’t even have to own a copy of the game (game sharing just plain rocks, doesn’t it?). With enough weapons to pick and use, you can’t go wrong going up against live players.

Overall: 5.5
Unfortunately, this sequel doesn’t fix any of Tower of Purgatory’s many flaws making this the type of game you might want to skip just like you did the first one. While Rengoku II has its few interesting moments, there isn’t much here that will keep you playing this one for very long.