Where would we be without the 3D platform shooter? It seems like only yesterday when platform games were flat, but within the 3D world there is so much more scope and potential, and in the case of MDK2 you will not be disappointed.

The game is presented in a comic book style and so the dialogue is very tongue-in-cheek with a refreshing sense of humour. The story begins with our heroes Max, Dr. Hawkins and Kurt (perhaps the MDK of the title?) who have just vanquished an alien invasion fleet from Earth. About to return home for a well-earned rest, Dr. Hawkins detects an alien mothership in orbit and it's time to go back into action.

One of the best features of this game is that Dr. Hawkins, Kurt and Max are all playable characters with completely different skills, equipment and styles, making each character's levels very different to play. We begin with Kurt, a reluctant hero who used to be Dr. Hawkins' janitor! Equipped with the Coil Suit, designed by Dr. Hawkins, Kurt has a number of abilities. It has a built in Chain Gun on one arm, a Sniper Scope that can be used to pick off enemies from miles away and a Ribbon Chute that allows Kurt to glide silently over great distances. The Sniper Scope is one of the best weapons ever conceived in a game. When activated, your view switches to the scope and you can zoom very far ahead then make use of one of the types of sniper bullets. These include regular bullets, homing bullets, mortars, grenades, bouncing bullets and a limited sniper shield that protects you from enemy fire while in scope mode. Kurt can also use a limited supply of grenades, a dummy decoy and an invisibility cloak. Kurt's levels consist of a good blend of shooting, sniping and platform action.

Next up is Max, Dr. Hawkins' faithful six-legged dog, who walks on his hind legs and holds guns with his other four paws! The cigar in his mouth finishes off Max's look perfectly - he really is a sight to behold! Max is equipped with handguns, but can collect shotguns, gatling guns, uzis, lasers and rocket launchers with homing missiles and his levels consist of blasting everything in sight. He can also get hold of a jetpack, which has limited fuel, leading to some very tricky flying sections on his levels.

Dr. Hawkins' levels are very different to the others, he is equipped with no weapons and is physically very weak. But what he does best is invent things and as you search his spaceship, a number of useful objects can be found that you can combine and before long he has managed to turn a toaster into a deadly weapon! There are a lot of puzzles and platforms in his levels, some of which are very tricky. In fact, there are occasions when some areas are very frustrating as the jumps have to be judged perfectly and you end up attempting the same bit over and over - this does not happen a lot however and is about the only flaw this game has.

The aliens are varied and tough, especially the bosses who all have distinctive personalities and are all very hard to defeat. The dialogue and banter between our heroes and the villains is highly amusing! The levels are large, well designed and vary considerably, all of them looking awesome; the scale of the alien homeworld is truly breathtaking and Dr. Hawkins' ship is a work of genius. Graphically the game is well up to PS2 standards (converted from a Dreamcast original) and features no slowdown or dodgy backgrounds. This is accompanied by a range of lively dance and trance music, which complements the hectic action brilliantly and is one of the best soundtracks of any game I've played. The sound effects and voice acting are both excellent and very comical.

One warning though - this game is actually very, very tough and there are a number of places where you may find yourself totally stuck, or feel that the latest boss alien is impossible to defeat - but persevere as I've reached the end of the game, so it is possible! The end of game baddy is truly the most imaginative, surreal and difficult enemy I have ever faced in any game, you are in for a treat and a challenge as you work your way through this wonderful game.

MDK2 is a brilliantly conceived, graphically superb platform shooter with huge and very challenging levels that will keep you playing until the very end. Everything about this game just oozes class from the incredibly imaginative graphical style, fantastic tunes, amusing dialogue and blend of different gaming styles. If you missed this on the Dreamcast then it's a must-have on PS2 - if you think you're tough enough, that is.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).