Shall I say it? I know, I know, it's a really obvious way to start this review and it's what every Viewtiful Joe fan is expecting but I really feel like I should say it. Oh, I just can't resist. Henshin a go-go, baby, Viewtiful Joe is back!

Ah, I feel much better for that. Back when VJ first hit the shelves it became an instant cult hit, with its unique cartoon style and its uncanny ability to breathe new life into a genre that should really be long dead, other than retro nostalgia trips, namely the side-scrolling platform game. However, with slick combat, time-controlling abilities and one of the most entertaining video game stories ever, it somehow managed to make 2D not just cool again, but super cool. This time it's not only Joe, but his girlfriend Sylvia too, who are here to show us all that 2D is just as cool as 3D, with Viewtiful Joe 2.

For those of you who missed out on the first game, the story was simple but genius. Everyday guy Joe takes his girlfriend Sylvia to see an old classic movie about ageing superhero Captain Blue. However, when the villain in the film steals Sylvia away, taking her inside the movie, Joe has no choice but to dive right in and fight to get her back. And what followed was some dangerously addictive but also outrageously tough gameplay, spread across some very cool old-style movie locations, with some of the wackiest and funniest boss characters ever to grace a game. And with very little broken in that magical formula, the tough difficulty is the only thing that's been fixed this time around. So fear not Joe fans, if you struggled to complete the first game (I admit I gave up in the end and couldn't swallow my pride to play on the kids setting!) you'll find that all the Joe magic is still here, but this time it's not ridiculously tough.

Carrying on from the first game, Joe and Sylvia find themselves under threat from a powerful new villain and have to set out across a series of movies to get hold of the seven magic Oscars, in which the power to save or destroy the world is locked. But this time, Sylvia is equally as viewtiful as Joe, kitted out in a sexy superhero outfit and ready to kick some bad guy tail. This forms the main new addition to the gameplay, as you can switch between Sylvia and Joe at any time. While the characters play the same for the most part, Sylvia has a unique, new power, which I'll come to later.

Starting off in familiar territory, after an entertaining opening sequence, Joe and Sylvia are thrust into a prehistoric movie world, complete with dinosaurs and lava-spewing volcanoes. The distinct and utterly unique visual style is perfectly maintained for VJ2, with lovely 3D cartoon characters set against simple 2D backdrops, most featuring a couple of layers to look almost like cardboard scenery. Now and again you see that it's 3D however, as sometimes you turn a corner and the way the scenery rotates when this happens looks lovely. Also, enemies now sometimes approach from a distance, scaling in perfectly from that flat backdrop. The usage of thick black lines to draw everything, comic book style, had been maintained and looks just as lovely as it did in the original. While the PS2 graphics aren't quite as well-defined and smooth as the Gamecube version, they still look really good. And although it plays the same as the first, VJ2's seven massive levels are self-contained movies, each with their own theme, such as a Japanese ninja level (complete with a rooftop battle against your dark alter ego), an ice age (with an underwater scrolling section that sees you and Sylvia underwater in the Six Machine), that prehistoric level and more. Each level features some unique gameplay moments to keep it fresh, with a few mind-bending puzzles thrown in for good measure.

These puzzles mostly revolve around the use of your time-warping abilities, which are given back to you gradually to ease newcomers in gently. First you get the power to slow time, which is extremely useful, as it makes your hits more powerful, allows you to move more precisely and even protects you from damage most of the time (if you take a hit you lose VFX energy rather than health). Again, your VFX energy bar starts off small at the beginning of each movie and grows as you collect the many pick-ups scattered along the way, some of which are sneakily hidden or require some accomplished acrobatics to reach. The bar recharges when you don't use it, but if you run out you return to your regular form (losing that superhero outfit) in which you are extra vulnerable, until the bar builds up again.

It has to be said, the way this system is integrated into the gameplay is nothing short of perfect. The controls are so fluid and you can always get Joe or Sylvia to do exactly what you want them to, subtly correcting their cause as they slow motion leap out of the way of a charging bad guy or punch a bullet back at the tank that fired it. It's so easy to get the hang of, quickly becoming second nature and never failing to be fun. The next power Joe gets is to fast-forward, so everything moves more quickly. In this mode you can punch and kick super fast, so much so that multiple Joes leap around the screen attacking everything in sight (including boxes in the background that can only be smashed with this method) and he lights on fire, setting bad guys aflame too!

Finally is the zoom in mode, that allows you to freeze some enemies (some are immune), who just cower and quiver as they await their impending doom. When zoomed in your punch and kick moves are stronger, plus you can jump up in a frenzied whirlwind or spin down to create a shockwave when you hit the floor. Combining the zoom in with the fast and slow powers makes for some truly wonderful moments. But wait, this time there's more! Sylvia, instead of a fast forward power has a record power, which records and replays her move three times. So that one kick becomes three kicks on impact and it's so satisfying to use this power, with a great effect as the move literally replays three times from slightly different angles, all in a second-long flash. The downside though is that it's not as effective a method of despatching bad guys as slow motion combos or high speed volleys, making her the less appealing character to use. On the plus side, Sylvia has laser pistols for her punch function, giving it a range that's dead handy for getting extra enemies in the slow motion combos.

And it's really all about the combos here, because with Viewtiful Joe it's not about winning the day, it's about how cool you are while you do it. You're ranked on three aspects for every scene of every section of every movie - defence, time and viewtiful points, which you get more of for destroying multiple bad guys using your VFX powers. The best method is to wait for one of the regular bad guys to wander up and attack you - you get a moment's warning of whether they're going to attack high or low and if you dodge the blow with a nifty duck or jump, they are then dizzy for a few moments. Slow everything down and you'll see a target on that stunned enemy. Now punch him and send him flying, making the rest of the enemies targets. Bad guys fly into the air, knock into each other and if you can keep punching more and more baddies without stopping the slowdown, you get massive points multipliers that give you viewtiful scores. The replay value is right there - in replaying each chapter for better and better rankings, learning the levels and the best ways to maximise the points in the fastest time while taking as little damage as possible. And those points win prizes too, as you can upgrade various powers for Joe and Sylvia, as well as buying extra lives, extra health hearts and throwing weapons.

As well as looking stylish, VJ2 sounds stylish too, with superb sound effects for the combat, enemy voices, explosions and particularly the voice acting, which is in a very tongue-in-cheek comic book style that works perfectly. Indeed, the bosses have such amusing dialogue and ramble on for ages, establishing quirky personalities that you won't forget in a hurry. Without doubt, there are no other games out there with bosses as memorable as these! The music is spot on too, always complementing the action, generally keeping bouncy but becoming frantic or atmospheric at just the right times. It's a testament to the music that I instantly felt at home in the sixth movie, when a female killer android zaps our heroes back into some of the original VJ's levels for a short time and that familiar theme kicked in.

There are so many nice touches in the gameplay to do with the powers - like the way explosions become massive and deadly when you slow down time or the way speeding up water flow with fast forward results in an area being flooded, plus there are plenty of new puzzles that require the use of the record function too. It all comes together to form a truly flawless experience. The seven levels are completed in a matter of hours this time around, but if you want more of a challenge there are tougher difficulty levels. To beef up the lifespan, there are also The 36 Chambers of Viewtiful to unlock, each containing a very tough challenge to complete - unlocking and winning all of these will take a long, long time, believe me. If it can be criticised, some of the boss battles are a little formulaic and there is a danger of it all becoming repetitive, but with that said it's the perfect pick up and play game for short, frantic blasts rather than long bouts. Accessibility is one of VJ2's middle names (and fun is another of them).

Viewtiful Joe 2 is as big a triumph as the original, resisting the urge to change a winning formula but building on it with even cooler settings, funnier bosses, more variety in the gameplay and a cool new way to manipulate time. It takes the original just a little step further and tones down the difficulty to make it more accessible, succeeding in providing a wickedly stylish and entertaining romp. It's not going to be the longest gaming experience ever but this time around you will love pretty much every minute.

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