Dragonball Z: Burst Limit is a 2008 title released by Namco Bandai for the PS3 and Xbox 360. As with EVERY OTHER Dragonball Z game in existence, this follows a 2-D beat ’em style interface which can sort of shift 3D when you strafe of fight in the air. Personally I was a huge fan of Dragonball Z: Tenkaichi Budokai 2 on the Playstation 2 so I was intrigued to see how the transition was to the Xbox was. I would like to normally have this review done on the merits of the game itself upstanding, but since the format is almost a carbon copy of the 2006 version, it’s hard not to make comparisons.

For a start DBZ:BT2 had ALL the characters from the Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT universe; ranging from Gogeta to Garlic Jnr and all the possible transformations each character can have. It also has all the characters who only appeared in the 13 Dragonball Z films such as Tapion, Hirudegarn and Janemba. Wind forward to the Xbox version on Burst Limit and they’ve omitted most of these characters.

Essentially the game is lifeless button mashing game and there is absolutely no finesse required at all. This I suppose was acceptable on DBZ:BT2 because it was more of an arcade style beat ’em up with the element of the Dragonball style knocking enemies through mountains and over the top collisions. DBZ:BL does have that too but after playing through the two previous titles on the PS2 I guess I was just looking for something slightly different.

The difference comes in the form of the “drama pieces” which occur during a fight. These range from transformation sequences, to random characters popping up to hit you, to gaining random health back by eating a senzu bean like in the TV programme. Now this sounds like an immersive step into the DBZ universe, but in reality it’s just plain annoying. It totally disrupts the fight but forcing you to watch a copied cut scene which after a couple hours of play you would have seen about 500 times, but worse that that, the CPU always benefits from it. You can beat the holy crap out of an opponent but you’ll be denied the opportunity to get a flawless victory because the cheating sod will get a cut scene in their favour and get a cheap hit on you. So it doesn’t matter how good you are, the CPU will still hit you and there’s nothing you can do about it.

The difficulty levels range from stupid to hair pulling ridiculousness. Easy levels will have the CPU sit there and block repeatedly but not particularly fight back. The hardest level has them block ALL the time yet still find an opportunity to hit you with the 300 hit death combo of which you just sit there watching the demise of your character in glorious technicolour. It’s almost as if the game is gloating at you saying no matter how good you are at the game, the game will always win. Which makes it completely pointless.

I personally was very disappointed with Burst Limit, it’s pretty much an identical format to Budokai Tenkaichi 2 except it’s just not as good. The special moves are shonky, the CPU blocks the whole time and the only positive I can draw from it is the graphics. I love Dragonball Z, but this game just doesn’t do it justice at all. I recommend this game if you are a collector of DBZ memorabilia, but considering how stupid the achievements are and how frustrating the game is by making you do the same thing over and over again, you’re better off investing in something in the Dynasty Warriors series if you want entertaining monotony.