Joe Danger 2: The Movie

Everyone’s favourite Evel Knievel impersonator is back, performing incredible, death-defying stunts and tricks with the style and panache only our titular hero can achieve, in Joe Danger 2: The Movie.

However, no longer is Joe trying to resurrect his adrenaline junkie career, he’s now hit the big-time and has become a Hollywood stuntman. And with his new job comes new responsibilities.

He's not just driving quad bikes and motorcycles anymore: instead he must master mine carts, snowmobiles, skis, and even jet packs, and unicycles as he visits multiple movie themed locations and performs to the whim of his director.

Lights, camera, action!

Indeed Joe Danger 2 offers more of the original title’s point-to-point stunt and collectable-acquiring races, only bigger and bolder with a blockbuster backdrop.

The crisp and bright cartoon aesthetic returns, gloriously enhanced by even busier course scenarios and background activity, as giant robots smash buildings and the track, avalanches chase you down snow covered slopes, and traffic, missiles, buzz saws and more attempt to dismount you.

It’s wonderfully intense and runs smoothly and lightning fast on the Vita’s gorgeous display.

Each level is comically named and inspired by popular films, with mine cart getaways in the guise of an Indiana Jones adventure, and avalanche racing on par with a James Bond exfiltration, to name but a few.

Meanwhile, despite a director shouting the odd instruction and movie-set equipment occasionally popping in to view, your objectives are the same simple completion of a course with optional collectables and challenges of Joe’s debut release.

For your consideration

Collectables are strewn across the courses, featuring coins; hidden stars; the letters to ‘DANGER’; and bananas which turn you into a monkey on a push-bike. Acquiring them all challenges you to a unique spot of vehicular platforming - especially on the jetpack levels.

Meanwhile, more specific challenges are in place on the odd course, asking you to race and win against AI opponents, or sneakily make it through without setting off any alarms, for example. Furthermore, the Pro Trophy for each level challenges you to collect everything on offer in one, faultless go to really test your skills.

Indeed there’s plenty to do in Joe Danger 2, whether it’s replaying levels to conquer all of its challenges or enjoying the variety of courses and locations on offer. Additionally online leaderboards encourage and taunt you to improve, with a handy and quite gratifying or humbling indicator of the percentage of players you performed better than on each level.

The track builder also returns, allowing you to construct your very own stunt filled challenges, and Downloadable Tours and the Deleted Scenes offer up some more focused, and often far more challenging, events.

Final cut

However, as exciting, dramatic, and dazzling as the action is, this immense visual activity can make it an overwhelming sight. There's so much going on on-screen that the activity often distracts from where Joe is, what’s going on, and precisely what you should be doing next. The result is, at worst, a mild few seconds lost to your overall time due to a crash.

Fortunately, frequent checkpoints throughout the race and short tracks mean failure isn't a stop on your journey. Additionally a quick press of the Select button whisks you away to the last checkpoint.

Joe Danger 2: The Movie's fast paced, exciting stunting and platforming is terrific fun, with its short courses offering intense bouts perfects for on-the-go play.

There's a slight break in flow at the end of each race when you're forced back to the menu rather than jumping straight to the next race, and the inability to share the tracks you create online is a shame, but otherwise there's no danger whatsoever of you not thoroughly enjoying yourself on set.

Joe Danger 2: The Movie

Joe Danger 2: The Movie’s oodles of content and its unique platforming/stunt racing hybrid experience makes it an undeniable hit
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