The TakeOver 2 (Demo) is out on Steam right now!

The demo is great. It's a giant leap over the first game.
Indeed! I played it and it is already a huge improvement over the first game which is already good. There's actual weapon variety. Combos now have wall bouncing. You can kick enemies when they're on the ground. Right now there is only one selectable character, and it's Ethan, but clearly these move sets have been expanded. The same will apply for either a new demo when they have the other characters, or when the game actually comes out.

My main problem with the first game was the lack of weapon variety, and not really integrating any combos into it. The melee weapons weren't worth it. I noticed combo juggling is not as strict either. That said, the game is much tougher for the right reasons. The demo boss can't be button mashed. You can juggle him, but you have to hit him with a specific item, after he does a certain attack to open him up. It's a decent gimmick, but I really hope not all the bosses function like this. I doubt they'll go that far with it though.
 
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The demo is great. It's a giant leap over the first game.

I like a lot of the new touches, but it does seem to missing something.

A lot of it seems too similar to the first game, I am optimistic though. First game was alright felt like a 7/10 to me.
 
I like a lot of the new touches, but it does seem to missing something.
Yeah, the other characters. Ethan does play most similar to the first game, but he's got a few tricks and cool tech. The game has a parry button and works like you would expect it to do. There are executioner finishers via pressing RB, if the mook you're fighting is dizzy. Others can get caught in your execution, if they walk right into it.

I've been experimenting more with The TakeOver 2 demo, and just realized it's using the same ranking and combo system as Streets of Rage 4. You know how SOR4 does the more hits/harder the hit is, the more is added to the combo counter? Yes, that even includes losing your combo or breaking, if you get hit. So sometimes it's best to get to an 100+ combo and let it clear so you can get the score button. I began getting A-Ranks and S-Ranks consistently once I realized this.

I was actually able to get the boss caught in an infinite air juggle for the entire fight. It did require me spamming the neutral special button whenever a new minion would show up, but it was worth it. Me doing that, and not taking any hits while performing said infinite, granted me an S-Rank.

. First game was alright felt like a 7/10 to me.
More of a 9/10 for me. A 7/10 would be Final Vendetta.
 
Well I gave it a try:

Regarding the game, here's my honest opinion:

PROS
- The sound design is interesting; the hits sound like real hits and not like a wet towel.
- I like the fact that you can carry firearms and only use them when you really want to.
- The game has a fast pace.
- You can pick up various items from the ground or kick them at enemies.
- You can kick enemies on the ground (although this has a serious problem, I'll talk more about that below).
- Some boss fights are interesting, like the last fight in the demo.

CONS
- The game is extremely visually cluttered. The previous game had this problem on an even worse level; they improved it here, but I still feel a lot of clutter. I understand they want to convey a "grunge" vibe, but it's way too exaggerated.
- The blood effect is quite exaggerated, which contributes to the dirty aspect of the game.
- Few enemies, who are repeated too often.
- I wanted to arrest the first person who thought that enemies bouncing off the edges of the screen (simply off the edge of the camera, not on real walls) would be a good idea, because here it's used to exhaustion. It's the thing I hate most in so-called "modern beat 'em ups". The enemies bounce off the edges of the screen like they're plastic balls.
- Attacking enemies on the ground is good, but thanks to the lack of game balance, you can knock an enemy to the ground and kick them to death. A good example happens at 10:00.

Demo score: 7/10
 
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