To be honest, I was very tempted to just point to our review of the original Feeding Frenzy... but then I realized that we didn't review the first game. It's not that Feeding Frenzy 2 doesn't have its fair share of additions it's just that the gameplay is so basic that justifying the purchase of the second installment is difficult due to its redundancy. However, if you're new to the franchise and feel the need to buy the game, you may as well get the second installment - it's everything the first one was, but newer.
The premise is simple - eat fish that are smaller than you while avoiding those that are bigger. The more you eat, the bigger you get, which in turn allows you to eat even more of the fish on screen. That's it; that's Feeding Frenzy 2 in candid, razor-sharp detail. It's not that it isn't fun to swiftly swim around on your quest to become the biggest fish in the pond, but there's only so much repetition one person can take and it seems FF2 tries to push your patience to the limit (Did I mention that the story mode is only a few hours long?)
I'd argue that the game wouldn't be able to hold the attention of its target demographic (which I assume is toddlers) for very long. Sure, young kids might enjoy the constant level progression, but after dozens of seemingly identical levels even the colorful backgrounds and different types of fish quickly blend into one another. Personally, I think I stopped caring after 10 levels in.
Variety isn't the game's strong suit. You're dropped into levels as a tiny (and incredibly hungry) fish whose sole purpose is to eat others and grow. When you each enough fish to achieve your objective the level ends and you're put into a different pond. Wash-rinse-repeat. So, yeah, it's pretty basic. In order to break up the monotony there are a few curveballs thrown at you (like having to jump out of water, boss battles, or levels that take place in the dark) and the power-ups are kind of cool, but there still isn't enough here to make it a great game.
Fortunately, FF2 has a decent multiplayer experience. I think this is where the game's strength really lies. Not so much because there are plenty of different mini-games or time attack modes, but as a family-centric title. FF2's simplicity evens the playing field between novice and veteran players to the point that the local multiplayer just screams, "Parent-Child Video Game Bonding". In that respect I can see a young family actually having fun playing together (competitively or co-operatively), but I just can't see myself inviting friends over to have an all-night Feeding Frenzy 2 session.
