More DBZ on the way

The seemingly endless Dragon Ball Z saga grew a little more endless today, as Atari announced two upcoming DBZ games for release later this year.

The first, Super DBZ, will hit PS2s this July. Not much has been revealed about the title as of press time, except that it will feature 18 characters, a new fighting system and "a more hard-core 3D fighting experience," according to Atari. For old-schoolers, though, the thing that makes this one worth watching is that it'll be developed by some of the minds behind Street Fighter II.

Super DBZ will be followed by Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, which should be out in time for the holidays on the PS2 and Nintendo's Revolution. Continuing in the more story-centric vein of the Budokai titles, Tenkaichi 2 will adapt the entire Dragon Ball saga into one long story mode with lots of 3D flying and fighting. With 100 characters and 15 destructible environments, this could be the most mind-bogglingly intimidating DBZ game yet.

While the PS2 version looks promising, though, the real attraction will be on the Revolution. While Atari hasn't gotten real specific yet, players will apparently be able to use two of the motion-sensitive controllers to pull off supermoves, moving their hands like Goku's to unleash a Kamehameha force wave. The possibilities are exciting, especially for fans who've tried to perform a "ki blast" when they think nobody's looking. (You know who you are.)

The games are a few months away, but we've scored a few screens to hold you off until then. Super DBZ can be seenhere, while the first shots of the PS2 Tenkaichi 2 are righthere. Enjoy.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.