I finally got a chance to play it, after all th posts in the past 
few months by people who got it via import (as a sidenote, I think most 
games aren't worth getting in import just to save a few measly months, 
but that's just me).  The game pretty much proves that developers pay a 
lot of attention to newsgroups as Playmates stuck with Japanese dialogue 
in pre and post-bout boasts.  No doubt the reason for this was because of 
all the moaning and groaning from players when the original was released 
and the speech was changed.  Well, I wish they changed them in this 
instance as well.  Nothing is more annoying then hearing them talk  in 
another language, and the whole situation is stupid anyway.  These aren't 
original imports so the novelty of having foreign dialogue is actually 
pretty much lost.  Sony, in my oppinion, did an amazing job with the 
American dialgue in the original Toshinden, and that moron-idiot at 
GameFan Nick Rox had the audacity to downgrade his score on the American 
release just for that.  Anyway, that's beside the point.
	The gameplay is better and a lot more calculated than the 
origonal version, but doesn't give the importance of multi-combo hits its 
just due.  There's no combo counter and it seems kind of silly not to 
have one these days.  The moves on the original characters have 
essentially remained the same with some incredible additions like 
charging attack moves, which instantly give a new dimension to the game 
(you'll find yourself jousting with an opponent more than once.  Great 
fun).  New characters are really cool and original.  My favorite is the 
female cop who has been designed in so much detail that it's surprising 
she doesn't flicker on the screen.  Seeing is believing.  All the 
character have excellent moves and proves that Sony's third party 
companies have enough talent to bring Sony through the wars this fall.  
	The music, on the other hand, was pretty bland.  They should have 
stuck with motifs that are close to the original.  Mondo's BGM in the 
original was classic and, in some ways, haunting.  They're 
run-of-the-mill in the sequel.  A shame, really, since the BGM was one of 
the original's strong suits.  The backgrounds are even more ambitious 
than the original's, as Takara replaces the bitmaps from the first game 
with 3D constructs.  They look really well done and you'll be surprised.  
But if you've ever played Zero Divide, you probably won't start a Jihad 
over them.  Playstation games have looked this good before too.  One of 
the annoying things (nit-picking) is the start-and-stop of the musci 
between rounds.  I don't know if it's intended or the system need to 
re-access bewteen fights but it's hard to get used to if you've been 
playing BAT since Sept. 9th.  The health-bars flicker a bit, but I 
honestly didn't care.  For all the graphics and slow-down free fighting I 
was enjoying, I expected something REALLY minor to give.  You won't care, 
trust me.  It's not like Tekken where players were wondering why.  This 
game is technically more ambitious than Tekken (not in terms of frame 
rate, mind you, but with regard to camera angles and speed) and while 
some may enjoy the Tekken fighting engine more, some might be hard 
pressed to ignore BAT2's prowess.  I think it just plain looks better 
than Tekken (yeah, I know there are Tekken purists here.  I've got my 
flame-suit on and my back to the wall.  AND I have my four-leaf clover in 
my pocket).  
	Bottom line: Definitely not the ultimate fighting game, and some 
prodcuction values could have been added to wow the player even more, but 
you should at least rent it to see if the new gameplay and graphics are 
what you've dreamed of.  Is it a contendor for your fighting game dollar 
this  summer?  Absolutely.  I had a lot of fun with it, and while it 
isn't the most distinctive, it commands respect.     

--
				Net-Surfer
				      Chris.