MediEvil 2

MediEvil 2 once again sees players in control of Sir Daniel Fortesque as he travels through several levels set in Victorian-era London to thwart the evil Palethorn and his undead army. Along with returning weapons and equipments such as swords and shields, Dan can now obtain more modern weaponry such as a pistol, a blunderbuss, and a gatling gun. MediEvil 2 adds a new feature that allows the player to select two weapons that Dan can toggle between in real-time. Like in the previous game, Dan can earn more weapons by finding the Chalice of Souls in each level, which is filled up by defeating enemies. Dan can also visit merchants known as Spivs for ammo and services, and speak with Winston the ghost to receive hints and save during longer levels. Collecting Life Bottles hidden in certain levels expands Dan's life meter, which can be replenished via Life Vials and Life Fountains. In the middle of the game, Dan unlocks the ability to place his head on a zombified hand to become Dan Hand, allowing him to explore areas that his normal body cannot while also being able to alternate control between them. ==Plot==

The game's plot takes place in 1886, 500 years after Sir Daniel Fortesque's battle against the evil sorcerer Zarok in the previous game. In Kensington, a wealthy industrialist and sorcerer named Lord Palethorn discovers Zarok's spellbook and casts its spell of raising the dead over the city of London. However, the pages of the book soon scatter across London, and Palethorn gains a demon-like appearance as a result. The spell Palethorn casts once again resurrects Dan, whose body had been on display in a nearby museum. He is recruited by a professor named Hamilton Kift and his ghostly sidekick Winston Chapelmount (a play on Winston Churchill) to recover the pages of Zarok's spellbook and put a stop to Palethorn's plans. Along the way, they end up being joined by an ancient mummy princess named Kiya, whom Dan falls in love with. When Kiya goes to Whitechapel alone to investigate psychic disturbances there, she is killed by Jack the Ripper. Broken-hearted, Dan abandons the quest against Palethorn and wanders into London's sewers, where he encounters the Mullocks, who worship a statue of Dan, and discovers a time machine that Kift had built years earlier. Collecting the parts to rebuild the time machine, Dan travels back in time to defeat Jack & save Kiya. Jack pleads with Dan to be spared, but he mercilessly shoots him dead. Dan then merges with his past self to gain golden "Super Armour", and returns to the battle. Dan collects the final pages and confronts Palethorn, who steals the page from him and offers Dan the choice of joining him, but Dan refuses, saying "I'll never join you!" Palethorn then assigns his two assistants, Mander and Dogman, to stop Dan from following him, but both are killed. Dan then goes after Palethorn. Palethorn uses the pages to summon a large blue demon. Dan manages to turn the demon against Palethorn, putting a stop to both of them. With his last breath, Palethorn drops a time bomb in a last-ditch effort to kill Dan, destroying his lair in the process. Dan escapes and decides to join Kiya in the afterlife as they return to their eternal rest. If the player has collected all the Chalices, Dan and Kiya instead go for a ride on the time machine which takes them back to the end of the first game, encountering Palethorn in a monstrous form similar to Zarok's. ==Development==

After the success of the first MediEvil, Sony Computer Entertainment commissioned their Cambridge unit to develop a sequel that would be released before the end of the PlayStation's lifespan. Chris Sorrell, who previously served as director of the first game, was not involved in development, so the project was handed over to James Shepherd instead. According to Shepherd, the original plot for MediEvil 2 had previous antagonist Zarok being held prisoner in the Tower of London and Sir Daniel Fortesque's objective would be to free him, but this idea was eventually dropped due it being considered identical to a "B-movie twist ending". ==Reception==

MediEvil 2 received favourable reviews, albeit less than its predecessor, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. At the 2000 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards, MediEvil 2 won the best console game category. MediEvil 2 was also nominated for "10th Annual GamePro Readers' Choice Awards" for "Best Adventure Game of The Year", but lost to Shenmue for Sega Dreamcast. ==Notes==