Normally after a new generation's first core games come out, they work on making a 3rd core game for that generation, that's pretty much an expanded version of the previous installments. In the case of the 5th generation, Game Freak went in a completely different direction, instead creating sequels for Pokemon Black and White, which are called Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2. The only other time that a core sequel has been made was Gold and Silver, which took place 3 years after the events of Red and Blue. In Black and White 2's case, they take place 2 years after Black and White. Today, I'll be reviewing Pokemon Black 2, because that was the one I decided to buy when it came out back on October 27th, 2012.

Graphics: 9/10 As one could probably expect, the visuals are unchanged from Black, though there are some new areas that weren't around in Black 2's predecessor.  One of those areas include Aspertia City, which unlike other starting towns in the series, is actually a fairly populated city. Some of the other new areas include Lentimas Town, which is located in a desert, Humilau City, which is a city located along the coast. These areas add a little more diversity to the Unova region, but they aren't anywhere near as beautiful as my favorite area from Black 2, Marine Tube. The Marine Tube is an underwater tunnel, where you can see just how beautiful Unova's sea is. These new areas give Black 2 slightly more visual appeal than it's predecessor. Since I gave Black's graphics an 8, I'll be giving Black 2's a 9.

Sound: 9/10 Pokemon Black 2 has one of the most massive soundtracks that I've seen from the Pokemon series. A lot of the music from Pokemon Black is still there, unchanged, though some of those songs got remixed. Some of which includes Ghetsis' theme, as well as the rest of the Team Plasma themes. Those remixes are among the best I've heard in a video game. In addition, there's also some new music that was thrown in there, including Hugh's theme, which is the most intense rival theme in the Pokemon series. Along with all those amazing themes, there's also some remixed music from previous generations of Pokemon thrown in there as well. Each previous gym leader battle themes and champion themes are remixed and can be heard in Black 2, as well as the Regi theme and sealed chamber themes from the gen 3 games. The Sinnoh and Kanto gym leader. as well as the Blue theme remixes are almost, if not better than the original versions of those songs. With all these amazing themes packed into one game, I thought about giving the sound a 10,  but there were a couple of remixes that missed the mark. The Cynthia theme is nowhere near as epic as it was in the gen 4 games, and like in HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Johto Champion theme was botched as well. Other than those 2 themes though, Pokemon Black 2's soundtrack is worthy of a 9.

Addictiveness: 9/10 Pokemon Black 2 has even more replay value than it's predecessor.  There are several more towns and cities to explore than in Black, and there are other locations that weren't in Black to explore as well. What makes Black 2 more addicting than it's predecessor though is the Pokemon World Tournament, where you can compete against other trainers, whether they're gym leaders from other regions, or champions. You and the other competitors compete in a bracket styled tournament to wee who's the best trainer in the world. This is the best feature I've seen since the Battle Frontier was introduced in Emerald. In addition to this awesome mode, the Pokemon Subway is back from Black, and you can catch Pokemon from outside of the Unova region in the main story, unlike it's predecessor. Overall, Black 2 is one of the most enjoyable games in the Pokemon series. Overall, I'm giving the addictiveness of Black 2 a 9 out of 10.

Story: 8/10 The storyline in Black 2 starts the way that most other Pokemon stories do, you go on a journey to collect the gym badges and eventually battle to become the champion. In this game, 2 years have passed since the events of Black ended. Team Plasma (now referred to as Neo Plasma) has returned and once again, they want to liberate Pokemon from humans. You, along with your friend/rival Hugh, must stop them. The story is a step down from Black, and honestly, it's nowhere near as gripping as the one from Black, but it's still worthy of an 8 in my eyes.

Depth: 8/10 Pokemon Black has some of the most depth I've seen in a Pokemon game.  Along with the new Pokemon World Tournament I mentioned in the addictiveness category, there are more areas throughout Unova than in it's predecessor, all the previous installments features are present in this game, and unlike in Black, you can catch Pokemon from other regions in the main storyline. Overall, with the addition of the PWT, Black has enough content for me to give this category an 8.

Difficulty: 3/10 Unlike Black, it's sequel is far easier in every way. All of the gym leaders can be defeated without much training, and the Plasma leader as well as the elite four and champion pose little to no threat to your team. While this game isn't quite as easy as Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon Black is still easy enough for me to give the difficulty of Black 2 a 3.

Overall Score: 8.7/10 Pokemon Black 2 is even better than it's predecessor. With more Pokemon to catch in the main story, the addition of the Pokemon World Tournament, and many fantastic remixes of music from previous Pokemon generations, Pokemon Black 2 is the best game from Gen 5! Overall, Pokemon Black 2 is worthy of an 8.7 out of 10.

Wow, this is one of the rare 5-star reviews with "so few" words! You nearly go into minute details describing the game but you never get boring. You also make ample comparison with Pokémon Black, showing what changed and what continues. I would very likely buy the game if I had been a Pokémon freak!