MediEvil 2

About MediEvil 2

MediEvil 2 (2000) is SCE Cambridge Studio's sequel in which the skeletal knight Sir Daniel Fortesque is revived in Victorian London to stop Lord Palethorn and Jack the Ripper from raising the dead.

MediEvil 2 in Depth

In 1886, 500 years after Sir Daniel Fortesque's battle with the sorcerer Zarok, the wealthy industrialist and sorcerer Lord Palethorn of Kensington discovers Zarok's spellbook and casts its spell to raise the dead across London. The book's pages scatter across the city, Palethorn takes on a demon-like appearance, and the spell revives Dan, whose body has been on display in a museum. He is recruited by Professor Hamilton Kift and his ghostly sidekick Winston Chapelmount, a play on Winston Churchill, to stop Palethorn and Jack the Ripper from terrorising the city.

Alongside returning swords and shields, Dan can now use modern weapons such as a pistol, a blunderbuss and a Gatling gun, and a new feature lets the player pick two weapons to switch between in real time. Filling the Chalice of Souls in each level by defeating enemies earns more weapons, merchants called Spivs sell ammunition and services, and Winston gives hints and saves during long levels. Life Bottles extend Dan's health meter, refilled by Life Vials and Fountains. Midway through, Dan can place his head on a zombified hand to become Dan Hand, reaching areas his body cannot and alternating control between the two.

Making MediEvil 2

After the first game's success, Sony Computer Entertainment commissioned its Cambridge studio to make a sequel, published for the PlayStation in 2000. The concept went through many transformations before the team settled on a Victorian Gothic revival setting. Reviews were favourable, if less so than for its predecessor: critics praised its detailed graphics and improved AI but criticised poor camera angles, low difficulty and its similarity to the original.