It is a wonder that Rengoku, one of the PSP’s weaker launch titles, is seeing a sequel while other franchises lie staplerless somewhere in the basement, fending off rats with a flashlight. But such is the way in the industry and we’re left with Rengoku II: Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N., a game that, much like its predecessor, offers an intriguing background and not much else.

Rengoku II’s entire presentation is underwhelming. Though it looks to aim for something original, it can’t escape looking and sounding like a generic action game. Character designs have a neat industrial design, especially when you start tacking on different weapons. At the same time, this is the same dark, dank mechanized future we’ve seen before – so nothing really stands out. The attack animations stutter and don’t offer the smooth transitions you’ll need during combat. Each level of the tower looks much like the last, so you never feel like you’re going anywhere.

There is very little about Rengoku II to differentiate it from the first. You once again take control of an angst-ridden robot, called an A.D.A.M., who must ascend a tower that was erected as an homage to war and suffering. The premise sounds cool, especially when the game’s vague philosophical questions about war and its purpose begin to pop up. But, like everything else, it just doesn’t go anywhere and leaves you with just another empty action game.

Rengoku II begins much like the first with you assuming the role of an unarmed A.D.A.M. In order to survive the tower, you must defeat other enemies and scavenge their parts and retrofit them to yourself. There are nearly 300 parts available, though you’re not likely to see them in one play through – that is, if you’re interested in more than one, which isn’t likely. The vast number of parts let you customize your A.D.A.M. into whatever you’d like him to be.

Again, the idea behind the game is great; it simply fails upon execution. It takes a while before you begin to see the good parts, and in order to get those, you need to face off against hordes of bland, repetitive enemies. And, even when you do find the good parts, they suffer from over-heating issues and can completely run out of ammo – including melee weapons! Even with its attempt at story and customization options, Rengoku II never elevates itself to anything higher than a low-level dungeon crawl.

Multiplayer modes are also available and require only one UMD to play, which is always a plus.

Death in Rengoku II is perhaps one of the more painful gaming experiences you could hope for. When you die (and it will happen often), you are sent back to the bottom of the tower as naked as the day you rolled off the assembly line. All of your equipment is left on the floor you died on, leaving you with whatever spare parts you had hanging around to fight your way back to the site of your death. Of course, once you have your equipment, you’ll need to find a repair station before refitting yourself.

Though the game has many flaws, the most unforgivable one is its combat system. Each face button controls a different part of your body, giving you a total of four weapons to use in your climb to the top. Sure, it is cool that you can make one arm a shotgun, the other a flame-thrower and turn your head into an axe, but that doesn’t do you any good if you can’t transition between attacks fast enough. Were combat any less a factor in the game, this probably would have been something you could overlook. But, alas, combat is the entire game. The unfortunate thing is that there is a lot of room for strategy, but the mechanics behind the system just don’t work the way they should.

Rengoku II: Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. is everything that a sequel shouldn’t be. It doesn’t improve on the gameplay all that much, nor does it deliver a more enjoyable experience that the first. If you’re a fan of mindless dungeon hacks, you may find some enjoyment with Rengoku II. Otherwise, this is a stairway you don’t want to climb.