I remember back in the earlier days of the PlayStation 2, when a game called Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance hit store shelves. My girlfriend and I played through that thing like madmen. It was one of my favorite PS2 games for some time, and I eagerly waited for Dark Alliance II. However, since it was made by a different development team, DA2 just didn't feel as polished as the first. I tried Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes for Xbox, but it was just a horrid mess, so I waited again for the original development team to release Champions of Norrath.

When Norrath finally released, my girlfriend and I sat down and started playing through it just like old times. But that was a problem in itself. While things were right back to the excellence we felt when we played through Dark Alliance, things just felt too similar. After only a few hours with the game, it was more about just finishing what we started rather than having a fun gaming experience.

Now, the development team behind the original Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath is back with Champions: Return to Arms. However, the same problem has also returned with it. While the game is easily the best the genre has to offer on the PlayStation 2, it just feels too much like more of the same. There have been a few additions, and they certainly add some flare, but in the end, it simply feels like I'm playing through every other hack 'n' slash I've played in the past.

Two new races have been added to the roster, and while new races are always a good sign, they're really just a mixture of the already existing races. More variety is great, and the new races provide new play styles, but you're still just hacking away at enemies, whether that be from close range, or a distance.

A new player vs. player mode has been added, which almost feels like a fighting game, but the depth just isn't there. Think of it as playing through a boss battle with human opponents instead of computer controlled zombies. There just isn't enough strategy involved to really keep players occupied. However, it does serve as a nice side game to keep things fresh from time to time.

What many will find to be the best new addition to Champions is the medal mode. It's basically a challenge mode where you'll have to meet certain goals in order to complete a level. This can be fun and challenging, but it's reserved for only single player action, so the replay value is limited. It will be interesting to see how this mode evolves in future Champions titles.

The online mode of the original Champions of Norrath was a nice distraction, but with rampant cheating and a few other nagging issues, it was a lot more fun to play offline. Luckily the online mode in Return to Arms has been revamped for a much better experience. Voice chat is considerably better, although still isn't perfect, and the game now holds saves online to prevent cheating. In addition, a buddy list similar to Xbox Live has been added to keep track of your friends.

While there are several new additions to Champions, if you've played games in this genre before, everything new here won't be enough to make Return to Arms feel like anything more than an expansion. Again, it's the best game in the genre, but the genre may be getting stale for some. Even the storyline is non-important, and can be skipped without having to worry about missing important details.

Return to Arms was fun, but the genre needs something to freshen things up. Another upgrade next year just won't do it. Perhaps when the PlayStation 3 hits, we'll see some major innovation here? If not, the appeal of the hack 'n' slash is likely to become very limited.