Namco Bandai teams with Game Republic on second action adventure featuring young Goku on Nintendo's portable.

he Dragon Ball license has changed hands since Game Republic scored a critical success with 2008's Dragon Ball: Origins for the DS. Current steward Namco Bandai apparently doesn't want to mess with a winning formula, as the publisher today announced that Game Republic's Dragon Ball: Origins 2 will arrive this summer.

Origins 2 serves as a direct follow-up to the original. The game chronicles Goku's adolescent days training under Master Roshi, specifically recounting the aspiring warrior's travails against the Red Ribbon Army. Gamers will also be able to assume the role of other Dragon Ball characters, including Krillin, Bulma, and Yamcha, with the characters possessing their own special moves and abilities.

The single-player portion of the game spans eight multistage episodes that see Goku and co. fighting villains and solving puzzles in environments ranging from forests to underwater zones. The game will also include a two-player local co-op mode, where gamers fight through multiplayer-centric levels and boss encounters. These levels are unlocked by advancing through the single-player portion, and gamers can import their solo character for use in co-op play. gamespot