They are very different games:
PB 1 has a timeless charm, simple graphics and addictive music. The graphics are not wonderful, but they work just fine and never really look like they are dated or old... Classic stuff and you can't go wrong with it, period.
PB 2, well that is a really hard one to call. It has more modes of play now, and the main game is a Vs type battle against cutesy anime characters. Instead of the blocky look of the original, now there are backgrounds behind the boards.... Unfortunetly these are photo realistic backgrounds, or atleast photos and with the Neo's limited color pallete, most look washed out and crappy (which is a shame). The music is really good, and offers a few remixes of older tunes. Also there is a neat single player puzzle only, and two player vs to tackle. All and all the game is spot on, and as fun as ever... but the inclussion of the backgrounds make the game look like it is running on primitive hardware (which it is, but it could have looked so much cooler with hand drawn backgrounds that worked in the system limit).
PB 2 is really good, and is possibly better then PB 1 just in the amount of goodies thrown in, but PB 1 has that classic charm, and when it comes down to it, that is worth a lot more. PB 1 is timeless, so get that first, if you love PB then search out part 2 later.... they are different enough to make 2 fresh later on.
-Nick
[ May 09, 2002: Message edited by: nruva ]</p>
