Monster Manual 2

I like it.

What I loved about it: the metallic dragons. I've been waiting for this to come out specifically for the dragons and it didn't let me down. My favorite is the adamantine. I'm anxious to work that one into a campaign i've just started. It's a little odd that the metallics are now unaligned, but I think I understand the logic in that monsters in these books should be able to combat Player Characters without the logical inconsistency of "good" aligned beings fighting each other. I'm not entirely convinced that it was necessary, but here it is, codified and in print. So we roll with it.

What I like: more variations on many monsters we're all familiar with from the first MM. New angels, demons, devils, drakes, races, slaad, etc. should make for interesting twists to any pre-made or custom campaign. And I was impressed with a couple of the new monsters, most notably, the Behir (ok, so it's really more like a dragon variation but, I'm there).

What I don't like: the Ooze. I really think DnD needs to quit wasting our time with oozes, they're boring. Ironically, part of me dislikes something that I also like, the variations on monsters from the first MM. I'd really rather see MM2 contain more genuinely new monsters (this includes keeping the metallic dragons in the original MM) and less variations on known creatures. For that reason, part of me wanted to give it 3 stars and question it's value . . . Despite this, if I'm being honest with myself, I still like the book, hence 4 stars. (and are they ever going to improve the index on any of their books?)

In conclusion, if you are looking for many new monsters to throw at your players, you'll probably be let down by this book . . . in that case, borrow it from the library (or a friend) and save your money. However, if you're not bothered by a lot of variations from the original MM, you might like MM2. If you love metallic dragons, like me, you will probably like MM2 and the cash you spend will be worth it.