Welcome to my own personal section on what I am mostly playing. As a web programmer I need down time and killing Germans over the internet although slightly sad is very reliveing.
So what game is this week. A thunderbolt of a 360 title, a classic PC? No its Shenmue 2 on the 360.
As an avid fan of the Sega Dreamcast ( which was killed because of its crap marketing ) and of Shenmue in particular I was most annoyed when Shenmue 2 was rushed onto the DC and all speech was in Japanese with English subtitles it threw me right off, but Sega got it right on the Xbox releasing it with English speaking charachters.
Shenmue II’s gameplay offers as much variety as its story, combining many different gameplay styles culled from a wide range of genres. At its core, the game is basically a hybrid of traditional RPG and action RPG elements–you’ll find that standard exploration, puzzle solving, and character interaction will make up a large part of your time with the game. However, you’ll also find fighting sequences that use a simplified Virtua Fighter-style fighting system, numerous minigames, and quick time events (QTEs), which are timed sequences that require you to quickly match onscreen commands with controller inputs, much like in the classic arcade game Dragon’s Lair. While its main structure is linear, Shenmue II is extremely open-ended in terms of your options. Your main focus is always Ryo’s search for information on his father’s death, but you’ll also find a wealth of diversions, mostly in the form of the minigames. In some cases, the minigames are essential to the main quest, such as working jobs or gambling to earn money in order to progress. However, you’ll also be able to take a break from the high-stress vengeance-seeking lifestyle and play near-perfect ports of classic arcade games such as Space Harrier, Outrun, and Afterburner II, which you’ll come across in your travels. You’ll even be able to do some shopping and spend your hard-earned cash in vending machines bearing assorted toys or on a variety of goods from street vendors.
If you’ve played the original Shenmue, you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised by how much Shenmue II improves on the original’s gameplay. The pacing has been considerably tightened, as has the storytelling. If you’re lost in one of the game’s large environments, talking with one of the locals will often result in that character guiding you exactly to where you need to go. In instances where you’ll have to meet someone or go to a location at a specific time, you’ll have the option to fast-forwarding time and/or warping to a certain location, to minimize the amount of pointless waiting around you have to do. You’ll still be able to roam and pass the time sightseeing if you like, but the new option helps keep the game from getting dull.
Get it on your Xbox from ebay (UK)
