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| Microsoft |
SEGA-AM2 |
RPG |
1 |
Teen |
Shenmue II
Reviewed by: Bagel
Shenmue II was one of my most anticipated Xbox titles, simply because I have been waiting for it for such a long time. I loved the first one on the Dreamcast, and I just absolutely could not wait to get this one. As I ripped open the plastic I could smell the fact that I was at last going to continue my role of Ryo Hazuki...
Gameplay: Shenmue II starts off exactly where the first one ended. You got on a boat and you are traveling to Hong Kong to avenge your father’s death and find Lan Di. As you get off the boat the game expects that you have already played the first, and doesn’t teach you anything. You immediately need to go and meet Masters Chen’s friend, of course that’s not all that happens. Like any video game there will be plenty of things holding you back.
Of course being in Hong Kong you do not know your way around, naturally. The people of Hong Kong seem to be a lot nicer then some of the people in Japan. Of course there are the bad ones as well. Anyways, a lot of the locals will be willing to guide you to where you need to be. Saying the same thing every time, “Oh I had business there anyways, come, follow me.” Then you can follow them and you will do what you needed to do.
Like in the last game you are going to need a job. Only this time you need money being out of town you don’t have your family supplying you with food, money, and shelter. Now you need to pay for all that stuff by getting a job. You came to China with $500 dollars on you; well guess what, it gets stolen. So now you definitely need a job. There’re so many things you can do to make money, but you still need a job. You can sell stuff at the pawn shops, go gambling, help out a gambler, and more. You can get a job much like in the first game, where you will move crates (just without a forklift…).
There are many mini-games in Shenmue II. All of them are lots of fun. Like in the last there is throwing darts, an arcade, many different things. Plus gambling, which can be a mini-game in itself. Or you can have some fun Arm Wrestling and such, which can make you some pretty good money.
One pretty cool thing about Shenmue II is that it includes a Shenmue: The Movie DVD. You probably already know about it, but basically it is just a bunch of tied up cutscenes and some gameplay footage. It’s pretty cool, it’s about 90 minutes long and you can skip thru different chapters like any ordinary DVD. I watched it to refresh my memory, but if you’ve never played Shenmue then it would definitely be a great idea to watch it and get filled in.
Graphics: The graphics in Shenmue II look really nice. Yeah they aren’t Xbox material, but they still look good. The game is a port from the Dreamcast version, but Microsoft went ahead and made some graphical tweaks. Fixing up some of the faces, and stuff like that. I would have expected more, but you know what? I honestly do not care; this is a great game no matter what.
Sega – AM2 definitely did and an excellent job designing Hong Kong. I have never been to Hong Kong so I can’t say if it was realistically modeled, but I can’t say they did a good enough job designing it that it definitely convinces me. Even the insides of places all look great. Like the malls, apartments, every place in the game, was very well detailed.
The camera can be your worst enemy or your best friend. Like in some cases fighting in a restaurant it can be a real pain as the camera will be stuck under a table or behind walls and you can not see a thing. Your best bet is to just tap buttons and hope you don’t get knocked out. In most cases, however, the camera is just fine.
The game runs pretty smoothly, only a few slow-downs here and there, but only when going through largely populated areas. It isn’t nearly as bad as the Dreamcast version, but there still is the occasional slow-down.
Controls: The controls in Shenmue II I find to work very well. It was excellent on the Dreamcast, and it’s even better on the Xbox. I am better with the Xbox controller, and the Xbox Controller S especially, it is also a lot more comfortable, so it is easier to maintain. You can also get thru some of the QTE’s a little easier being the Xbox controller makes it just that much easier.
Replay: The sound in Shenmue II I find to be great. Most people think the voice acting is horrible. I think it is ok. I don’t find anything wrong with it, aside from reusing all of the voices on a million different people. The sound track is top notch as well, definitely one of the best soundtracks in any game.
Sound: The sound in Shenmue II I find to be great. Most people think the voice acting is horrible. I think it is ok. I don’t find anything wrong with it, aside from reusing all of the voices. The sound track is top notch as well, definitely one of the best soundtracks in a game.
Overall Presentation: Shenmue II is a great game, and if you are a Shenmue fan then you absolutely must pick this up. If you are not a Shenmue fan well still pick it up because I bet you soon will be a Shenmue fan as well. It couldn’t hurt to pick up a $50 dollar DreamCast and the first game either, but if not, the DVD will fill you in with just about everything you will need to know.
Scores:
Gameplay:  10
Graphics:  7
Controls:  8
Replay:  5
Sound: 8
Total Score: 7.6
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