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Yakuza

Reviewed on: Playstation 2
Available on: Playstation 2

At its heart Yakuza is a good old fashioned beat em up. It just doesn't manage to get itself above 'good' and into the 'great' range.

Players: 1 Player
Genre:
Release: TBA

Developer: Amusement Vision
Distributor: Sega

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Maybe it's because I have a 360 and I spend most of my time playing that, but nowadays when I play something on the old PS2 I cant help but scrunch my nose up at it. Given that the PS2 has been out for nearly 10 years, it's probably not all that surprising that graphically it's starting to fall a little behind. But it's not until you go from playing Dead Rising to playing a game like Yakuza that you realise that, yes, the next gen IS here.

Now Yakuza has had a lot of great reviews, and while the gameplay may well be awesome, it's really hard to go back to playing a PS2 title like this. Games that rely solely on the party factor like Singstar, DDR and Guitar Hero do not rely so heavily on the graphical punch to get their job done, but a story driven title like Yakuza certainly does. As far as PS2 games go, it's very nice graphically, it's just that it takes a bit of effort to remind yourself that you're not playing next-gen anymore. Makes you wonder how important backwards compatibility is, that is for sure. But lets keep in mind that this is a PS2 game, and it is a nice looking one at that.

At its heart Yakuza is a good old fashioned beat em up. Simple combos are linked together to perform punishing moves on your opponents. The more hits you land the more your "heat gauge" fills, and when it is full you can unleash some particularly brutal moves. Each of these moves are really very cool to watch and some really make you wince just watching. If there is a weapon handy you're free to grab it and start dishing out the pain. Unfortunately, holding your favourite weapon is only a short term pleasure as melee weapons will break after a few uses. The result feels a little like Dead Rising meets classic beat em ups like Double Dragon (my personal favourite). It's not all fists and head-butts though, Yakuza is very heavy in the story department. It often has the feel of some of the classic adventure games like earlier Final Fantasy games or more recently Beyond Good and Evil. There is lots of reading, lots of walking from A to B and lots of loading screens. Fortunately (or unfortunately) most areas of the game are small and therefore have frequent but small loading times. If you've played any Final Fantasy game, then you'll know what I am talking about. In this case however, the loading times really begin to ruin the flow of the game.

You play the party of Kazuma, known as the �Dragon� of the �Dojima� family, the largest of several families in the �Tojo� Yakuza clan. The story basically follows the path of this young and upcoming Yakuza soldier whose best friend kills the head of their own Dojima family for kidnapping their mutual friend, a girl named Kumi. Kazuma then finds himself in hot water after taking the rap for the murder and is expelled from the family. Having pissed a lot of people off in the Tojo clan, Kazuma finds himself in prison for 10 years before finally making parole. When he finally gets out of prison, a lot has changed in his clan, some are missing, some are dead and someone has made off with 10 billion Yen. There is a lot going on in this story and there are a lot of cut scenes with a tonne of information and names to keep track of. In the end all the convoluted and complicated plot lines come together conveniently and results in a somewhat satisfying conclusion. The problem is that along the way the story really does feel a little forced and regularly more than a little clich�d. In most button masher games a storyline is often considered a hindrance, but in Yakuza, the story contributes a lot to the overall enjoyment of the game... But really there are just too many cut-scenes.

Back to the action: Yakuza's combat is quick and easy to get into, but really lacks the depth found in other similar games. The enemies do not vary all that much and the basic moves are usually enough to see you through in one piece. Whilst there are plenty of weapons available, they are usually more of a novelty than anything else as they quickly break during use. You get the feeling more could have been done with the combat and you would really expect more in the way of guns, but it appears that Yakuza are opposed to the use of guns in this game. Having said that, the combat is at least fun. It can get tiresome in some parts, but as a whole the combat is easy to get into and is mostly enjoyable.

Yakuza features a fairly simple but rewarding experience system which sees you buying points in one of three skill sets, somewhat like Tiger Woods 07, strangely enough. Each level provides you with new abilities or skills that then assist you move through the game. Given the increasing amount of points required in each level you will inevitably raise all three at roughly the same rate leaving you with a feeling of not having a whole lot of choice, but at least it is something.

On the surface the game appears to be your typical urban sandbox ala GTA or Saints Row, but Yakuza is more akin to action adventure games like Shenmue or Resident Evil, except in a really, really small box. As beautiful as it is for a PS2 game, you spend a whole lot of time in the same area of town. Once you get over the pretty lights, it too becomes tiresome. To rectify this, the developers have included many mini-games, which although provide a useful distraction, do not really contribute to the overall fun factor of the game. Really, they feel just a little out of place. �Oooh, I just got out of prison and found that my life is ruined, I think I�ll go and play a 20 cent Crane game and win myself a soft toy�. If the crane game isn�t your style, there are poker machines, roulette, baseball mini-games, a boxing game, and even what appears to be a basic �dating sim�. None of these have any real point and really only serve to distract you from the best part of the game, which is the storyline. It honestly feels like the developers have tried at the last minute to add more of a free form feel to the game, but when you�re stuck in the same small part of town no amount of roulette or baseball will make you feel like your living in a real city.

In the end Yakuza is certainly an enjoyable game with an intriguing, albeit clich�d, storyline with some reasonably big name voice actors (including Michael Madson and Mark Hamill). It isn't that the game is let down by any one particular area, it just doesn't particularly excel in any area either. It is fun, has some degree of uniqueness to it, looks great (for a PS2 game) and is otherwise generally a good game. It just doesn't manage to get itself above �good� and into the �great� range. I think it is the combination of a thinking storyline with non-thinking gameplay that in the end makes Yakuza a little less than it could be.

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Final Verdict

It is fun, has some degree of uniqueness to it, looks great (for a PS2 game) and is otherwise generally a good game. It just doesn�t manage to get itself above 'good' and into the 'great' range.

Pros
Very detailed plot. Graphically rich and lifelike environments. Some very cool moves and visual effects.
Cons
Plot is often a little over stretched. Very linear even with the addition of 'mini-games' and side missions. The feeling that you�re stuck in a very small part of the world continually running from A to B for no real reason.