Score: 89
Overall User Average: 8.90 / 10 (89.3%)
Gameplay User Average: 8.85 / 10
Graphics User Average: 8.53 / 10
Sound User Average: 8.40 / 10
The Jackal
Date reviewed: June 4, 2005.
Overall: Overall Shenmue was a very unique and fun game. Not my style of game at all but I still enjoyed playing it. The story is easily one of the best and most complete stories in a game I have seen and anyone can complete it with a little time and effort.
Gameplay: It has good gameplay I believe. You have some freedom to run around but still the game keeps you on the right track so you don't run around for hours trying to find where you should be to finish a task. The game also has the neat feature where you press buttons at a specific time to give you some interaction with the cinematics like the Die Hard games used to do in the arcade. Theres also little ways you can make money on the side of completing tasks which gives the game some added credibility and fun.
Graphics: The game looks fairly good I think. It could use some touching up ie. looking more realistic, better colors. but I think this was the look they were going for. The environment looks pretty good and they don't cross the slums of Asia with the rich areas like a lot of games tend to do. You really get a feeling of this run down community.
Sound: The sound is pretty good. Not a lot to it but enough to complete the game without having anything seem out of place and non realistic. There seems to be a sound to everything in the game from leaves blowing to your character panting when you run.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 80 %
asammw
Date reviewed: December 9, 2003.
Overall: Shenmue2 will emmerse you in a vast city environment where you can explore as you please, featuring excellent martial arts sequences, impressive graphics and an excellent story line, good enough to stand among the Xbox greats.
Gameplay: Hop into the shoes of Rio Hazuki, a Japanese teenager on a quest to avenge his father's death at the hands of a martial arts master named Lan Di. Gameplay is a mixture of exploration, tense martial arts combat action, adventure and story. If you haven't played the original shenmue it comes with a DVD that contains all the cut scenes from the original in a movie style to fill you in on the story, aswell as a shortened ten minute overview on the game disc so don't worry about not knowing the story thus far. The combat is similar to that you would find in DOA, controlled using button combos for realistic martial arts moves. The story is one of the most compelling ever told in a video game and all this combined with numerous mini games makes for one of the most varied and enjoyable games ever made. The mini games are even unlocked to play in a bonus feature section on the disc, called the 'Shenmue Collection' when they have been found and played during the main game. These include darts, various street fights and arm wrestling among others. The size of each area allows generous ammounts of exploration, including many items that can be bought from shops ect. You will get alot more out of taking your time in this game than simply rushing through it. A gameplay masterpeice.
Graphics: The amazing thing about Shenmue2's graphics is that they are still stunning, even though it was originally released for SEGA's Dreamcast. The range of textures used in the environments make everything a new pleasure to look at. The character models for the main characters are exceptional, looking comparable to reality at times, of particular note are Rio himself and Shenhua, a girl you will meet later in the game. There are weather effects and wide open landscapes to marvel at in parts of the game. In fact there is only one complaint, in that the character models for the majority of NPCs, those who aren't main characters, are very blocky and badly textured. This is simply because the Dreamcast could not cope with the level of detail on main characters to be maintained on all NPCs at once. You will only notice this if you talk to them however.
Sound: The sound is amazing for the most part, except the voice acting is dodgey in parts, although it is very good overall. The sound as Rio runs is also a little unrealistic, and can get on your nerves after long periods of running around. In contrast the soundtrack, particullarly the theme music played at the credits is exceptional. Perhaps featuring some of the best music ever created for a video game.
Suggestions: The single player game is a good length and has a good enough story and enough variety of play to make you want to play it again. Theres also tonnes of unlockables including some of the game director's (Yu Suzuki) previous titles, such as outrun. If this standard is improved upon in the third installment, currently in development for Xbox, it will be another excellent game. Keep it up SEGA!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 90 %
xbox genius
Date reviewed: December 4, 2003.
Overall: (Before i say anything, go and buy this game ESPECIALLY when its 20 dollars or lower. i got mine for 15 bucks, which is one hella of a deal for this game.)
Many things. You have some freedom to walk around and find clues leading to yuandha zhu, he knows who killed Ryo's father, which is your objective to avenge your fahters death. Along the way, you can talk, play games, gamble, jobs, etc. branching story, but still linear. i heard the ending sucked, but i'm not there yet. great game overall
Gameplay: as i said before, you as Ryo Hazuki, you go find clues to find yuandha zhu who knows why Lan Di killed your father. Along the way you get to gamble with MANY small games, slots, side games from side streets, and you can go to the arcades to play old Sega games. you talk to people and ask them different questions and you can follow them too with lock on system. you get to fight sometimes. arm wrestle, you get to go get a job and work, and you get to mess around if you dont want to go along with the story. there is QT Action Key, its where you are in a cut scene and you push the right buttons for Ryo to do the right moves in order to continue, very fun.
Graphics: Graphics are soo horrible. well for xbox standards, but i gotta admit, the miscellanous items and objects, like chairs, fountains, boxes, etc are Well done. it really shows when you are doing the QT action keys. Graphics should be much better next time.
Sound: sounds are great, i think the voicing is good, but it should be with more ethusiasm, and the mouth movements are soo fake... but everything else is fine
Suggestions: add mor varieties such as more differnt games to gamble and add ALOT and i mean ALOT of side quests. it contributes to more outside life of secondary characters and more hours of gameplay. up the graphics a bit. eerything is fine from here on out, good job, and MAKE SHENMUE 3 ON XBOX TOO!!!!!
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 80 %
Hero
Date reviewed: November 2, 2003.
Overall: Shenmue II, the story of a kid who sees his dad get killed by a guy name Lan Di then goes on a mission to avenge his father. Out of all the games i have ever played in my life this is the most cinematic. The plot develops and you see Ryo Hazuki grow and learn from the people he meets and learns things about himself in spiritual, mental, and physical ways. For a linear RPG game this one certainly gives you alot to do.
Gameplay: I was surprised by the amounts of secrets in this game, lots of toys to collect, hidden moves that could only be bought or taught by certain people. Also the deepness of your relationship with certain people changed depending on the actions of your character. my brother ended up having a pretty deep friendship with some girl in the game while when i played it we never even got to a first name basis. just trying to uncover all the hidden cut scenes will have you playing this game more than once. but if thats not enough for you theres also alot of mini-games to play like gambling, working, chase scenes. There are also hidden old-school arcade games from genesis that can be played by Ryu. Lots of real time fighting with almost an unlimited amounts of moves that each take time to master which used the virtual fighters engine. although once you beat htis game for teh second time your pretty much gonna be done with it. but twice is good enough for most people.
Graphics: the graphics in this game are decent. but its not the graphics that count so much its the way that the game feels and looks thats important. and in Shenmue II you definitly get that. the cities in this game are very detailed and massive to give alot of room for exploring. Just be careful thought if you wasting too much time admiring the city becuase there is a time limit in this game.
Sound: the music in this game always builds the right mood and has a consitency to it. although i dont pay much attention to sound in games this one didnt have anythign that particularly caught my attention. Which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you wanna look at it.
Suggestions: im pretty sure a part 3 will be developed eventually because this game left off on a "to be continued mode" in that game i hope that it becomes less linear and gives us more room to explore.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 70 %
TuffEagle88
Date reviewed: October 14, 2003.
Overall: I was disappointed in this game. I bought it when it first came out and have since played it for well over 100 hours.
Gameplay: The controls are relatively simple and easy to use. The beginning is very, very boring and starts extremely slow. The mini games are a nice touch, but why are slot machines always in games? I am sick of them, but besides them the mini games and various tasks you must accomplish are relatively fun.
During fights it seems like everything slows down and get fuzzy at times and it is glitchy. I enjoyed the Q.T.E. fights more than the street fights. The story line is good, but in the end you accomplish absolutely nothing and it is a complete cliff hanger. Also the last 2-3 hours of the game make you want to shoot yourself because all you do is run throught forest paths following a girl.
Interactions with people are always boring and predictable. And Ryo is always WAY TOO POLITE!!
The entire game really is like watching a movie, because you have no control over the story line, and either you do what you are supposed to or you have to keep trying until you get it, example- a dude throws a watermelon at your head you are supposed to punch it- smashing it into a dozen pieces, but if you don't you have to keep trying.
At the end you also automatically start over from the beginning and lose all of the items and moves you have been working the entire game to get.
Graphics: Visually the game looks great, but in the fight mode it is blurry and slow, but everywhere e;se the senery is beautiful- you almost feel like you are in hong kong (before they were given back to the communist Chinese)
Sound: Slightly above average with some beautiful sounding melodies which seem to calm me- which I need after wasting 50$ on a piece of crap with abosolutely NO REPLAY VALUE!!!!! believe me I beat the game more than twice and it sucks.
Suggestions: Give the game some replay value!!! More action and fights. More different characters and if you have a fighting mode- duh!!! make it a two player
Overall: 70 %
Gameplay: 30 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 60 %
Hazuki1287
Date reviewed: September 30, 2003.
Overall: This game is an epic no matter what you may say about the graphics(which arent bad anyway) Watching the 90 minute movie gets you in the mood for Shenmue 2 and it does not disappoint. I had the original on the DC and there are a few major differences
1. there is a snapshot mode in which you can unlock side story and hidden extras
2.English voiceovers
3. Movie length DVD Fro shenmue 1
4.Enhanced graphics
5. No lag, better framrate and better lighting
6. All fitted onto one disc
7. For the measly price of.
Gameplay: Oh god there is so much i could go on forever, right. there is RPG elements, Fighting alements, Sport elements!(darts) Gambling elements and retro elements(arcade games and QTEs)and collective elements(capsule toys,and pawnshop flyers and moves) The game itself takes 20+ hours to complete without a walkthrough and then will want to play again to get everything,collect all the toys and get all the moves. there is so much to do here.
Graphics: Although it is a dreamcast port, it doesnt fail here because although they might not be the best graphics, they work and have been enhanced well, especially the night lights.
Sound: The epic soundtrack makes up for the poor english voice overs here. The japanese voiceovers were enthusiastic, when you here wong here you want to punch a hole through the TV!The music is amazing and will have you humming it all day
Suggestions: MAKE SHENMUE 3 GODDAMMIT, LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE ENJOYED THE 2ND INSTALLMENT ON THE XBOX.
Any way, if you are interested in the shenmue series, check out www.shenmuedojo.net for updates and other cool stuff. Cheerz
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 90 %
JediMasterChief
Date reviewed: August 11, 2003.
Overall: The saga continues...and Ryo Hazuki's adventure gets even bigger. Shenmue II, the sequel to the original Shenmue on Dreamcast, is an amazing adventure RPG with many elements of martial arts fighting. It is true that Shenmue II is like a movie, because there are great cut-scenes, an amazing story, and realistic locations. In the sequel, Ryo travels to Hong Kong in search of Lan Di, the man who killed his father back in Yokosuka, Japan where the original game was set. Ryo's goal is not only avenging his father's death, but also learning the secrets about the Phoenix Mirror, which he has in possession. Ryo finally finds out about the Phoenix (and Dragon) Mirror from a man named Yuanda Zhu, who had sent a warning letter to Ryo's father once. The gaming world in Shenmue II is more than four times bigger than in the original one. The storyline is also way bigger. The game is split up into three sections. The first section occurs in Hong Kong (areas called Aberdeen and Wan Chai), where the story heads to a start. The second section occurs in Kowloon (a big city close to Hong Kong, with giant buldings), this is where most of the story (and action) happens. The final part of the game occurs in Guilin (a region of villages and fields northwest of Hong Kong), this is where the story is wrapped up and where Ryo meets Shen Hua, whose ancestors had made the two ancient mirrors. Shenmue II also comes with an extra Shenmue the Movie DVD, which is basically the original Shenmue game portrayed as a feature-length movie. The original Shenmue on Dreamcast was actually my favorite video game of all time. Personally, I enjoyed the first one better, but overall Shenmue II is much better in all sorts of ways (graphics, sound, gameplay, etc.). Even though Shenmue II was available on Dreamcast also (in Europe and Japan only), it could be considered a bit of a port onto the Xbox. Ryo Hazuki himself is a very original strong-willed character, who sometimes could remind me of either Jackie Chan or the Karate Kid. I strongly recommend Shenmue II to almost everybody. If you like (and have the patience) to play RPGs, then you should consider it. Fans of martial arts should also be interested, because martial arts fighting is an important element of Shenmue II, with a Virtua Fighter engine used in the game. Yu Suzuki, a video game genius, who wrote and directed Shenmue II, did an excellent and outstanding job together with SEGA-AM2 and Microsoft.
Gameplay: Gameplay is amazing in Shenmue II. It's divided into three main areas. The first one is Free Quest, which is when you explore and walk around (this is almost all the game). In Free Quest, you can have conversations with all the characters, you can work at part-time jobs, you can go to shops, you can gamble, you can go to the arcade, you can sleep, you can fight, you can take snap-shots (it is possible to take up to 126 photos of anything you want), and many other things. There are some limitations, for example you can't steal things, which in some other RPGs you can do. Free Quest is entirely in third-person view, however you can sometimes zoom in on objects or people, which will create a first-person view. There is much to explore and it will take you many days to explore everything. Especially places such as Kowloon are enormous, because there are big buildings that can reach between 10 and 40 stories high, and you can go to every floor you like with an elevator. The second main area is fighting, where you have to fight using different martial arts. You can either spar with some special people for fun or you can fight for money. However, throughout the main storyline, you have to fight and enemies get harder and harder. You can learn new moves and use older ones too. The third main area of the game is QTE. It takes up a very little percentage of the game and it only happens throughout the main storyline. QTE stands for Quick-Timer Event, which is when a button flashes on the screen and you have to quickly press it in a limited time, if you do this correctly, Ryo will perform an action, usually some kind of martial arts move. There are also Command QTEs, where you have to press a series of buttons at once to perform a longer action. Command QTEs were not included in the original Shenmue. There is also a time and date system in Shenmue II, mainly because the story is set in 1987. There is also a weather system, where sometimes it might be cloudy, rainy, sunny, or whatever. Even the clouds on the sky move. You can also experience mini-games and fighting just for fun in a Shenmue Collection section, but you can only do the stuff that you have unlocked through the main storyline. There is only one difficulty level in Shenmue II, which is satisfying, because the game is easy to beat. Controls are fine and some of them can be changed. Gameplay is great and there are no major things that have to be changed. All I would want, is that there you be a bit more items that you can purchase at shops, more gambling games, and also more part-time jobs.
Graphics: Visuals are excellent and they have been in Shenmue games, even since the original one on Dreamcast. The landscapes and environments have great architecture and good graphics. A good amount of modeling has been done on all the faces throughout the game. The cut-scenes are well done and seem like a real movie. Though some parts of the cut-scenes may not be so smooth, but it's still all right. The visuals don't use the graphical capability of the Xbox fully, because they still look like they came from the Dreamcast, therefore it would have to be improved. The screen also sometimes is a bit blurry during fighting, which isn't so good. Although all characters, environments, buildings, and objects in Shenmue II are realistic and great graphics.
Sound: Sound in general is astounding in Shenmue II. There are songs both new and old, as well as great sound effects. Each area and building in Shenmue II has its own theme. There is an enormous amount of music, which is great. The original Shenmue music theme is also there and is fantastic, just like in the original one. It's just too bad that Ryo couldn't have a cassette player with music cassettes, like he did in the original Shenmue game. Sound effects are not only excellent, but also realistic. From a flock of birds flying away to rain drops falling to a man clapping, there are sound effects everywhere. The only thing that disturbed me a bit was when you ran with Ryo, his feet would make a strange sound against the ground. After a while, you would get used to this, so it's no major problem. No famous actors were used for the voices in Shenmue II, but everyone has a different voice and the game is entirely in English, instead of Chinese or Japanese. Overall, almost everything is perfect with the audio side of Shenmue II.
Suggestions: I have no major suggestions to the developers. Just make the graphics a bit better next time. I hope that SEGA-AM2 will make Shenmue III, because even though not everybody may like the Shenmue games, there are still people who enjoyed the games very much (one of those people is me). If they do decide to make Shenmue III, then I beg them to make it on Xbox.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
El Latino Mafioso
Date reviewed: July 18, 2003.
Overall: Amazing game, I was just amazaed by how deep and expanded the game is, is soo excellent it has won some prizes.Of course it's a Yu Suzuki's creation could not be bad. You continue your adventure where you left of on the first Shenmue(DC). You arrive at Japan and start meeting people and doing things like getting a job, etc.
Gameplay: Ryo to me moves pretty slowly, and runs pretty uncontrollaby also.They should unthighten the game controls and make then looser... You talk to people and do some other stuff by pressing Y I think. The layout is pretty decent.
Graphics: The visuals are not the best part of the game. They are pretty crisp and detailed. But they are still too dreamcastmish...Many excellent cgs, and movies.
Sound: It's stopendous, The 5.1 dolby really helps in this kind of game! I loved it! You can hear the people talking and sometimes you even look back to see if somebody is there(with 5.1 speakers)
Suggestions: To make the game load faster and to make the best sequel ever!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 100 %
zip_zap
Date reviewed: April 18, 2003.
Overall: This was a great game. Though the free roam controls were a little bit quirky, the game really didn't have a glitch that got in the way of the gameplay. It was a little difficult in spots, but it was all beatable if you had an effective strategy.
Gameplay: The gameplay was extremly unique. It was better than the original! You could gamble(ie. Roll it on Top, Perfect, One Shot, Big or Small,ect). There was also jobs that you could participate in, like helping out at gambling stands or moving crates at warehouses. Also, whenever you talked to somebody, you had an original conversation. You could even take pictures of yourself and then view them later. The game's only glitch is that the free roam controls were flawed. Sometimes you would slow down when you didn't want to.
Graphics: What else can I say except for amazing! It shows details down 2 a finger twitch and as compound as the slow-motion of when you knocked out your enemies.I liked how you could change the filter settings. This was pretty amuzing.
Sound: The sound was excellent!! Thats all I can say great job to the crew that worked with the sound effcts. But it did get a little annoying when you were moving the crates to here Dulin's moans over and over again.
Suggestions: Just allow for more range of movement(dont give bounderies at the edges of a path.)
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 90 %
Tomdegreat
Date reviewed: February 17, 2003.
Overall: Shenmue 2 is a classic game and every xbox owner should have a copy of it.It can take some time to get into if you don't already own the original but after time you will become addicted. Even when you have complaeted the game there is still plenty to do like jsut explore the towns or play the mini games, such as darts or even some of sega's classic arcade games. (BUY THIS GAME IT RULEZ!!!!!)
Gameplay: Shenmue 2 can be quite slow to start of with and you will ahve to give it some time but when you get into the game you won't be able to stop playing it. You will always won't to find out what happens next.
Graphics: The graphics on Shenmue 2 are stunning you might not realise it at first but when you just look around at some of the big towns you will come to realise how much time has been put into the game. But the graphics havent really been chnaged thtamuch from the dreamcast version. The developers squeezed every single last drop from the dreamcasts hardware but they didnt do the same with the xbox.
Sound: The sound is one of the main parts of the game, it really brings out the atmosphere like the music in shops or hearing the wildlife around you or the workers and buiness men chatting away. Although the voice acting is absolutlely terrible, the acotrs just didn'tput any effort into it
Suggestions: Co-opperative mdoe would be great!!!!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 90 %
Spacewolf
Date reviewed: January 12, 2003.
Overall: So far I have really enjoyed this game. I like the way it is making you earn money and still try to get info that you need. The chases I thought were fun with having to hit a certain button during it.
Gameplay: So far it has been very easy to control with the only problem that I ran into was using the d-pad intsead of the stick (though you can change to the stick in the options). Fighting controls are very easy to get use to and other challanges are not hard either.
Graphics: While I admit this will note win any
awards for it's graphics they are still good. I actually enjoy looking around at all the sites and signs.
Sound: Okay pretty good here with the sounds around you. FIghting sounds are solid as well. The only complaint I have here is the dialog that they have used. That could have been better.
Suggestions: Better dialog would be nice. More challanges in the game would be great. Oh and better part time jobs than the dang luck hit stands.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 80 %
xboxgamer142
Date reviewed: January 8, 2003.
Overall: The saga continues...and Ryo Hazuki?s adventure gets even bigger. Shenmue II, the sequel to the original Shenmue on Dreamcast, is an amazing adventure RPG with many elements of martial arts fighting. It is true that Shenmue II is like a movie, because there are great cut-scenes, an amazing story, and realistic locations. In the sequel, Ryo travels to Hong Kong in search of Lan Di, the man who killed his father back in Yokosuka, Japan where the original game was set. Ryo?s goal is not only avenging his father?s death, but also learning the secrets about the Phoenix Mirror, which he has in possession. Ryo finally finds out about the Phoenix (and Dragon) Mirror from a man named Yuanda Zhu, who had sent a warning letter to Ryo?s father once. The gaming world in Shenmue II is more than four times bigger than in the original one. The storyline is also way bigger. The game is split up into three sections. The first section occurs in Hong Kong (areas called Aberdeen and Wan Chai), where the story heads to a start. The second section occurs in Kowloon (a big city close to Hong Kong, with giant buldings), this is where most of the story (and action) happens. The final part of the game occurs in Guilin (a region of villages and fields northwest of Hong Kong), this is where the story is wrapped up and where Ryo meets Shen Hua, whose ancestors had made the two ancient mirrors. Shenmue II also comes with an extra Shenmue the Movie DVD, which is basically the original Shenmue game portrayed as a feature-length movie. The original Shenmue on Dreamcast was actually my favorite video game of all time. Personally, I enjoyed the first one better, but overall Shenmue II is much better in all sorts of ways (graphics, sound, gameplay, etc.). Even though Shenmue II was available on Dreamcast also (in Europe and Japan only), it could be considered a bit of a port onto the Xbox. Ryo Hazuki himself is a very original strong-willed character, who sometimes could remind me of either Jackie Chan or the Karate Kid. I strongly recommend Shenmue II to almost everybody. If you like (and have the patience) to play RPGs, then you should consider it. Fans of martial arts should also be interested, because martial arts fighting is an important element of Shenmue II, with a Virtua Fighter engine used in the game. Yu Suzuki, a video game genius, who wrote and directed Shenmue II, did an excellent and outstanding job together with SEGA-AM2 and Microsoft.
Gameplay: Gameplay is amazing in Shenmue II. It?s divided into three main areas. The first one is Free Quest, which is when you explore and walk around (this is almost all the game). In Free Quest, you can have conversations with all the characters, you can work at part-time jobs, you can go to shops, you can gamble, you can go to the arcade, you can sleep, you can fight, you can take snap-shots (it is possible to take up to 126 photos of anything you want), and many other things. There are some limitations, for example you can?t steal things, which in some other RPGs you can do. Free Quest is entirely in third-person view, however you can sometimes zoom in on objects or people, which will create a first-person view. There is much to explore and it will take you many days to explore everything. Especially places such as Kowloon are enormous, because there are big buildings that can reach between 10 and 40 stories high, and you can go to every floor you like with an elevator. The second main area is fighting, where you have to fight using different martial arts. You can either spar with some special people for fun or you can fight for money. However, throughout the main storyline, you have to fight and enemies get harder and harder. You can learn new moves and use older ones too. The third main area of the game is QTE. It takes up a very little percentage of the game and it only happens throughout the main storyline. QTE stands for ?Quick-Timer Event?, which is when a button flashes on the screen and you have to quickly press it in a limited time, if you do this correctly, Ryo will perform an action, usually some kind of martial arts move. There are also Command QTEs, where you have to press a series of buttons at once to perform a longer action. Command QTEs were not included in the original Shenmue. There is also a time and date system in Shenmue II, mainly because the story is set in 1987. There is also a weather system, where sometimes it might be cloudy, rainy, sunny, or whatever. Even the clouds on the sky move. You can also experience mini-games and fighting just for fun in a Shenmue Collection section, but you can only do the stuff that you have unlocked through the main storyline. There is only one difficulty level in Shenmue II, which is satisfying, because the game is easy to beat. Controls are fine and some of them can be changed. Gameplay is great and there are no major things that have to be changed. All I would want, is that there you be a bit more items that you can purchase at shops, more gambling games, and also more part-time jobs.
Graphics: Visuals are excellent and they have been in Shenmue games, even since the original one on Dreamcast. The landscapes and environments have great architecture and good graphics. A good amount of modeling has been done on all the faces throughout the game. The cut-scenes are well done and seem like a real movie. Though some parts of the cut-scenes may not be so smooth, but it?s still all right. The visuals don?t use the graphical capability of the Xbox fully, because they still look like they came from the Dreamcast, therefore it would have to be improved. The screen also sometimes is a bit blurry during fighting, which isn?t so good. Although all characters, environments, buildings, and objects in Shenmue II are realistic and great graphics.
Sound: Sound in general is astounding in Shenmue II. There are songs both new and old, as well as great sound effects. Each area and building in Shenmue II has its own theme. There is an enormous amount of music, which is great. The original Shenmue music theme is also there and is fantastic, just like in the original one. It?s just too bad that Ryo couldn?t have a cassette player with music cassettes, like he did in the original Shenmue game. Sound effects are not only excellent, but also realistic. From a flock of birds flying away to rain drops falling to a man clapping, there are sound effects everywhere. The only thing that disturbed me a bit was when you ran with Ryo, his feet would make a strange sound against the ground. After a while, you would get used to this, so it?s no major problem. No famous actors were used for the voices in Shenmue II, but everyone has a different voice and the game is entirely in English, instead of Chinese or Japanese. Overall, almost everything is perfect with the audio side of Shenmue II.
Suggestions: I have no major suggestions to the developers. Just make the graphics a bit better next time. I hope that SEGA-AM2 will make Shenmue III, because even though not everybody may like the Shenmue games, there are still people who enjoyed the games very much (one of those people is me). If they do decide to make Shenmue III, then I beg them to make it on Xbox.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
RathitzTretz
Date reviewed: December 30, 2002.
Overall: Just an average game. It didn't really impress me in any aspect of it. The fighting was pretty nice and pretty easy to control, and that was it's only strongpoint. Ever since this was announced I thought it would be amazing, but Sega really didn't seem to put much thought into this game. It looks as if it were made for Dreamcast, not Xbox.
Gameplay: Gameplay is a strongpoint in this game. The fighting is easy to learn and is the main fun part of the game, however there isn't enough of it. Most of the fights are done by pressing buttons when they flash on the screen, which isn't as much fun as being able to control your moves. Sega should have made the gameplay less linear though and made it so that there could be more things to do, because even though the area is very big, there is really not much to do except the objective.
Graphics: Horrible! This is obviously a Dreamcast port. Sega put no effort into improving the graphics. Since this was an "Only on Xbox" game, Sega should have really tried to make the game use the Xbox's power. This game really failed in the graphics department.
Sound: Repetitive. The voices suck and are really repetetive. The characters say the same things over and over and over again. There really needs to be more sound in this game and more background noises of what's going on around you in the city, then it would be better. Also, have the NPC's say more than just two things and for God's sake get different people to do their voices!!
Suggestions: If you make a Shenmue 3, again make it Only on Xbox. Make the graphics worthy of the Xbox, add more sounds, both for characters and background, add an online world to the game, and make the gameplay less linear.
Overall: 70 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 50 %
Sound: 40 %
silent_Bob2222
Date reviewed: December 29, 2002.
Overall: The overall gameplay is ok......hope this doesn't sound sexually obscene but some of the characters are hot. The fightings great but there should be more...but this is still one of my favorite games next to morrowind the elder scrolls
Gameplay: gameplays all right I can't put the game down easy but they should have spent more time x box has more features then they are using on the game.
Graphics: Like I said some of the characters are hot.....the women but the visuals still need work. The mouths omfg are really messed up i hate it so much.
Sound: sound effects are good the music is great but the voices they need a lot of work A LOT!!!!! sorry for being picky but i like them perfected
Suggestions: work more make better games yay
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 70 %
Playa024
Date reviewed: December 29, 2002.
Overall: This just became my favorite game because I love simulations and it just rocks because you have to actually work for monay or gamble to live. Besides the fact that you cant eat. You even have to pay for your own hotel that's about how close to life that you can get.
Hehe I love the arcade
Gameplay: This game has so much to do even though I do agree that it has alot of cut scenes but besides that it's a really good game. When I started to explore around alot I even found an arcade filled with old sega games. And also Shenmue 2 is just like a life simulation in Hong Kong you can sell stuff at pawn shops or even get jobs. Some times the game can get kind of complicated when your trying to find the four parts of wude, it was so annoying on the 3rd part at the barber shop when he says sit still, but when he pulls the knife out and the blinking A pops up I thought you were supposed to hit A, so then I kept on trying and trying thinking that you had to hit and found out that you didnt. about 4 days went by just trying to figure that out so I wanted to restart oh yeah I forgot you can't restart you have to restart the whole system to reload but besides that it's awsome.
Graphics: I think that this game has alright Graphics could be very better with Xbox's power but owell the game still rocks.
Sound: When you get so into the game you kinda forget about the sound but the talkings right on and when I do hear the music it's good.
Suggestions: I think that you should make it so you can reload with out getting up and wasting time but besides that maby a few more part time jobs and thats all.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 100 %
Cesar902
Date reviewed: December 28, 2002.
Overall: This game is awesome. Very interesting story and goals. I have not played shenmue 1, but I love this game from start. I was interest by the intrigue on the game. The way you get to interact with people to reach your goal. This game is just one of the best games on Xbox.
Gameplay: I never liked RPG and Final Fantasy seem boring to me, but this RPG has changes my perceptions of RPS's because the story is based on fictional real people. It's very fun seing it interact to people, find its way to place by asking. I like that you can work, gamble, sell on pawnshops, learn through skill through referal of several people. You get to complete skills by going to one person and that person will refer you to another person to finish your goal, and the stories and information you get to share with people is just fun. People sometimes will take you to the place you need. You get daytime and night to get things done. you go to sleep, sleeping goes quick, after you get out of the place you slept you choose the quarters you have visited, then go from there if you remember what to do next, if you forgot just press "X" and your notebook will give a hint or you can ask a local. The intrige the suspense is just so immersive.
Graphics: I saw the visual on the Dreamcast once and the visual improvement is very high. The amount of people and the places look very appealing. The game may not be the best Xbox graphics but the world looks very immersive.
Sound: The sound its not as bad as some people say, The only part I don't like is the one when you work on moving crates, the sound of the co-worker is just awful, aside from that it's alright.
Suggestions: Make Shenmue 3 with better graphics, using Bump Mapping, Pixel and vertex shader at its max.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 90 %
masterchen
Date reviewed: December 27, 2002.
Overall: Overall this game is simply amazing. The storyline is the best storyline in video game history, in my opinion. Its so well thought out and logical. It all comes together, graphics and sound are great. Yu Suzuki is brilliant.Theres no other game like it.
Gameplay: A bit slower paced than the first but it builds up without you really noticing. The gameplay in general is amazing. So much to do. Go anywhere you want. Your FREE. Great gameplay experience. Theres not like it.
Graphics: Even for a game thats based on Softimage technology that is 4 years old, it still seems to impress me on Xbox. Shenmue II on Xbox is beatiful, smooth and sharp. Reflections are added and the glare from the sun is nice, water effects were reworked. Ryos hands are reshaped, slow down is gone, loading times are quick, no more jaggies, some blockiness around ears and clothing but aside from that the game is a beauty.
Sound: Ryo voice sounds the exact way we would sound if we didnt know anyone in China, nervous, jumpy. Although the voices aren't up to standards of whats its suppose to be, in my opinion it just happens to blend right into the game. Doesnt bother me at all. Just like the original. The musical score is just amazing. Just like the first. Brilliant.
Suggestions: Market it better.
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 100 %
PDT816
Date reviewed: December 26, 2002.
Overall: As much as I wanted to like this game, it was a huge disappointment and I?m pretty easy to please. This game could have been so much more, but it deeply lacks depth in gameplay as you will spend almost half your time behind the controller watching cut scenes. I kept asking myself if I had bought an interactive movie with a little gaming thrown in. Make no mistake, there are some great elements to this game but there is very little ?game? to Shenmue II and no way to bypass the cut scenes so you?re a captive prisoner to them. Without them, this is about a 10-hour game in regards to actual gamer interaction.
Gameplay: This game contains all the important elements to be the perfect game. Unfortunately, it falls drastically short in all of them. It has a great concept in regards to story line, but appears that they are trying to spread the wealth of it?s 16 chapters over too many games when each game should cover more ground. It has breathtaking visuals in it?s cut scenes, but one every three minutes is overkill. I was impressed with it?s fighting engine and controls, but it was frustrating to battle it out with enemies only to find out that you must lose so that that the story can continue. It has great action and exploration overtones, but little gameplay for the player to actually interact with the game.
In summary, what little gameplay is excellent, but there?s not much in this game.
Graphics: Many have exposed the game for unappealing graphics. I disagree wholeheartedly. The graphics are not the most detailed, and the fluidity of the characters isn?t the best, but by and large, the visual experience of this game is truly inspiring when taken collectively. The color pallet used in the game makes almost every scene a stunning image.
Sound: The voiceovers in this game are terrible, not because of they are in English, but because you get tired of hearing the same thing over and over. If I had a nickel for each time Ryo says ?sure? when moving crates, Bill Gates would be the second richest man in America. Same thing goes for other characters in the game as well. Variety is the spice of life and the prospect of having characters say the same three words over and again is frustrating.
The other elements in the game are actually quite good. The music and the background sounds really add the experience.
Suggestions: It?s certain that the developers have a great plot and story to tell through the Shenmue series. It?s too bad that we don?t get to see much of it being told in each installment of the game. There?s hours on end in this game that is mindless, non-interactive, and just plain boring that could have been substituted with more involvement from the gamer if the developers would push the story along.
My suggestion would be to cut 75% of the cut scenes and let the more of the story evolve in actual gamer interaction rather than being led through the story by the nose in cut scenes.
Overall: 50 %
Gameplay: 50 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 40 %
kylely
Date reviewed: December 20, 2002.
Overall: I believe that this game was a true interactive game. It involves real street smarts. You have to ask certain people to find certain information. If you ask better people you find better information.
Gameplay: The gameplay is good. I think that you should be able to fight much more. You only get to fight too many times so I think you should be able to pick more fights with anyone just like grand theft auto.
Graphics: The graphics were good. The gameplay looked almost as good as the movies. I think they did an excellent job on the graphics.
Sound: Pretty good. Not too too much repeating. Depends on how much you play. They could of made Ryo (the main character) sound more smooth.
Suggestions: Well Shenmue is an excellent interactive game. Maybe with more diskspace they could of done more with it. It involves a lot of interactivity, but a bit more couldn't hurt.
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 80 %
Megaherz *RAGE*
Date reviewed: December 20, 2002.
Overall: In my mind Sega has always been a big fail and if you want proof of my previous affirmation just check how easily Sega was been beaten with their Sega Genesis by the Nintendo's console named Super Nintendo, when they got a upper cut right on the face when Playstation 1 came to video game industry and knock-out Sega on the ring with only one week of selling and finally when Playstation 2 give the death-blow to Sega, it was their last breath on the console industry. After the ultimate carnage, Sega has decided to stay on the course with their video game but againt that was a fail because they were not close enough from the masterpiece of other compagny like Bungie, Digital Extreme or Dice. Just take a look around to the x-box library with Nfl 2k3, Jet Set Radio Future and GunValkyrie, does it was to supposed to blow ? Now Microsoft got an ally to fight againt the strong leader of Sony, but how weakless he is. But they have some game that can't be contracdicted like the famous best-seller who was Phantasy Star Online and Shenmue 1. Shenmue 1 has combined the Virtual fighter style with an immense world of adventure and freedom, sadly the sequel of the
game was not been released on America. But now, thing have changed and also we are able to play Shenmue 2 on only one cd and naturally on our x-box. I didn't know that someday i could say it but i am proud of you Sega.
Gameplay: If i can give you an advice before you start Shenmue 2, it will probably be that you must at all cost listen to the Dvd
that came with game, because it's explain the whole story of Shenmue one. I know that 1 hour and thirty minute is a way too
long to introduce the story but if you prefer to start the game right after you buy or rent it, you will not know what you
were supposed to do in Honk Kong. For those kind of gamer, i can summarize the Dvd with the assasination of your father, follow
by the steal of a mirror who supposed to release a demon from the underworld and finally after a series of combat, you will leave
japan with the only idea to avenge your father. When you start the game, you are immediately submerged by the wide world of Shenmue 2.
First you must know that even if you take the control pad or your thumbstick as you directional pad, the character won't move
corectly. It's hard to move Ryo when he is doing a circular movement and the hardest part it is when you want to go to a specific location.
In Shenmue 2, you are also able to talk to every townpeople about you main guest or about the location of a pawnshop, of a gambling zone
or somewhere where you can have a part-time job by pressing Y and A. B can be used to mark with a pencil a specific point in Honk Kong and
X to check you diary where all your quest are. I forget that you can also use Y to check into your inventory. They're so much to do
in Shenmue that a short review like that can even introduce the gameplay and i didn't know where i should begin. First, you already know that
we can have a part time job, in fact you can work on a lucky stand hit or as a conveyor. Also you can gamble in diffrent kind of game and
what i really enjoy in gambling is that it is so realistic that i can even feel the demon of gaming in my head. Sometimes i was working a whole day to spend
it all on gambling and the result was that i got no money at the end. Pawnshop are used to sell toys that you can buy in some machine
near the golden road, a set of specific toys give you more money that selling just a part of it. In shenmue, you can also learn new move,
have new friends, play old sega game on the arcade, fight on street fight and more. There is also some video that are interactive. What i really mean by that is that sometimes you should press B to avoid a couple of crates from falling on you. The consequence if you failed is that you will not able to follow the running riot. In fact, it was pretty cool way to show us the interactivity of the game. An another thing is that we are able to counter move in the same way has the interactive video, this is really amazing. The lasting appeal of this game is
practically 40 hours with the possibility to play again and in different way. Really the best adventure game ever done on x-box.
Graphics: The best part of the graphic is when you are leaving the boat from japan and you begin to look around. How diffrent you will
find every townpeople ? How it could have been true ? It seems that you will believe that you are in a real city not like Jet
Set Radio Future where everybody look the same. The texture are quite too crispy and crappy for me and i can't even express myself more
about it because there is a half of the gamer that find that this kind of texture show that everything is not perfect and another kind who will
say that polished texture could have been better. I don't want to create a war again the polished texture or the real life texture so i will
not express any opinion about it. Finally the video were better than awesome, they were oustanding and it's not because they were well done. My reason is that there
is so many of them that you can feel the deep story between Ryo and the murder of his father and i has always wanted to have more video than three or four. Some people will tell you that you are spending more time listening video than playing and i must admit
that it's true, but i just don't care.
Sound: Sound was perfect, voice acting was oustanding, the oriental music give a great feeling about a chinese city and even if it's not in french this game deserve a five.
Suggestions: Better texture in some part of the game and no more circular movement !
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 100 %
oddworld20-3000
Date reviewed: December 13, 2002.
Overall: Okay someone has murdered your father and all you know he drives black car. You are trying to avenge your father death. You get into fights talk to people for clues it is actually pretty !&%$@#* good for a game.
Gameplay: You walk around Hong Kong finding people to talk to get into fights. The fighting is the best part.
Graphics: Okay the graphics are the worst thing about this game. Player models are okay but the faces! Yuck what happened.
Sound: The sound is okay trying to find people and talk also the movie scenes are long and they have good sound.
Suggestions: It's not as good compared Shenmue why?
Overall: 70 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 60 %
Sound: 80 %
XBfan
Date reviewed: December 12, 2002.
Overall: I kind of judged a book by it's cover. I had never heard of this game before renting it. The cover was appealing and the back gave me the impression of good graphics/realism. I am not one to be into Kung Fu type games, so it was all fluke that I picked Shenmue II. It was a wonderful game and of all the games I've played on XBox, this has gone to the top of my list. I love the realism, the story line, the scenery, the people, etc.... I hope I can find more RPG's like this. I love the fact that you can talk to everyone. I enjoy the weather changes and the day/night changes. It's nice to see a game that makes the player have to search out for clues, people, and places. Too often a game just warps you to wherever you need to get to next or sends you through with blinders just killing everyone in your path. This game has tons of entrigue and makes you want to see what you need to do next. It was great!!! I hope the next one won't take 2 years to create. I definitely recommend this to RPG fans. BUY IT! I am.
Gameplay: The QTE's were different. That was new for me, but I quickly caught on and it became fun. I loved running all over town. The chase scenes were great. I liked earning money through the mini games. I didn't really like the cargo work, but only because of the characters voice and the sound he made when he would step back. That's not natural. All of the characters were great. Ryo's character was easy to manipulate and the fight scenes were great. It was eXtremely cinematic. I felt like I was watching a movie. I like the mystery, the hunting, everything....
Graphics: Awesone!! I felt like I was in all of the locations. I felt like I was a real part of the game. The backfrops were beautiful. The people were all different and so detailed, even down to scars and wrinkles. The buildings, water, streets, and businesses were all unique. They did a wonderful job creating Shenmue's world. The weather changed, day turned into night, clouds moved, water rippled, etc.
Sound: Sound was good. I like hearing the bussle of all of the towns people, the harbor people working, kids playing, birds, bells, etc... They paid a lot of attention to creating a realistic backdrop for the game. It makes you feel like you're in the game. Music was very beautiful and it was nice to hear some rock music here and there. I hope they add more contempory music to the next game.
Suggestions: Please don't take 2 years to create Shenmue III. I'm ready to play it now. Create even more characters and keep it as real as Shenmue II. Please surprise everyone!! Everyone has been arguing over who's going to be who. Shut us all up and twist the story in a way only that Mr. Suzuki can!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
Davidjazzman12
Date reviewed: December 8, 2002.
Overall: This is one of the most, if not thee most, underrated game in history! The whole shenmue saga are my favorite games ever.
Gameplay: You start up were u left off in shenmue 1. As RYo Hazuki, you are searching for Lan Di, the man who killed your father. You can follow tehe storyline, or just wander around hong kong, going to stores, gambling, streetfight, arcades, duck racing........
Graphics: BEUATIFUL GRAPHICS. shenmue 1 spent 86 million on graphics, and they obiously used the same machine on shenmue 2. people, places, beutiful. especaily at the end of the game.
Sound: Beautiful, real life sounds. You feel as if you are really in Hong Kong, hearing all the people and life around you. and i almost forgot, the soundtrack is amazing, beuatiful, unforgetable
Suggestions: Its a shame that shenmue 1 never came out on xbox. even though sehnmue 2 is better, sehnmue 1 still is my favorite. the DVD of shenmue 1 coming with shenmue 2 helps some, but you really cant get the essentce of the shenmue saga without playing shenmue 1.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
theonetheonly
Date reviewed: December 5, 2002.
Overall: This game is a real underrated game. I thought this was one of the best games I ever played! The snapshot feature made it even better!
Gameplay: Shenmue 2 is a great game. There are many plot twists even when the game begins! Fighting is very fun and so is making money. I love the fact that you can pawn your own toys at pawnshops!
Graphics: Great Graphics! You can also play around with the filter changes by pressing the white button. You can also unlock Shenmue Side Story Comics by taking the right snapshots.
Sound: Great sounding music. Each store and Location has a different type of music. The Notebook music can get kinda old after a while.
Suggestions: Please make Shenmue 3 an Xbox-Exclusive and make it soon!!! i love Shenmue 2 its a great game and a must buy to any RPG lover!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 90 %
StudioAlex
Date reviewed: December 4, 2002.
Overall: I have this fond memory of watching the Karate Kid as a little boy and getting really excited by the finale and going around punching and kicking random things (the wall, the sofa, my dad)and this game makes me feel very much the same way. It's like a kung fu movie, with the action and melodrama you could want.
Gameplay: There a lot of reasons to give this game a perfect like the superb fighting engine, the easy to grasp mini games, the awesome, I repeat, awesome emulated games. But !&%$@#* it, Ryo is so meandering when he is just walking around. I think they were more worried with his animation than with egress. Also, the qte's get pretty hard in this game, and it is absolutely no fun to have to do entire battles over multiple times because the developer throws a qte in at the very end.
Graphics: I have a lot of trouble believing this was originally on the DC. The textures actually like they have texture. The faces are gorgeous too. Not all is perfect, however. The natural landscapes don't quite match up to the artificials. The horizons also seemed at a level lower than the rest of the game.
Sound: Well, there is nothing really wrong with the sound, it just doesn't blow you away. But this isn't a star wars game, so there isn't much reason for a sonic orgasm in your face. The music is very good, but stays ion the background. Some of the sound effects are questionable, such as the the skin stretching noise. Also, the voice acting ranges from sedated to zombie. They really need to direct the actors to be more lively. The only lively guy was Don-whatever his name was.
Suggestions: Please bring Shenmue 3 here. More fighting. Bring back the forklifts, they were way more fun than this left, left, right crap.
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 60 %
(ScArab)
Date reviewed: November 30, 2002.
Overall: --THE GOOD: Pretty immersive story line. Very well detailed characters (in terms of textures). Large city to wander. Fun side games to earn $. A weather system (kind of). The city feels like a real city. Everyone i have met so far have looked different from any other character in the game! Original characters, and voices for all the pedestrians. Cool chick on bike. Good music. Fun missions. For the most part voice acting is well done. Its a must rent. Day/night.
--THE BAD: Some pretty bland textures, look like PS/DC quality. Was ported from DC. Only 1 feature that looks even close to using the XBox's power. Some lame voice acting (uncommon). Earning $ is a pain in the butt some times, and can lead to boredom. Carrying crates to earn $ is something i have not mastered. Controlling Ryo (your character) can be of a task in its self. Poor plygon counts on just about everything. Game level looks vertex lit.
Gameplay: Its like living a movie, its fun to see it all unfold. As the game progresses you get more little missions and things that happen to you along your journey. Its a great game, much better then i thought it was going to be. I recomend everyone at least rent it, cause its a great experiance. But a little too linear (but not really).
Graphics: Meh, nothing amazing, except the characters' faces, they look really good. Poor polygon counts everywhere. Some bland textures lurk around every corner. The game seems vertex lit, but it's ment to look like that cause the game has a day/night time.
Sound: Its got good music, well composed, not superb, but its apealing to say the least. Sound effects are all there, i suppose. Some more ambience would be better.
Suggestions: This game is AVERAGE, but i recomend everyone rent it to try it out.
Overall: 80 %
Gameplay: 70 %
Graphics: 50 %
Sound: 80 %
DaGameBoy
Date reviewed: November 9, 2002.
Overall: I had higher hopes for this game from the reviews that I had been reading. I felt like I was watching some B rated movie with a younger version of Jackie Chan before he learned to act. Like zhiwiller said earlier, for depth? A 4.5 For fun? 2. Worth a rental? I'm not even sure about that. Want more info? Read on...
Gameplay: The game depth is as described in earlier reviews, except I had more of the expectation that it would be like Morrowind. You can talk to just about everybody, but more than likely they will just tell you some information that you already know. I don't know how many times I was told how to get to Wan Chai. Ryu walks a little slow, but the right trigger will make him run. However, be prepaired for waits while the game runs about every 10 steps or so. Mini cutscenes and such really draw out the length of getting from one place to another. Then add on top of that the length to load the level and it just makes the game seem to drag. The voice over acting in this game was horrible. I haven't heard such bad acting since I watched "The Mines of Killimangaro" (sp).
Graphics: The graphics were ok. Nothing to what the X can really do. Face detail was decent, however, the bodies of people (especially the arm wrestlers) looked really bad. Arms looked more like rectangles with some flesh color on them. Instead of pecks on one guy, it looked more like two milk crates with skin stretched over them.
Sound: Sound was dumb. Plain and simple. The voice over acting was horrible and made me laugh if nothing else. A couple of the characters didn't do too bad, but they could in no way pull up the rating due to the rest of the characters.
Suggestions: Too much to name.
Overall: 40 %
Gameplay: 60 %
Graphics: 60 %
Sound: 40 %
zhiwiller
Date reviewed: November 4, 2002.
Overall: I'll admit I have not played this as extensively as some of you have, but I have played it enough to know that it is a bigger version of Shenmue I, which in my opinion was the most overhyped game ever.
The fact is that the same people who rip on Final Fantasy X and Metal Gear Solid 2 for being a movie with some game elements instead of a game with some movie elements are the same people lauding Shenmue II.
For some, the genre is intriguing. There are quite a few fans of it out there obviously. I will score the game what I think it deserves: not based on scope or story but on fun. Scope and story are fabulous, deserving of a 4.5. They just seemed to have forgot to add fun. (Sans the old Sega arcade ports)
Gameplay: Meh. I found the gameplay of the original Shenmue to be monotonous; Shenmue II does not revolutionize the title in this aspect. There are more QTE's, which is a positive addition, but there aren't enough to keep the game intriguing between walking back and forth and back and forth between buildings.
Graphics: Argh! So frustrating. At times, this game can look incredibly beautiful and then you find textures that make you think you were back on the PSX. The body motions are animated well, but the face motions are animated terribly.
Sound: It's not too bad, but you can tell the game was orignally in Japanese. There is that dubbed Anime "feel" to it. Nothing terrible, nothing to write home about.
Suggestions: Keep doing what you do; it seems to appeal to the non-me market.
Overall: 50 %
Gameplay: 40 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 80 %
PingDaddy
Date reviewed: November 4, 2002.
Overall: After reading all the hype about this game I had to give it a try & very glad I did. I didn't know what to expect but after watching the DVD & the 1st hour of game play I was hooked. This will be getting all of my attention till Splinter Cell comes out. So much to do & so much to explore. If you don't have much spare time stay away from this title as it is very addicting. But if your ready for a new gaming experience that will have you looking for more future titles like this then RUSH out now & pick yourself up a copy of Shenmue II today, don't wait as it will be worth it. One of the best XBOX games ever made!
Gameplay: Just like in the movies except your the director & you have the freedom to roam anywhere you want. Gathering clues, finding small jobs to earn some money is just part of the gameplay. This games is one you do not want to pass up. If you enjoyed Morrowind you'll enjoy this as well. The controls are easy to master & everything is very tight. Even the menu is very well put together & easly to use.
Graphics: There is nothing to complain about here as they may not push the XBOX to it's limints but where this game may lack to some it diffintely makes up for it in game play. I thought the graphics were very nice as you will see alot of detail & there are 1000's of NPC's that you will interact with & none look the same as the other.
Sound: The music score is beautiful. Chinese and Japanese folk music is used to give it an authentic feel - like something you would see in a Kung Fu flick but better. Enviroment sounds of daily activity gives the game life and you can really get into it.
The sound is awesome as it is very realistic so just becasue this is a port & now only on XBOX don't knock it as this game is a BIG HIT. It's games like this which is why people are going out to buy an XBOX.
Suggestions: My only suggestion would be "PLEASE" make a Shenmue III. This game is one of the best XBOX games to ever come out.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
xfan2k2
Date reviewed: November 2, 2002.
Overall: Right from the start you will notice the amaizing attention to detail in this game, it pulls you right into the story after the frist hour or so of playing, once you gte the hang of it....there is simply nothing cooler than a 100% living world, in which you can explore almost anywhere, and talk to anyone on your journey.
Gameplay: I really enjoy this gameplay, but its not for everyone, you have to be patint and not let trial & error bother you.
Graphics: The graphics in this game are preety, and do an excellent job of providing the game with what it needs, but it barely scratches the surface of what the xbox is capeable of, it looks very similar to the dreamcast version of the game.
Sound: The sound in this game has its stron and weak points...the voice acting is not the best, since it had to be quickly re-done for the English language re-make...so the voices are a bit bland, and I would have also liked to see in game 5.1 sound to relly emerse you into the enviornments your exploring, but the cut-scenes are in 5.1 and are very nice.
Suggestions: Build Shenmue 3 from the ground up...that way it will use the xbox more efficentally.
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 80 %
Graphics: 70 %
Sound: 60 %
This major free update, which has already been successfully launched on Steam, brings a new layer of depth, strategy, and innovative gameplay mechanics to the immersive world of Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles.
Thrustmaster’s best-seller is back with a new look featuring the official license of Microsoft Flight Simulator. This complete, precise and easy-to-use hands- on throttle and stick (HOTAS) is the ideal companion for Microsoft Flight Sim 2024
Amazon Games released a new trailer on what players can expect when they first experience New World: Aeternum, including background on the history of the game.
