Yakuza Video Game Review

Sega brings a whole new aspect of gangster life to the PS2 with the release of Yakuza, a cool, action-adventure game that takes gamers deep into the underground world of the notorious Yakuza crime syndicate. Created by award-winning Japanese novelist Seishu Hase and producer Toshihiro Nagoshi, Yakuza debuted in Japan to great reviews and became a best-selling title before landing here in the U.S. Playing as Kiryu Kazuma, a one-time big player in the Yakuza, you'll find yourself back on the streets of Tokyo, trying to rebuild your life after serving a 10-year prison term for murder. Life gets complicated once more as Kazuma becomes involved in a plot concerning a mysterious girl named Haruka, and a missing fortune of 100 million dollars.

Tokyo is faithfully and authentically recreated in a huge, free-roaming environment that immerses gamers into the dangerous world of the Yakuza. Players get to know all the dark corners, nightclubs and back alleys while working through the game. To take on bigger or more difficult challenges, gamers need to build up their skills while accumulating weapons and power by doing side missions. Knowledge is power and gamers have ways to gain information through interrogation and bribery tactics. Of course, if that fails, kicking the crap out of enemies works. A new fighting engine lets gamers do more than just trade punches and kicks. It lets gamers take advantage of breakable environments to grab objects like bottles or baseball bats to help Kazuma get his point across more quickly and succinctly. Yakuza's strong gameplay and storyline elements should help this game stand out in a game category already crowded with titles.