More Articles on Shenmue 2
Shenmue 2 Website gets a makeoverShenmue 2 Pre-orders StartingShenmue 2 Released.<b>TGS 2001: </b>Shenmue 2 Canned For the USShenmue 2Latest Previews
Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Hands OnStar Wars: The Force Unleashed - Hands OnToo Human - Hands OnRaven Squad - First LookQuantum Of Solace - First LookUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for Shenmue 2Write your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
Shenmue 2 Preview
Mark Simons
00/12/0000
Shenmue 2, Shenmue 2, Shenmue 2...
Shenmue was, is a great game, but by its very nature it could never live up to the hype. By being just an introduction something was missing from Shenmue, you didnât feel that you had accomplished anything and you wanted to continue the adventure of Ryo Hazuki, perhaps the best description of the game is that it is an introduction to what could be the best kung fu film ever. Shenmue II will be that film.
One of the first things to know about Shenmue II is that it is not really Shenmue II; this may not make sense but bear with me. Shenmue II will consist of chapters two, three, four and five of the Shenmue story, effectively making it four times the size of chapter one, this makes me very happy indeed. The increase in size is also reflected in the locations that Ryo will be visiting the bustling streets of Hong Kong and the lush forests of mainland China should be more interesting and varied than the locales in and around Yoksuka.
Whilst the first game was unarguably a triumph of technology and story telling there were aspects of the title that annoyed some people. Firstly the lack of choice with regards to conversations with other characters, the majority of which would brush you off with a statement saying they were too busy or whatever. Even if the character would talk to you there was no choice in the path of the conversation, which gave a somewhat un-interactive feel to proceedings. In order to solve this annoyance Yu Suzuki and his team are adding the ability to choose your conversation paths from four options. This should give the feeling that you have control over what Ryo is finding out, rather than just being an audience to his adventure.
The second major gripe that those who failed to fall in love with Shenmue had was the waiting around, no whilst there were ways to fill your time, training, playing arcade games and the all important task of getting collectables some people still felt bored at having to wait for hours in game time. Once again this will be addressed in the sequel, as you will now have the ability to fast forward time as it were, if you need to meet someone in two hours and you donât want to wait, you donât have to. You donât have to use this feature, as doing so may detract from the reality of proceedings, but if you donât like waiting this feature will be invaluable.
Changes to the way you play the game are not the only additions to the game, new characters will enter the life of Ryo, quite what part they will play in the story remains to be seen. Given that Ren, a gang leader, is seen handcuffed to Ryo it seems that he will play an important part in the plot, but whether he is a friend or foe is not yet known. There are also some new female additions to the cast, although it doesnât quite seem as if any could take Nozomiâs place in Ryoâs heart. First up there is Joy, the rebellious redhead we have recently caught glimpses of, however rebellious on the outside does not mean she lacks a conscience or a heart. Next up there is Kauro a 15 year old who becomes Ryoâs friend, whether she actually helps in his quest is not yet known, hopefully she will play more of a part than just getting Ryo to look after her cat though. Lastly there is Shuei Kou who we have seen in movies helping Ryo after he gets in a fight and wakes up in what looks like a temple. Shuei is a religious Chinese woman who is apparently on her own quest that is not too dissimilar to Ryoâs. From this it seems that she will take an active roll in Ryoâs adventure although once again we do not know the specifics, which is a good thing because giving the plot of the game away would undoubtedly take away from its impact on release.
Given that Shenmue was released in Japan late in 1999 and Shenmue II will â“ hopefully â“ make it out towards the end of 2001 some technical advances are somewhat pre-requisite, however given that Shenmue is still one of the best looking videogames it seems hard to imagine how they could improve it much more. Well AM2 are managing to push the Dreamcast even more, there are a greater number of characters on screen, the environments are even more impressive and the sky looks amazingly realistic. This will truly be one of the most impressive games ever seen, on any format.
Shenmue II is currently set for a fall release in Japan with an American debut soon after, hopefully the new additions to the game mechanics and the gorgeous graphics will attract even more gamers than before so we are assured the continuation of Ryoâs story.
