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Shenmue II Preview
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Shenmue 2 was held back in the US for the Xbox release, we take a look at an 80% build.
We got to grips with an 80% complete version of Shenmue 2 for the Xbox at last weeks E3 event. Currently under development at Microsoft Game Studios - as AM-2 are busy with Shenmue 3 - we chatted to Wes Yunagi, the lead programmer behind the project to get the full lowdown.
For those that didnāt get the chance to see the latest title in Yu Suzukiās epic Martial Arts title, youāre in for a treat, the sequel cures all of the problems associated with the original, providing a game at least 10 times the size of the original, with a lot more to do and the ability to skip time, in general itās a lot tighter, more focussed and in general a better game then the original Shenmue.
The demo running at E3 allowed players to run through a QTE and free fight mode, unfortunately there was no room to take Ryo on a free wonder to really see what improvements Microsoft had made.
On initial inspection the Xbox version doesnāt look that different from the Dreamcast version, Microsoft have had to make improvements without starting from the beginning, the fact that it still looks amazing is certainly a tribute to the original and the machine it was on. The most noticeable improvement is in the lighting stakes, Microsoft have upped the dynamic lighting count resulting in a much more realistic looking title. Thankfully itās been subtlety implemented, lights blend in to each other, and immerse characters beautifully in light and shade. One improvement that weāve yet to see, but which has been promised is the inclusion of self-shadowing on all characters, a technique that will certainly up the realism stakes.
A new āVaselineā styled anti-aliasing trick has been used, fortunately with greater subtlety then in the PS2 titles such as The Bouncer and Driving Emotion Type-S. The technique looks stunning in the high motion scenes, adding an almost motion blur styled effect. Elsewhere Microsoft have found themselves limited by what they can actually do, certainly it does look better but itās not the giant leap that some people may have been expecting, youāll have to wait for Shenmue 3 for that. Increasing the polygon count and texture detail for Ryo, would have meant doing the same to every other character, if you want to see the game any time before 2005 itās just a sacrifice weāll have to accept. Elsewhere thereās a general lack of Xbox special effects, weāre hoping to see bump-mapped floors and the use of pixel shaders to further blend the line between fantasy and reality. The character count has been upped so there shouldnāt be any characters mystically appearing from nowhere, Mr Yutangi promised that more would be done to the game, however with an Autumn/Fall release scheduled weāre not too optimistic for any massive changes.
TVG has been given the chance to speak to Yu Suzuki, creator of the epic Shenmue series and other Sega classics such as the Virtua Fighter series and Outrun. Look for this interview later in the year, when weāll get the full lowdown on Shenmue 2 and hopefully some information on Shenmue 3.
Anonymous
Date Added:Sun 24th Jun 2007 00:09
cant wai till shenmue 3