Shenmue II

Dan Gardiner gets sucked through a rabbit hole... and finds himself back in 1980s Hong Kong playing Afterburner.

Shenmue II's rather long and convoluted history can effectively be boiled down to four words: Microsoft bought the rights. Originally released on the ill-fated Dreamcast over a year ago, S2 is something of a cult classic in Japan. Although there was a sub-titled European version, it hasn't yet had an official release in either the US or Australia because Microsoft snatched up the rights. It's now been re-incarnated as a slightly tweaked Xbox title. The question on every fanboy's lips: Is this enough to save it from obscurity?

Shenmue II continues from where its predecessor left off. Set in the late 1980s, it follows the exploits of a young Japanese martial artist named Ryo Hazuki as he attempts to track down the man who murdered his father. S2 is quite a difficult game to categorise because there is nothing else like it on either console or PC. It quite effectively blends several genres, including adventure, RPG, fighting and puzzle.

It's a sense of free-exploration, however, that's at the heart of Shenmue II. Played from a third-person over the shoulder perspective, you're dumped in Hong Kong at the start of the game with only one or two leads. It's up to you to investigate your surrounds and interact with the locals to reach your goals. It's about interaction and exploration -- just about any person you see can be quizzed, and this creates a real sense of being in a living environment.

Of course, there's a healthy dollop of action thrown in for good measure, too. This takes numerous forms, from learning martial arts via Virtua Fighter-style fighting, to mini-games such as gambling (including rolling dice and playing roulette); and there's even a load of cool old SEGA arcade classics (like Afterburner) hidden away on coin-ops within the game, all of which can be played through to completion.

Quick time events (QTEs) are another important part of the game carried over from the first Shenmue. QTEs mainly occur during cutscenes, and they offer a fairly hardcore test of a gamer's reflexes. Icons representing individual buttons or combos are flashed up on the screen, and you have to whack the corresponding buttons are quickly as possible. QTEs are typically chained together in quick succession -- they're quite tough to get the hang of, and are usually both challenging and damned frustrating. They also tend to change the outcome of a cutscene -- failure will set you back in the game, while success gives you an advantage.

Unlike the European DC release, the Xbox version of S2 has been re-dubbed in English. Although the new voice acting is far from what we'd call inspired, it actually adds a certain charm to the game. It's kind of like watching a badly dubbed kung-fu flick -- although it's comical and a little silly at times, you still find yourself being drawn in and enjoying it.

Unfortunately, Shenmue 2 is really starting to show its age in the graphics department. Given the fact it's a close port from the Dreamcast version, it's not hugely surprising the visuals are a little lacklustre compared to most other Xbox titles. While the graphics have been polished for the Xbox version, and the main characters' faces are generally well modelled, the periphery characters and the landscape in general look a little blocky, rough and low on the polys. They don't even approach the amount of detail seen in newer games like Splinter Cell, or even older ones like Halo for that matter.

Despite these ocular shortcomings, the environments are amazingly immersive, and it's easy to suspend your disbelief and just be drawn into the world and its happenings.

There's no doubt Shenmue 2 will only appeal to certain gamers. Most of the game has far more emphasis on exploring than it does on action, so you'll spend significantly more time talking to people than beating the crap out of them. It really relies on story and a sense of discovery to get you hooked. Unfortunately, this doesn't really do a lot to draw the uninitiated in, and if you haven't played the original, Shenmue II may initially seem a little mundane.

What the game offers above all else, though, is the feeling of living in another time and place. With a little patience, you'll find Shenmue II is one of the most distinctive and absorbing games available.