I was browsing games at the local Roger's trying to find one to rent that my sister would like. She's not into games that require much dexterity or revolve around killing stuff, so I figured she'd dig it.
Well, after two days of extensive playing we're well into Kawloon (disc 2 and a bit on DC). I guess I can lend some opinions on the game..
First off, it hands down gets an 'A' for 'Effort'. Unfortunately, for us it gets a 'D' for 'Gameplay'. The time, money, and love that went into Shenmue II shows through crystal clearly... unfortunately it's just not all that interesting or fun to play. I mean, it's a work of art and I'd really really really love to get 'hooked', but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
- The gameplay is pretty slow and very monotonous. Running around talking to people and overcoming somewhat inconsequential trials don't do much for me... the environments also aren't as large/useful as I'd like them to be (but I know this is wishful, unrealistic thinking)
- The story is too heavily rooted in Japanese/Asian culture for me to relate to as white canuck cracker. Kung-Fu movies and such have always been a massive turnoff, as have 'martial arts theme X or Y' in general. Old people kicking ass = :?
- The VAing is just horrid. Ryo is suprisingly ok as long as you picture him as a stoic individual, but everyone else is painful to listen to. The only other title that has a comparable number of spoken lines/dialog is Final Fantasy X, and that stomps all over Shenmue II and then some in terms of quality. I watched some Shenmue The Movie w/Japanese audio, and it sounds LEAGUES better than the English track.
- The graphics again get an 'A' for effort, but I guess since I'm just accustomed to higher polycounts I can't forgive the boxy-environments. The textures are very respectable, but I cannot stand the 'obvious texture drabbed over big box to make detail' look of the game [many of the faces make me want to commit suicide]. I guess its just my trained eye, or me being spoiled by certain PS2/Xbx games, but I strongly dislike the final visual product of Shenmue II. I'd really like to like it after all the effort involved, but I can't
Things I really LIKED about Shenmue II in no particular order...
- The production values are rivaled only by Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X. The time, effort, and love that went into this game is astronomical. I think its one of those things like Shakespere that should be taught in highschool/University wereby the students may not like what they're learning, but know they should appreciate it.
- The fighting was oodles of fun I'm a big VF fan, and I've missed the old street brawlers of old (Streets of Rage, Final Fight, etc). The horrendous camera angles somewhat ruined this experience though.. and after finishing ~50% of the game, I can count the number of fights I've been in on my fingers. The lack of focus on this kind of contradicted the nice and deep fighting system
- The QTE events were actually pretty cool.. some real nice camera/directing work went into them, and they actually did a good job of creating tension/suspense. However, i _WISH_ the game would give the user warning! So many times I was busy enjoying a cutscene when out of nowhere it'd flash UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, A, B, UP over the span of a half second. The other QTE events that only required one button press were much more preferable, but they really came out of nowhere too.
- I actually enjoyed the gameplay variety to a certain extent, but I think the concept could have been refined a bit more. Dead To Rights was variety gone retarded, Shenmue II was variety done mediocre-to-so so. There was a lot of room for improvement there... perhaps I enjoyed the mini-games as much as I did as they provided a break from running & talking/listening
Nitpicking:
- Dpad controls?! Analog control would have been a godsend.
- 'Following' people was horridly painful as they walked so god damn slow.
- ANYONE who enjoyed Shenmue II has NO RIGHT criticizing the length of Final Fantasy's cutscenes!
So in the end, I would have really wished I enjoyed Shenmue, but it's just not for me. It gets mad respect.. and I can only hope something similar based around more western themes gets made, but I have a feeling Final Fantasy aside, it'll never happen. Big budget games = gone the way of the dinosaur. I often wonder if, to broaden the appeal, Shenmue would have been better off a fighter with adventure elements versus an adventure with fighter elements (lets ignore The Bouncer).
Anyhow, I'm glad I played it, but unfortunately I definitely didn't enjoy it. Here's to hoping that more big-budget & big-selling titles pop up, because imo its the only way to evolve the entertainment medium that are video games.
Well, after two days of extensive playing we're well into Kawloon (disc 2 and a bit on DC). I guess I can lend some opinions on the game..
First off, it hands down gets an 'A' for 'Effort'. Unfortunately, for us it gets a 'D' for 'Gameplay'. The time, money, and love that went into Shenmue II shows through crystal clearly... unfortunately it's just not all that interesting or fun to play. I mean, it's a work of art and I'd really really really love to get 'hooked', but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
- The gameplay is pretty slow and very monotonous. Running around talking to people and overcoming somewhat inconsequential trials don't do much for me... the environments also aren't as large/useful as I'd like them to be (but I know this is wishful, unrealistic thinking)
- The story is too heavily rooted in Japanese/Asian culture for me to relate to as white canuck cracker. Kung-Fu movies and such have always been a massive turnoff, as have 'martial arts theme X or Y' in general. Old people kicking ass = :?
- The VAing is just horrid. Ryo is suprisingly ok as long as you picture him as a stoic individual, but everyone else is painful to listen to. The only other title that has a comparable number of spoken lines/dialog is Final Fantasy X, and that stomps all over Shenmue II and then some in terms of quality. I watched some Shenmue The Movie w/Japanese audio, and it sounds LEAGUES better than the English track.
- The graphics again get an 'A' for effort, but I guess since I'm just accustomed to higher polycounts I can't forgive the boxy-environments. The textures are very respectable, but I cannot stand the 'obvious texture drabbed over big box to make detail' look of the game [many of the faces make me want to commit suicide]. I guess its just my trained eye, or me being spoiled by certain PS2/Xbx games, but I strongly dislike the final visual product of Shenmue II. I'd really like to like it after all the effort involved, but I can't
Things I really LIKED about Shenmue II in no particular order...
- The production values are rivaled only by Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X. The time, effort, and love that went into this game is astronomical. I think its one of those things like Shakespere that should be taught in highschool/University wereby the students may not like what they're learning, but know they should appreciate it.
- The fighting was oodles of fun
I'm a big VF fan, and I've missed the old street brawlers of old (Streets of Rage, Final Fight, etc). The horrendous camera angles somewhat ruined this experience though.. and after finishing ~50% of the game, I can count the number of fights I've been in on my fingers. The lack of focus on this kind of contradicted the nice and deep fighting system - The QTE events were actually pretty cool.. some real nice camera/directing work went into them, and they actually did a good job of creating tension/suspense. However, i _WISH_ the game would give the user warning! So many times I was busy enjoying a cutscene when out of nowhere it'd flash UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, A, B, UP over the span of a half second. The other QTE events that only required one button press were much more preferable, but they really came out of nowhere too.
- I actually enjoyed the gameplay variety to a certain extent, but I think the concept could have been refined a bit more. Dead To Rights was variety gone retarded, Shenmue II was variety done mediocre-to-so so. There was a lot of room for improvement there... perhaps I enjoyed the mini-games as much as I did as they provided a break from running & talking/listening
Nitpicking:
- Dpad controls?! Analog control would have been a godsend.
- 'Following' people was horridly painful as they walked so god damn slow.
- ANYONE who enjoyed Shenmue II has NO RIGHT criticizing the length of Final Fantasy's cutscenes!
So in the end, I would have really wished I enjoyed Shenmue, but it's just not for me. It gets mad respect.. and I can only hope something similar based around more western themes gets made, but I have a feeling Final Fantasy aside, it'll never happen. Big budget games = gone the way of the dinosaur. I often wonder if, to broaden the appeal, Shenmue would have been better off a fighter with adventure elements versus an adventure with fighter elements (lets ignore The Bouncer
).Anyhow, I'm glad I played it, but unfortunately I definitely didn't enjoy it. Here's to hoping that more big-budget & big-selling titles pop up, because imo its the only way to evolve the entertainment medium that are video games.
