26 September, 2008

Game Journal: Yakuza

I'm about three hours into Yakuza, at the start of chapter four. The atmosphere of the game is still the strongest point.

The fighting is fun, don't get me wrong. It's generally four or more against one, and even though they rarely pose a real threat, the variety of tools available to dispatch them with is gratifying. Throw a guy. Punch a guy in the breadbasket and watch him fall to his knees gasping before completely collapsing. Pick up a small bicycle parked on the street and clobber a guy with it. Grab a guy next to a wall, desk, or other appropriate object and smack him into it. Anticipate a guy getting up from a fall or running at you with a crouching charge kick. It's mean, but they started it. :P

But at the end of a bout, it generally feels pretty empty. The main reason I did well was because the opponents aren't attacking much yet. I can only block to the front, and I can't change facing when I block. The facing is so bad that I'll often land two or three blows on a guy, then find my combo is continuing straight into thin air while the guy I was punching is now beside me. That's frustrating. And it's only a matter of time before the opponents don't just stand there and it becomes a serious pain.

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