Shenmue III
Ah, Shenmue 3, how I have longed for the light of your presence to shine upon thee…
Heads up to those who peruse this review: I’m a HUGE shenmue fan. I backed this game on kickstarter and have played the game twice on Sony PlayStation 4.
Let’s forget all of the nonsense associated with Deep Silver and the Epic Game Store exclusivity. How is THE GAME?
A mixed bag.
Let’s start with the graphical presentation. Shenmue 1&2 were AAA games back in the day; the most expensive games every produced up until that time. Shenmue 3 is a AA game; as such you cannot go into this expecting the latest cutting edge graphics.
– Real player with 110.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Cult Classic Martial Arts Games.
Before starting my review, I’d like to point out that we really need a mixed review option on Steam. I hope Gaben will hear our prayers one day. Anyway, as most of you know, Shenmue III is the highest funded Kickstarter game and it is definitely one of the longest awaited one. How long was it… 20 years? I’m not a loyal Shenmue fan, I didn’t wait 20 years for it, in fact, first time I’ve played Shenmue was a few months ago but I was aware of its significance and contributions to the video game culture of course. I also didn’t contributed anything to its Kickstarter campaign but putting myself in one of the loyal fans' place, I’d be extremely disappointed by this game. Especially after waiting nearly 20 years for it. Although I have no doubt that Yu Suzuki and YS Net did their best to bring a solid title to the fans, they’ve made a grave mistake by striking a deal with Deep Silver. 1 year Epic Store exclusivity was straight up disrespectful towards the people who contributed to Kickstarter campaign. Hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes with Shenmue IV. Anyway, let’s take a look at the redeeming qualities first…
– Real player with 108.7 hrs in game
Space Quest™ Collection
A Collection of 6 Space Quest titles released from 1986-1995. It’s a great Inventory Adventure series that Sierra On-Line created back when MS-DOS & Windows 3.1/95/98 was still by popular demand.
In Space Quest 1 - The Sarien Encounter:
Roger Wilco is one of the most important men on the starship Arcada: he is the janitor! Just when he was doing what he does best (dozing off in a closet), the shrill sound of an alarm penetrated the air. Arcada is attacked by the evil Sariens! Before Roger realizes what is going on, he discovers that he is the only survivor. The Sariens have killed the entire crew and stolen the valuable Star Generator. Roger’s immediate task is to find a way to leave Arcada, which is about to explode in fifteen minutes. And then he’ll have to show the Sariens why they should never mess with brave intergalactic janitors!
– Real player with 143.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Cult Classic Futuristic Games.
Recommendation:
I heartily enjoyed the Space Quest Collection, but they won’t be everyone’s jam. These games are ‘classics’ in the sense that they’re old, and filled with design decisions that may frustrate the unprepared. If you are looking for sci-fi adventure games to enjoy then I would recommend the Space Quest Collection if:
- You have the mindset of an archeologist. If you are interested in the history of video games, and want to experience older graphics and gameplay conventions then you’ll find a lot to appreciate.
– Real player with 52.5 hrs in game
Shenmue I & II
[SHENMUE I]
Shenmue is a strange, gently plodding beast of a game that we’ll never see the likes of again. Even when Shenmue 3 comes out, it will likely focus on different things, different aspects of gameplay. Shenmue is currently gaming’s one and only kung-fu small town life simulator, and that’s commendable.
This makes the fourth time in my life I’ve finished Shenmue 1 and every time I’ve played it I’ve seen different scenes, talked to people and discovered what to do next in different ways. I’ve gotten different toys out of the capsule machines and won different prizes in the lucky-dip draws in the stores. The plot of Shenmue is the same every time, the way you work through that plot is different and organic.
– Real player with 89.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Cult Classic Martial Arts Games.
Shenmue. It was a great game that preceded many other open-world titles. It is still the game with that much immersion from the open-world as you can get in 2021, if we’re not talking about visual details. Every person there, every single NPC has a unique appearance, behavior pattern, and biography defining his/her actions. Additionally, every person involved in fights has his own set of moves. How’s that for starters? For a game released in 2001? Even more, Shenmue is still the great tale of adventures and martial arts.
– Real player with 73.3 hrs in game