Earlier this week Sega launched a dedicated website for its forthcoming PS2 yakuza adventure, Ryu ga Gotoku, and finally I've had five minutes to take a look. There's a nice little video of the game on there, and lots of stylish animations that take an age to load. The game itself is an intriguing prospect - both GTA and Shenmue have been name-checked by those seeking to classify it. Looks to me like an interactive Beat Takeshi movie complete with smartly dressed men shouting at each other before breaking out into deliciously choreographed violence. Frankly I'll take any combination of those three possible influences, although Sega Europe told me that the whole Shenmue comparison is way off the mark - apparently, in Ryu ga Gotoku, you spend hardly any time looking for sailors or playing Hang On in the arcade...
Anyway, it's good to see Sega getting its talented hands dirty with a mature adventure title, and the depictions of a neon-drenched Tokyo look spot-on.
