Shenmue first appeared on the Dreamcast in 2000 and began with the games main protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, witnessing his Fathers death at the hands of the ruthless gang leader Lan Di, after killing his father and knocking out Ryo, Lan Di takes a mirror from the house with a dragon decorating it. The first Shenmue game saw you beginning to find out exactly why your father was killed, at the end of the original you find out that Lan Di is headed to China and you decide to follow, vowing to revenge your Fathers death.

Shenmue II is like most other RPG games out on the market at the moment, the bulk of the game is taken up by interacting with characters (or NPC's) that litter the games environment, this is essential as it develops the story further and can also provide you with useful information to help you solve current tasks.

The games environments and characters are solid graphically with the game been given a slight improvement in the graphics department since the Dreamcast version. Lighting at night has been improved; better looking water and higher resolution textures have also been implemented into the Xbox version. However, the games characters seem to have only one facial expression and their faces look very tight and rigid, something we are not used to seeing on the Xbox.

Moving through the game is made easy thanks to the games simplistic control system. Items, quests and helpful information can be accessed with one button press, moving Ryo is achieved by using the directional pad which is somewhat strange for an Xbox game although this does not take much getting used to.

One of the things that makes Shenmue stand out from other games today is it's in game and menu music. Each area in the game has its own piece of music and the music also changes depending on what you are doing, action scenes are accompanied by fast paced music while more peaceful and quiet moments have slow and serenade like oriental music. The music adds a great deal of atmosphere to the game as a whole and makes you believe you are in an oriental environment.

In the world of Shenmue there is so much to do, the game includes various mini games that can earn you money; these include arm wrestling and moving boxes.

But arguably the two greatest elements of Shenmue II are the collectable "Capsule toys" and the classic Sega arcade games you can find in arcades throughout the game. Much loved classics such as Outrun, Space Harrier and Afterburner are playable for a small price and will bring back sweet memories from your early gaming days.

Capsule toys come in the form of old Sega characters, animals and objects relating to the game like shipping crates from the port. If you happen to find a Pawn shop you can sell your capsule toys for money, some being worth more than others.

Great Fighting System

Another interesting addition to the Xbox version of the game is the ability to take photos, if you look on the main menu screen there are albums full of characters from the game, once you take pictures of all the people in that album you open up a short comic strip which gives you more background information on the games characters.

As the story progress' you will have to learn new skills and moves and also have to fight enemies occasionally. Sega has used a Virtua Fighter style system for this and it almost feels like a game in itself. You can choose to simply punch, kick and block using single buttons but you can unleash some devastating and effective moves by using more advanced and longer combos.

New moves can be learn it a variety of ways, some you will simply unlock by progressing the story while others you have to complete a sometimes complicated and frustrating task.

One such example is when you meet an old master in a park; you have to learn a move by applying a certain amount of force on a tree and by hitting it at the right time. You will learn the move if you manage to cover the ground in leaves. Task like these can get very frustrating at time as you won't be completely sure what to do.

Yu Suzuki has penned the games storyline and has done a great job of creating an action packed, interesting story that has plenty of significant turns and events to keep you entertained throughout. But the story does become less action packed and dramatic towards the end but picks itself back up again and leaves you wanting to find out what happens to Ryo.

You will also meet diverse and compelling characters throughout the games different areas like Joy, a brash, confident woman who seems to have special place in her heart for Ryo who seems not to notice. Another character you meet on your travels is Ren, the leader of the gang "The Heavens" who oozes charisma and his and Ryo's relationship is one of the most changing and intriguing relationships in the whole game.

Chances are you won't complete Shemue II in a hurry; all four of the games area's are crammed full of extra quests to complete, mini games and interesting people to interact with.

Shenmue II is a game that you must own. It seamlessly produces an in depth and captivating story worthy of being a Hollywood blockbuster, the gameplay is almost faultless, the controls are simplistic and the characters compelling.

Simply, this is a game you shouldn't miss.