TESTED GAMEShenmue III picks up right
where the story left off
18 years ago... and goes
on as if all the gaming trends and
mechanics of the intervening years
had never happened.
How you view this game, then,
will depend on whether you’re
coming at it as a fan or completely
fresh expecting a modern game.
More importantly, how much you
get out of it will depend on whether
you have the patience to appreciate
it at its own glacial pace.
It’s fitting that the first half is set
in a remote Chinese village where
you can bet on tortoise races,
because the pace of its story moves
just as slowly. Just trying to track
down a group of thugs who’ve been
causing trouble in the area can take
up to an in-game week.
If that sounds maddening, at
least you can fast-forward to the
next meeting point. But some will
appreciate this relaxed feel, where
plot is secondary to soaking up the
atmosphere while practising martial
arts and chopping wood.
And despite feeling 20 years old
it’s a beautiful game to behold, evenby modern standards. Sure, leading
man Ryo still looks a bit stiff and
awkward, but that’s an endearing
quality to laugh with rather than
a flaw to laugh at.
Martial arts remain a core focus,
even though you don’t actually
do a lot of fighting. Perhaps more
important is the other busywork
on offer. If you’re skipping the
jobs, arcades and gambling, you’re
playing this game wrong.
It’s idiosyncratic in a way not
everyone will take to, especially
once you hit a couple of moments
where the only way to progress is to
cough up a huge wad of cash. Quite
honestly, if you’re a newcomer to
the series, there’s little reason to
jump into this game now when
there are much more sophisticated
open-world games around.
But then, no one else has made
an open world quite like Shenmue.
Dedicated fans who have followed
this opus all the way through to
its Kickstarter revival are ultimately
the audience here – and on that
basis, Shenmue III is a successful
continuation of the journey.
George CowleySTUFF SAYS For better or worse, the old-school ‘Shenmue charm’ lives on ++++,
Shenmue III
The long-awaited third instalment of this martial arts action adventure
series feels as out of time as the original game was ahead of its ownPS4, PC / stuff.tv/Shenmue3
S
“Meet me
below the red
lantern, she
said. You can’t
miss it, she
said...”The third series
of Gone Fishing
will be the first
to feature Paul
and Bob fighting
to the death.