WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions – XB – Review

The Fast and the Furious was, without a doubt, one of the best movies of
2001. The Fast and the Furious’ high-speed street racing was unprecedented.
Sure, there were similar movies out there, but none of them were as fast or as
exciting as TF&F. Similarly, there are several street racing video games out
there, such as Midnight Club and Metropolis Street Racer. Those games were good,
but they can’t even begin to compare with Bunkasha’s awesome new driving game,
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. Wreckless is, in many ways, The Fast and the
Furious on Xbox. The game isn’t all about racing. In fact, most of the races
require a little more precision than speed. But the action is non-stop. Every
vehicle, even the slower ones you start out with, exceeds the speed limit of
every other driving game. Games like Wipeout are faster in technical terms, but
in actuality, Wreckless’ vehicles are moving much, much faster. When the
speedometer reads 140mph, you feel it, especially in the first-person view.

In Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions, you play as either an elite squad member
or a government spy on a mission to take out Hong Kong’s most dangerous criminal
organization: the Yakuza. The Yakuza will stop at nothing to do their evil deeds
and wreak havoc on the city. Hong Kong’s police department can’t keep up with
the situation. That’s where elite squad members Mei and Madoka come in. These
two crime-fighting chicks are called to duty when a few Yakuza members attempt
to rob an armored car. Your job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. But Mei and
Madoka can’t do it alone. They’ll need the help of Ho and Chang, two government
spies, if they want to take out the Yakuza for good. Both Mei and Madoka, and Ho
and Chang have their own set of unique missions (20 in all). The objectives vary
from mission to mission. In Mei and Madoka’s first mission, for example, you
have to destroy three black Yakuza cars before the time runs out. To accomplish
this, simply ram into them as hard as you can! When a car is damaged beyond its
limit, it’ll explode. In Ho and Chang’s fourth mission, you’re required to
maneuver your vehicle around several narrow docks, avoid falling in the water
and most importantly, take seven pictures of Tiger Takagi (the Yakuza’s head
honcho) before the time runs out.

The controls are nearly perfect. I have never played a driving game with such
precise controls before. The left analog stick is extremely responsive. I never
felt like I was turning too slowly or too sharply. What impressed me the most
though was how the game handled on the open road. I was able to maneuver in and
out of oncoming traffic, assuming my reflexes were quick enough. That sort of
thing is to be expected of any driving game released these days. The realistic
sense of speed really enhanced the experience. When you’re flying down the
highway at 130mph, you can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next. You no
longer have complete control of the game. The fate of the mission lies in the
hands of…your hands. Will they make a mistake? Will they be able to react
quickly enough to avoid an oncoming bus? More importantly, will they be able to
catch the enemy? No one knows for sure — not even you. The unpredictability of
it all is one of the things that makes Wreckless so exciting. There is not one
moment of boredom in this game. The Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Die Hard
Trilogy and several other games have tried to create the perfect high-speed
chase, however, none of them were able to capture the essence of The World’s
Scariest Police Chases as well as Wreckless.

Wreckless features a dynamic camera system that’s sure to make the
competition cry. It’s the most amazing camera system that I have ever seen.
Imagine yourself as a police officer participating in a high-speed chase.
However, you’re not the one driving — you’re the guy holding the camera. Your
job is to get the best shot of the action. In Wreckless, you play both roles.
Your mission is to take out the mafia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stare at
the sky while you slam into one of the Yakuza’s loyal servants. Wreckless gives
you the ability to swing the camera around and watch the action from virtually
any view (except from behind). Most games try to improve on the industry’s
camera problems by removing the camera altogether. Wreckless, on the other hand,
removed all camera problems by giving us a brand-new manual camera system.

When it comes to Wreckless’ visuals, prepare to be blown away like the way
you have never been blown away before. My jaw has not hung open for this long
since the first time I played Gran Turismo 3. This is the very first time that I
actually felt like I was controlling a computer-generated movie. There are games
out there that, in some ways, look slightly more realistic than Wreckless, but
CG images have a certain appearance that hasn’t been recreated in a video game
until now.

Wreckless has some of the most realistic car models that I have ever seen.
Everything about them is incredible. The texturing is just right, giving the
vehicle’s paint job a nice finish. Their shadows are extremely solid, following
your car up and down the busy streets of Hong Kong. All of the vehicles in
Wreckless feature real-time shadows, whether you’re the one driving it or not.
As you crash into the vehicles, their parts go flying, sparks fill the screen,
and their metal is crunched like a beer can. The detail in Wreckless is
unprecedented.

The lighting effects were so good that I was unable to speak when I first saw
them in action. Every light on every vehicle streaks in the opposite direction
that the camera is pointed. The sun is spectacular. As you move the camera
around, the picture is blurred. Words cannot describe it. Beyond that, there is
an effect that is so amazing that it makes all of the other effects seem weak.
When you’re watching a replay of a daytime mission, look up to the left or right
(whichever side is opposite the sun) and continue holding that position until
the sun hits one of the buildings. This effect is one of the most beautiful
things I have ever seen in a video game. The sun grips the building like a gamer
grips a video game controller. It moves extremely realistically, changing its
position as your car passes each building. The sun is reflected by every window
on every building, enhancing this mind-blowing effect even more. Wreckless’
visuals go above and beyond every game in its class, including Grand Theft Auto
3.

I am in utter disbelief. Bunkasha has done things on the Xbox that I didn’t
know were possible. Who says that we must wait a year for developers to begin
taking full advantage of the Xbox’s graphical capabilities? Bunkasha has already
done it — a mere four months after the system’s release.

Wreckless is so goad that you may never want to take it out of your Xbox.
Microsoft should purchase Bunkasha immediately to ensure that every game they
make is developed exclusively for the Xbox. I honestly can’t imagine playing
Wreckless on any other console. Like Sony and Square, Microsoft and Bunkasha are
a perfect fit. Don’t even think about renting it — Wreckless is a game that you
must permanently own.

 Gameplay: 9.5
The only thing missing from Wreckless is boredom, something that every gamer
can do without. Wreckless is a constant rush. One minute you’re taking pictures
of the Yakuza, the next, you’re taking out the Yakuza!

Graphics: 9.6 
Can graphics get any better than this? Yes, they can, but they can’t get any
better on GameCube or PlayStation 2. It’s almost scary to think that this is not
everything the Xbox has to offer. Wreckless does not use every ounce of the
system’s power. Wave Race: Blue Storm, NASCAR Thunder 2002 and Grand Theft Auto
3 must bow down before Wreckless’ greatness.

Sound: 5
The gameplay is unique and the visuals are stunning, but Wreckless’ music is
pretty average. The soundtrack consists of several repetitive, similar-sounding
techno songs that fail to entertain the listener. You can’t play the music
stored on your harddrive either.

Difficulty: 8.5
Wreckless is a very challenging game. Although short in terms of how much
there is to do, the game is considerably long when you consider how much time it
will take to beat each mission. It took me over two hours just to finish B-4!

Concept: 9 
Driving games have had more innovation in the past few years than the genre
it was spun off of: racing. Wreckless is more proof that there are endless
possibilities for new video game concepts. Great job, Bunkasha.

Overall: 9.5
If you only have enough cash to buy one Xbox game right now, then you shou–
no, you MUST get Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. It’s worth the price of
admission just for the eye candy, but it’s the near-perfect gameplay that makes
Wreckless a must-have game. I can’t wait for the sequel!