Amazon.com Review

To say that Shenmue is an anticipated title is an understatement;the game made huge waves in Japan upon its release, and American gamers havebeen waiting since then to see what the fuss is all about. It's a game in whichthe concept itself is the selling point. What if you could portray a young heroin a fully realized Japanese city? Would you like to participate in andinfluence an over-the-top kung fu-style action-mystery flick in your livingroom? What if lots of combat, cinematic flourish, detail, and a dash of romancewere thrown in?

The game itself is awash in small details, crammed into a confined space. Thecity of Yokusuka circa 1986 is rendered beautifully in a short series ofneighborhoods that are long on detail even if short on variety. The story itselfis ripped straight from a chopsocky flick: you portray the young hero RyoHazuki, whose father (a kung fu sensei, naturally) is killed before hisvery eyes by a mysterious and frightening villain. Ryo must uncover the identityof the killer and fight his way through the city in an effort to avenge thiswrongful death.

Shenmue's Yokusuka might be short on space--in total, it represents maybea square mile--but the detail is overwhelming. You can interact with nearlyevery person or object that you see; 300 citizens go about their daily routines,and whom you encounter is as much determined by where you are as when you arethere.

Much of this interaction involves combat that ranges fromDragon's Lair-style reaction tests (such as timing a button press tododge an oncoming car) to freeform kung fu fighting. Further, each second ofreal time equals about a minute of game time, and Ryo has to be home by 11 p.m.each evening. The game moves at a brisk pace, and each challenge or battle feelslike a race against time. Some might say that gaming doesn't get shallower thanthis (you are essentially performing tasks and exploring, instead of gaming),but the game feels like no other and is ultimately satisfying by the time thatit all ends. In this way, Shenmue is more than a game--it's an eventthat's worth experiencing. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• Compelling, well-told story
• Good action and combat
• Fantastic sound and graphics

• Plot is familiar to fans of kung fu action films
• Task-and-exploration gameplay might seem slow to action gamers

Reviews (300)

The realistic sphere of emotion and time
Shenmue is a graphic adventure game from 2000 exclusive to the Sega Dreamcast.The setting is Japan in 1986.You're placed in the role of Ryo Hazuki, an 18-year-old student and martial arts disciple on a winding, multi-faceted quest to uncover the mystery behind his father's murder.Along the way you'll traverse myriad locations and interact with countless non-player characters, as well as engage in side interests and attend to personal issues.

The progression of gameplay is quite open and arbitrary.There is no particular pace you have to keep in playing; you can sprint through the entirety of it, or you can devour days and days roaming around, engaging in the oddities, practicing martial arts, chatting with passersby, playing mini-games or whatever else.The hands on the clock tick away in real time in Ryo's world.The date and time of day--morning, afternoon and evening--is presented in convincing fashion by the game, and is reflected in the towns and villages and industrial areas you'll be visiting.The streets may be thronged with pedestrian traffic during mid-day, shoppers and businessmen, families and children.But after nightfall things change.After the streetlights flicker into life, the locales take on an aura of eerie stillness as the crowds thin and--in the urban and industrial areas--are replaced by members of the seedy nightlife, while in the residential districts they begin to bob their collective heads towards sleep.Many, although not all, businesses, shops and residences are open and interactive for you to explore. Time of day comes into effect here, for certain businesses and shops are only open during particular hours of the day or night.In addition to the realistic sphere of passing time, there are varying weather effects in place as well: sun, rain, and even snow as the calendar edges into the winter months.

Your home is the Hazuki Dojo in Yokosuka.Ryo's mother and father, his last living relatives, are now both gone.You live there with a former student of Ryo's father, Fuku-san, and the elderly housekeeper, Ine-san.Ine-san is a grandmotherly figure who'll fret and worry about Ryo's safety, imploring him to be careful and to let the past go.Yet she's soft spoken and demure, almost resolved to the situation.Each evening Ryo must be home by 11PM, and when he's late Ine-san seems almost hurt by it.It creates a true sense of obligation, of emotion, of connection to the characters and situation.Shenmue excels at creating a sense of strong emotional ties between the player and the characters, as evidenced by the potent flashbacks of Ryo with his father and the difficult parting with Nazomi at the end.You begin to feel the things Ryo feels, to truly take on the role of a lost, yet fiercely indomitable 18-year-old boy up against overwhelming odds to avenge the death of his father.

Every NPC is interactive and will converse with you.Many characters you meet near his hometown know Ryo by name, and some are his close friends--such as Nozomi Harasaki or the American Tom Johnson.There are actual curves of character development as the game progresses, relationships that alter in scope and nature, and a seemingly new, wary awareness of a wider, more iniquitous world by Ryo.Indeed, the villains Lan Di and unstable, tittering Chai impose heavy, bleak footprints on the narrative.Most people Ryo speaks to will have a few lines of dialogue about this or that--sometimes relevant and sometimes not, or now and then sending you off on splinter pursuits apart from your more crucial objectives--and a few will offer up clues to where you need to go next, what items you might need to acquire and to whom you need to talk.Every interaction can be important as you struggle to uncover clues.And with a continuous, moving timeline, it's all-too-possible to miss certain events as they occur when you're someplace else.While most of the gameplay involves the patient, explorative extrication of mystery upon mystery, there are also occasional action segments of martial arts brawling and QTE (quick time encounter) events calling for some speedy button pushes.

About midway through the proceedings Ryo is obligated to find employment to further fund his undertaking, and in this the game's principal setting and structure is somewhat altered.Ryo secures a job operating a forklift on the harbor docks.Here the game delves even further into the realms of realism, for every morning you must get up and report to work first thing--and then do the actual work for eight hours before recommencing with the more important tasks.And while this sometimes leads to a certain degree of monotony and tedium from the player's perspective, it does seem to work well overall within the scope of the game.

Outside the core body of gameplay are multiple minigames and collectible items that Ryo can pursue.The mingames are found mostly in the You Arcade in Dobuita, where full, authentic versions of the Sega arcade classics Hang On and Space Harrier are playable.There are also darts, billiards, slots and QTE games available.And a jukebox that plays real music.And cassette tapes of music you can buy in stores.Every sunrise before work at the harbor, Ryo can participate in a forklift race.And over 600 collectible items are available--everything from photographs to ancient Japanese mirrors to light bulbs to a package of squid legs--and they're located just about everywhere.

Visually, Shenmue is a tour de force, a world you just fall into like a pool of water and then don't want to get back out of. Stylistically and thematically, in both architecture and culture, it's a purely Japanese world.And the Japanese vibe really gets under your skin after a while.In a strange way, by the end of the game, you almost feel as if you've actually been in Japan, not just playing a game set there.It's a striking ambiance and environment they've created; time's suffocating grip has no hold here on the Dreamcast.The environments spring to life around you: trees and grass sway in the breeze, fish dart around a pond, a kitten meows by the roadside, ships dock at the harbor, pigeons startle into flight by your footsteps, people go blithely about their daily lives, the structures appear so lifelike you can almost reach out and touch them.Character animations are carved with a fine chisel; every line etched in the face a graphic relief, hair strands that divide and drift on the winds, eyes that bore holes of meaning and emotion into you.Even the detail present in Ryo's brown leather jacket is stunning.And all this on the Dreamcast, easily looking as good here as later, more advanced gaming consoles.

Shenmue breaches generations and cultures, a game people of vastly different ages and backgrounds can concurrently enjoy and become absorbed with.In the act of investigating, something is revealed, and that points you to the next stage--and from there to the next.You want to see what happens next; you care about Ryo's journey and the people around him you've come to know.The settings are pragmatic and the basic storyline is simple enough that a child can follow it, yet there is depth enough to draw anyone in.It's a universal theme, and a game that has remained wedged in the memory over the years.Regrettably, the ultimate resolution isn't found here; Ryo's tale winds on in Shenmue II on the Xbox.

Yu Suzukies Masterpiece...
Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast may possibly be the greatest video game experience I've ever had in my gaming days(including Shenmue II for xbox).Shenmue is about a young man out for revenge to find his fathers murderer but theres WAY more too it, I won't spoil anything other then this game is flat out beautiful and should be played by gamers that won't wyn about the slow paced action..

Like the title above, this is Yu Suzukies Masterpiece, the man worked EXTREAMLY hard on this amazing game(Shenmue is also known as one of the most expensive video games ever created).Sadly Yu Suzukies hard worked game never made any good sales because of the PS2's launch, I like many others got it at the time it was first released, This game is just pure brilliance.The visuals are some of the best seen in games...This may be the longest game review I've ever done so lets get to it..

Visuals
This is one of the if not THEEEE best looking DC game ever made, everything is so detailed and the character models are great.The building, the Atmoshpere, thank you so much Suzukie.

Gameplay
ok this is probably the reason this game is the most hated/loved game ever created.IT'S EXTREAMLY SLOW PACED, and may turn off some casual gamers but if you can hold on long enough the action will start to come up.The game play is simple and easy to get use to very quickly.The game plays like a mystery novel, ask people question and clues about something and when you find some clues you go ask other people that may know BUT THIS GAME PULLS IT OFF SO WELL IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!This game(plus Shenmue II) has THE best fighting engine ever!!!It's taken straight out of the virtura Fighter games.And the Free Battle sequences are extreamly rare yet very fun in the game.Did I mention you can do almost everything in this game?Well not everything but alot of things like getting a job, gambling and alot of the other things that can be done in real life...

Sound/music
When I say this games music is beautiful IT IS, Ten times better then MGS 1.Especially the main theme which you'll notice alot, it's amazing if theres one thing Yu Suzki did well(other then everything els) it's the music in this game, pure brilliance

Controlls
I'm really lazy to get into this but there pretty good
Lemmi just some it up right now

The Good
-Superb Visuals
-Great Controls
-Superb sound
-Amazing Inviorments
-Loads of things to do
-AWESOME FIGHTING ENGINE
-One of the most expensive games ever made
-A beautiful story about vengence but with alot to it

The bad
-action gamers will be turned off by how slow paced this game go's
-For some long, for some a SHORT game, took me about 13 hours my first time but that's because I just did all the story parts and not the side quests
-The sales for this and Shenmue II did so bad that we probably won't see a Shenmue III anytime soon
-For anyone looking for a good challenge for this and Shenmue II, look elswere, it's pretty simple an pretty straight forward..

Other then that Shenmue is an instant classic with everything on the spot, Yu Suzukie created something more then a game....This game is not just good because it feels like you're acctually in that world and living Ryu'S life.....This is good because Yu Suzukie braught us something that just feels so real, and like as if there really is a world like that....acctually there is, JAPAN, duuhh, but still no other game has hit me or motivated to the point were I HAVE TO PLAY THIS GAME more then shenmue....This game is hands down...One of the greatest video game experiences you'll ever have...... When it all comes down to this, I give Shenmue for the sega Dreamcast a

5 out of 5 stars...

Brilliant....Just...Brilliant

Totally a great game a must have for dc fans.
This is a really sweet game. Totally a butt-kicking game. I mean you go around beating people up the game lets you see in real live play beating some one up you know without the pain and nose bleeding.

TPittman
Ok, first of all im 12 years old, i bought this game, and played it from 3:00PM-2:00AM, three days in a row, and beat it! I only took about three breaks, and didn't go outside or even eat supper!!! I love this game so much, i beat it twice... total time of the game is about 27hours of game play! Man i wish i had an Xbox so i can play shenmue 2, shenmue 2 is also for the European dreamcast, which i dont have, but someday, i will get shenmue 2, and beat it...

This is a list of all the great things in the game...

1.Great storyline and detailed world...

2.Great minigames: Space Harrier(Quite weird, you look like a mother with a purse coming home from the store), Hang on(A motorcycle racing game), Darts(This ones probably my favorite), Exite QTE2(A game where a letter from the controller apears on the screen and you press it as fast as you can), Pool(not that fun and this is only located in the bar), and last but not least, QTE Title(Pretty much the same as Excite QTE2, but this is a boxing one). Most of the Minigames are located in the Dobuita(The city), at You arcade, and darts is also located at the harbor lounge...

3.You get a job at the harbor, and you take boxes with a Forklift to the warehouse your boss tells you to take it...

4.You can go in most of the buildings in the city Dobuita, and the harbor...

5.You can buy pretty much anything, food, Soda, buy a little toy out of the toy machine, and you can win prises, and win video games...

6.Vehicals are in this game, theres a motorcycle, and a forklift, and you can race on the forklift when you have a job...

7.Theres time, clocks, and it turns day and night, and it snows, and rains...

8. Buy tapes, and you can find a tape player in your room, so you can listen to really cheesy songs...

Heres a list of the bad things in the game...

1.The voice of the main character(Ryo Hazuki) sounds like he only put effort in the beginning, threw the rest of the game, he sounds he doesn't even care that his dad died...

2.The part where you have to save a girl(Nozomi Harasaki) on the motorcycle sucks big time, You only drive the motorcycle straight, i thought you would be able to drive it anywhere, and that part is hard too...

Thats everything, the only part of the game that sucks is them two, but buy the game, trust me, its the best RPG/Adventure game ever made on the planet, and the game not that bad, its rated Teen for Animated violence, Strong language, and Use of Tobacco and Alcohol, but dont let that stop you, just buy it already!!!

NOTE: You need a memory card!!!

The peak of gaming.
4 years ago, I saw tons of ads for Shenmue. I had never read anything about the game, or knew what it was about, as the ads simply said "SHENMUE" and its release date. I started to get hyped up about it, because they made it seem like this was the biggest game to come out since Super Mario Bros. 3. When it finally did come out, I managed to get it at Target for an incredibly sick low price. Upon taking it home and starting it up, I had a new standard for what makes a game good. I couldn't even believe this was a game when I saw Ryo Hazuki in action, running through an almost photo realistic Japan in the 1980's. It was beauty in motion. But this is more than a pretty game, much more.

What exactly is Shenmue? Is it an rpg, adventure, action, or fighter? It's really all of those. If you don't know by now, it was originally slated to be an rpg with Virtua Fighter characters, which sounds pretty cool. Later on though, everything was changed into something completely original. You play as Ryo Hazuki, a Japanese teenager who arrives home to see a black car parked near his home. Entering through the gates, he finds the housekeeper on the ground, probably beaten up. She tells him that his father's in the dojo and the men in the car are with him. Making his way to the dojo, an "adopted" family member gets thrown out and is unconscious. Finally, Ryo enters to see a Chinese man in a silk robe asking for a mirror. Ryo's dad, Iwao, doesn't tell them, and they begin to fight. Iwao is no match though, as Lan-Di dodges every move without effort and takes him out with a simple kick. Saying that he won't tell him again, Lan-Di threatens to kill Ryo. Iwao has no choice, and tells him that it's buried under the cherry tree outside. But it's too late, and Lan-Di tells Iwao to get up and die with honor. He kills him right in front of Ryo, and leaves with the mirror. The scene is very dramatic and the music addes even more to an already emotional scene. From that point on, it's up to Ryo to track down Lan-Di and avenge his father. Unfortunately for him though, it won't be easy. A lot of time will be spent asking questions around town to get more details on where to go next. This part of the game tends to bore some ignorant people, but it isn't as bad as they make it out. If you actually follow directions, things will be very simple. Sometimes, the people you try to get answers out of take offense, and immediately start a fight. Trust me, the fights in Shenmue are sweet and I was always pumped to get in one. The music, moves, and danger of it all renders all other fights in games obsolete. It took me a long time to get back to turn-based fights in rpgs after playing this.

As serious as it may sound, you can still have fun in Shenmue. Remember, this takes place in Japan in the 80's, so it's a very new world to many people. It's also as realistic as you can get. The designers took the actual weather reports and forecasts from that time period and put them into the game's actual calendar. If it was raining on a friday in December in real life, it's doing the same thing here in the game. If you don't want to wait around until a store opens to talk to the owner, buy some capsule toys of classic Sega characters (ranging from Sonic to NiGHTS to Sega executives), or go to the arcade and play classic games like Hang-On or Space Harrier. Time flies when playing those gems. You can also try out darts, a boxing simulator, and a QTE arcade machine to win capsule toys of said machines. QTEs are pretty cool. During a scene, sometimes a button or direction will flash on the screen, and you have to press it quickly in order to move on. An example is when some bikers attack (well, try to if you're good) Ryo at the harbor. If you manage to hit all the buttons correctly at the right time, Ryo will knock a biker off his motorcycle, causing him to fall into the sea. Even now, four years later, these excite me. Shenmue also has a vast variety of characters- Ryo's potential love interest: Nozomi the flower girl, Tom the hot dog vendor, Goro the street-wise punk with a heart of gold, Mark who supervises Ryo when he gets a job (oh yes, you get to work, and it's nothing but fun) driving forklifts, and many more characters. You can also practice your fighting moves in the dojo or even a parking lot. And you'll want to if you don't want to get beaten up in the many fights. Go out and buy some new move scrolls at the antique shop, or look around the Hazuki house. There's just so much to do here, that I could bore you even more with a second review just to go through it all. And by the time you're even 2 hours into the game, you will actually feel like you -are- Ryo Hazuki. The character attention is worthy of 5 stars in its own.

For the time it was released, nothing could compare to Shenmue. Character models all have nothing but the best detail. Wrinkles in their skin, articles of clothing where you can see each individual stitch, and actual facial expressions. Not just heads that had moving mouths, but real expressions. You can see the anger and determination in Ryo's eyes when confronting members of gangs in the area, shock when Tom demonstrates a new move later on, and grace in the final scene. But the developers didn't just stop with the main characters like so many others do, each individual character has their own unique look to distinguish them from anyone else. Just look at some of the workers at the harbor, or the resturant workers who look the part. On the Shenmue passport disc, there are almost FMV quality graphics in some of the characters that talk to you about the Shenmue world and explain various things. They're so close to being of Final Fantasy X FMV quality. Even today after the likes of the Xbox and GC have set the bar, those graphics look great. If there's anything to degrade in the graphics at all, it's that there's slowdown when walking through crowded streets. It never bothered me, but it does get to some people. Fortunately, this doesn't occur during the incredible fights. The 70 man battle in particular.

There's nothing bad to say about the music. The game's theme will automatically be stuck in your head once you hear it for the first time. And when the Chinese fiddle version is heard, it makes the theme even more memorable. It's epic, plain and simple. The theme is heard a lot throughout the game, but used differently and with variations. There's even a christmas version once December rolls around. Through the game, you can also buy cassette tapes if you want to hear something different. My favorite would probably be Hang-On, which can be won at the Tomato store as a prize.And the music that kicks in during fights, nothing short of dynamic. It's a shame it wasn't carried over to the sequel. That theme alone was worth playing for. And like the graphics, there's one tiny thing I didn't like- some of the voice acting. A lot of the voices are pretty good, but some of the extras just didn't try. If you have the chance, import the Japanese version to get the better voices.

Shenmue remains my favorite game even after the Panzer Dragoon Ortas and Blinxes and even Bust-A-Moves that I've played recently. Please buy this game and show support so the saga can continue. Right now the series is kind of in a rut, and its future isn't looking too good. As long as its finished in some way (even if the official comic manages to get more attention), I'll be happy. Shenmue isn't for everyone, but for those that pick it up and can appreciate it, they'll be hooked. Thank you for making this experience Mr. Suzuki. Here's hoping to more in the future *raises glass of cranberry apple raspberry juice*. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Worth the money
This game is better than I expected it to be compared to what everybody was saying about it. Don't worry about the grafics. The grafics are better than Resident Evil 2 and possibly 3. The controls soon become a second nature if you know the resident evil controls. And you can even walk around while you are swinging your weapons around. They even have some awsome detail in the backgrounds like in the hellbilly house they have chopped up body parts in barrels and hanging by meathooks on the walls. They have so many things in hear that remind you of the movie. They even have the broken bridge if you walk strait out from the house and search for it. Ifyou like the movie or the resident evil games you will love this game. The only thing I had trouble with is the way you save.

Doesn't live up to the name of the Movie
Sure this is an Evil Dead game but whos kidding.This game isn't that great.Games based on movies usually suck But I gave this game a try(yes the Dreamcast version of course) and it wasn't all that gret.

The graphics are ok I guess.The controlls suck.Gameplay is dull otherwise if you love Evil Dead and want to try out the games steer clear away from this hunk of junk.It's your choice but trust me it's not worth the money.Crappy game.

I give this a 2 out of 5 stars...

Lates

worst controls alltime
how can anybody like this terd yeah it has neat graphics and sound and bruces voice but the controls are the worst in videogame history no joke basically u walk around with jerky animation using a button to flail your chainsaw in every direction with no aiming at all even worse it gets stuck in the creatures and runs out of gasoline cause of technical glitches the whole game u are running 15 frames per second in grainy semispooky backgrounds flailing your chainsaw at poorly drawn creatures this games a joke i own 5 game systems nearly 400 games and beat ever 1 of them but i wont even play this disgrace 1 time even for 6 bucks its not worth it

Hail to THQ king baby!
This game has it all:It has horror, comedy, and suspense!It is resident evil but 5 times better!I cant wait till i can get Boomstick!The only downside is:IT HAS AN END! lol....Bruces voice acting is AMAZING!Lines such as "Say hi to disco for me" are incredible!

Not worth it at any price
A very below-par game that spoils the memory of the movies. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Sony and Sega always have had a way of looking at successful Nintendogames and saying, "We can do that!" (See Crash Team Racing, for oneexample.) Now, Sega has all but copied Mario Party and produced its ownversion of a digital board game, which features the Sonic cast of characters.

Sonic Shuffle, as it's known, easily could have been called SonicParty, because of the countless similarities between it and the Nintendotitle. Players move from space to space--going after Precioustones (instead ofstars), collecting rings along the way (instead of coins), and participating inminigames (same for both). As an added twist, characters also get into cardbattles with monsters, à la Pokémon.

Unfortunately, the minigames in Sonic Shuffle are painfully uninspiredand frequently un-fun. Also, players are forced to sit through battles betweenthe computer and the computer. The fact that four can play is a plus; but, onthe whole, this one's just a pretender to the throne. --Robb Guido

Pros:

• Colorful graphics

• Minigames are uninspired and un-fun

Reviews (42)

great game
this was a great sonic game it is like mario party but 100 times beter it was tons of fun for me and my friend but the grapics were not like other sonic games but still i liked it this is a must have game i hope you get it to

Bad Mario Party clone
I am a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog.I have been there for better and for worse (like when they added the super-annoying Amy Rose as a character).I have always liked Sonic as a video game character.

Nonetheless, this game is awful. First of all, the premise of this game is stolen from the game Mario Party.Cloned games can be alright, considering that the developers don't rely too heavily on the origial game for inspiration and design.Sadly, the makers of Sonic Shuffle do exactly that--they rely completely on the design of Mario Party to patent their game after.They make no attempt to hide the fact that they are copying off of Mario Pary.

And when game developers create a clone, it should be equal or better than the original, or else, they'll have to deal with the fact that not only did they not have the creativity to make their own game, but they could not even use the success of the game that was their predecessor to create a successful game in their own right.Sonic Shuffle is a textbook example of this.

The game boards are pointless and poorly conceived.The story behind the game is uninspiring, and does not catch the imagination.The minigames are stupid, and not entertaining in the least.

I would avoid this game at all costs, unless you want to give someone free money for a useless piece of software.Or maybe you could use the CD as a designer coaster or something.

Best Game ever
You may not beleive me because i'm under 13 but i'm smart enough to know this is the most fun game i have ever played! There are 5 difrent places which are realy fun with diffrent special things in each on. The characters are of corse Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the cat, E-102 Gamma, Choa, and Supersonic.It is Totaly the Best ever!

Its like MARIO PARTY...without MARIO or the party!!!!!!!!!!!
When I first read about Sonic Shuffle it got mixed reviews but since I was desperate for a new experience in gaming for the Dreamcast (the best system that never made it) I bought the game. I must say that it has sweet cel shading graphics and thats it! This game is really uninspired and tedious! My biggest gripe (among many) is that THE MULTIPLAYER GAMES ARE BORING, UNINSPIRED AND JUST PLAIN SUCK!!!!!!!!!!! I was origionally drawn to it by the boasts of many mulitplayer games but boy was I fooled! There are probably three (if so much) of these games that are fun, trust me the mini ames are BAD!! One game puts three players in a frying pan and the fourth player gets to turn it and toss it as if they are making pancakes, WEAK SEGA, WEAK!

DO NOT BUY THIS MESS!!! IT IS NOT FUN!!!

TAILS IS THE MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER EVER CREATED I HATE THE WAY HE ALWAYS HAS TO CALL SONIC FOR EVERYTHING!!!

SOMEONE AT SEGA SHOULD GET A CAREER CHANGE AND GO INTO LICKING ENVELOPES AT THHE POST OFFICE, A JOB THAT REQUIRES LITTLE THOUGHT BECAUSE HE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO PUT INTO SONIC SHUFFLE TO MAKE IT ORIGIONAL OR FUN!!

Excellent Party Game
Lots of people give this game bad reviews for what appears to be no reason. The truth is, Sonic Shuffle is a great party game and something I believe you will enjoy. So what if it's a Mario Party clone? Lots of clone games have been made that are in fact, great games. So if you loved Mario Party, why not get it's little brother? Screw the editorial revies saying the mini-games are uninspired. I just get so gosh-darned excited when somebody lands on a mini-game space. This is truly a great game and definitely a good addition to any collection. The only minor problems are that there's no going back once you pick a card to move with,and the roulettes aren't random. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

With Metropolis Street Racer, you can drive 40 licensed vehicles from 14 manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Renault, Rover, Mitsubishi, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Honda, and Ford. Two hundred different routes through Tokyo, London, and San Francisco offer 15 square miles of 3-D scenery that's been created from more than 40,000 photographs and 400 hours of video footage. Play in several game modes, including street race, timed run, head-to-head, model street race, model championship, challenge, and championship. Race solo, or against a friend via the split-screen mode, or see how you compare against online speedsters by uploading your performance in the Internet hot lap to get rated in a league. Road-handling dynamics and car physics are affected by changing weather conditions, including fog, snow, and rain. "Real World Time" allows the gamer to race at the correct time of day in each city. Metropolis Street Racer's authentic engine sounds were recorded from a wide range of cars; but, if motor purr isn't enough for you, you can listen to techno, dance, rock, jazz, or country music while you race through the city streets. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Yeowza!
Great game. Mind-boggling superbness. Except one thing. Any and all FR cars (front-engine, rear-wheel drive cars) are nearly impossible to prevent from spinning out in the rain.
So....I'm in the final few chapters, and my best car is a Toyota Celica GT-FOUR cuz it's the most powerful car available to me that isn't FR!!! And for the difficulty? Damn. Frustrating much....but that's what makes a good game....even though I'm not able to skillfully drive an RX-7 like I'd like to!!!
Overall....9 out of 10.

Kudos 4 me...kudos 4 you..kudos 4 everyone...except the game
From what I read about Metropolis Street Racer I expected a solid racing game with speed but got neither. The game favors no contact driving instead of fun...uh I mean speed. Imagine a racing gamme with no speed...who on earth could think of such a dumb concept its like a Sonic game without speed or a Doom type game without guns

Really a sad disapointment. The graphics are okay but the game play SUCKS!! Avoid this like SARS

Awesome
I'm probably one of the few people that gave a review that actually beat the game, so I know when its good and when it isnt.

The graphics in this game are good although when youre driving at night its hard to see and apprantly it rains in tunnels. The views are good except they should have had one from the driver's viewpoint. Other good points about the graphics are when u shift gears (auto. or man.) u can see the driver shifting. Also, the tires can and will smoke when they should and the right tires too. If u press start and put the tv camera on it like ur watching someone drive and when u do donuts and fishtails it looks pretty cool. Overall the graphics are really good. 9/10

The music for the most part sucks, however u can turn the volume to 0 and either just here ur engine and the other cars' engines or u can listen to ur own music on something other than ur dreamcast. The engine sounds may seem repetitive, but i noticed between the mustang and the skyline, they sound the same except the mustang has a whistling noise when it gets to around 60mph, thats the only i noticed but im sure there are more small differences like that. The sound changes when ur view changes. With the TV camera u cant here the engine but u can hear everthing else. When have the view from the bumper the engine is loud. when u have the outside view then it sounds just like any of the other cars. As the other cars get closer they sound louder. This definitely helps alot. U will here ur tires squeak when ur burnout or skid and u will here the rain as its falling. Sounds good, 8/10

When i first got this game, i thought that i was ripped off, u start of with 3 really crappy cars. As the game went on i got better cars. The first few chapters are pretty boring, but once u get some better cars the game will get better. Eventually u will end up with cars like the 300zx, supra, rx-7, mustang, and of course the skyline gt-r. And as for the people who think the cars in this game are slow, read the features, 40 licensed SPORTS cars, not supercars or f1 cars. and besides, these arent very accurate versions of these cars, in a good way of course, i have gone 180mph with the skyline, and 185 with the supra. And besides, what other racing game will allow u to drive a lawnmower. (I think i got to 100mph with it) Ive had the game for almost 2 years now and i still play it every once in a while. Once u get into the game u wont be able to get out of it. U will also get better as the game goes on so dont worry about the difficulty. The kudos system is not bad at all and there are ways to easily stack up on them. Fun to play, 9/10

Overall i would have to give this game a 10/10. I dont recommend renting this game though. Buy it and give it a chance, u wont regret it.

Good, yet difficult game
This game has great graphics and over 80 different routes in 3 different areas of 3 different citys. that equals up to about 700 possible routes. The down side to this game is that unless you are extremely skilled, it is hard. You get stuck a lot.
The game automaticly saves yoiur progress every time you do anything. If you loose one race, it ruins your game, actually it dosent do much but can be bad if you keep loosing.
To any skilled vidio game racer, this would be ideal.

Perhaps THE Best Racing Game for DreamCast!!!
I only recently acquired a DreamCast console, and - given my specialty in racing games - picked up several racing games shortly thereafter.Metropolis Street Racer is BY FAR the best of these games, and I find it very difficult to imagine a better racing game for this console.

First, Metropolis Street Racer is definitely NOT for the casual racing gamer; those who view racing as continually standing on the accelerator until the race ends will fail miserably in this game.While speed is needed to clear the many tasks in MSR, the game focuses much more heavily upon racing skill and racing style, with Kudos (points) awarded or detracted based upon the player's performance.

Yet this is not the only innovation.Metropolis Street Racer includes numerous street circuits in Tokyo, London, and San Francisco - in some events, circuits at two or all three of these cities are the norm.In the Street Racing mode of the game (the main mode of the game), real-world time is used - based upon the console's internal clock and location settings - to determine lighting conditions... which means that to truly perform well, players often need to SCHEDULE when they play the game in relation to the time differentials between the player's time zone and the time zones of the cities in reality to ensure optimal visibility in daylight conditions.However, the game also includes numerous weather conditions, ranging from clear skies to intense rain to thick fog.

Within Street Racing mode, there are numerous types of events.In Hot Lap, a player must either beat a posted average lap time or score at least one lap time better than the posted time.Timed Runs force the player to complete a given number of laps within a specific amount of time.One-on-one pits the player against a solo CPU-controlled competitor in a race.There are also Street Races, in which the player competes against up to five other cars.Challenges vary, but can include passing a specific number of cars within a certain period of time, or attaining a minimum number of Kudos.In all events, the player can choose to "gamble" upon the upcoming performances by adjusting the goals of the events according to the player's racing skill, racing style, and confidence.

Having visited both San Francisco and London, I find these locales in the game to be extremely realistic.I have yet to visit Tokyo, but from the films and pictures I have seen, I find the game's rendition to be quite convincing.Of these locales, each presents rather different challenges beyond simply racing.Circuits in London often narrow considerably, and there are often traffic circles, streetlamps, and other such obstacles in the middle of the circuits.Tokyo also often alternates between wide and extremely narrow sections of raceway, but is very often filled with medians which are often extremely difficult to spot even during perfectly-clear daylight conditions.San Francisco circuits often make use of the city's steep inclines, which can send cars airborne and thus make cornering impossible.

One of the less-crucial but still interesting aspects of the game is the music.This ranges from jazz to rock to pop to country.What makes the music so special is its presentation in the form of radio broadcasts, as if the player is listening to the radio while racing.Each city has its own sets of radio stations, each selected at random by the CPU upon entering a race and localized for each city; this also means that the radio announcers in Tokyo speak in Japanese.However, the music itself is not truly localized in Tokyo, as there is NO Japanese-language music in Metropolis Street Racer (only songs in English, plus a few instrumentals), which is a severe defect in the planning and creation of the game.

Overall, Metropolis Street Racer is a highly unique, highly challenging game.Players who actually complete the game will have greatly improved their racing skills along the way, which will pay great dividends in other games in this genre. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness takes the original formula and updatesit for the new millennium. The most striking change is the game's new 3-Dorientation. The play is expanded, but it is largely based on the original.Maze Madness involves a weird story of gems being scattered throughoutPac-Land. A witch is after the gems, so you must find them all before shedoes.

Maze Madness is a bit of a misleading title, because while the game doesinvolve mazes, it's the puzzles that will stop your progress. Most of thepuzzles aren't that hard, but a few will stump you for a bit. There are blocksto push, TNT to explode, and springboards that propel you upward.

Players are awarded stars for completing different tasks, such as finding allthe fruit in a level, munching all the pellets in a level, or beating the levelin time-trial mode. Initially, earning one star per level will get you to thenext stage, but you must go back and earn more stars to unlock later levels.

Maze Madness' graphics are smooth and crisp, but they aren't verydetailed. The game has the look and feel of a cartoon's minimal lightingeffects. Ms. Pac-Man herself is just a round polygonal sphere with sometextures, arms, and legs glued on. There are a few particle effects in the titlethat look very good, but Namco didn't do too much else to tax the Dreamcast'sgraphics abilities.

Where this game excels is in the level design. A puzzle game like this is madeor broken on the ingenuity of the levels. Also, Maze Madness featuressome multiplayer options, which, combined with its simple, family-friendlygameplay, makes it an excellent choice for a party game. --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Extremely simple yet addicting gameplay

• Graphics are a little too simple

Reviews (8)

Clean fun for the family and a dying breed of games
There should be more games like Ms Pac Man out there. Its clean fun and a great game. If you want a good, challenging and most of all FUN game then its made for you.

Go get it you won't regret it and pick up Frogger 2 while you're at it, they're both mad fun

Great graphics, great sound and challenging (you gotta think to beat this one)!

Fun for the Whole Family
I bought this game, wondering if it was similar to the retro-Centipede.It was better in many ways.Like Centipede, you can play either the classic version or the new.Personally, I like the new game better.The music is superior, the graphics are good, and the adventure theme makes the game more challenging than the "antique".
The object of the game is to eat all the dots and collect all the fruit.This isn't an easy feat.There are several gadgets you have to work to get around in the levels.Those are easy to learn, thanks to the tutorial in the first level.Not only do you have to avoid/eat the ghosts, but there are other nasty creatures as well, such as exploding bottle rockets (in the China Town level), feral cats (in the Ice level), and guard dogs (in the Haunted House level).When you complete each level, you have the option of playing a bonus game or moving on to the next level.What's more, you can either play the Quest level or the Timed level.The latter involves getting Ms. Pac-Man through the maze in a minute or two.For experienced gamers, this isn't a problem.For novice users, it will prove more frustrating.
The haunted house level was my favorite.There were so many monsters and pitfalls that it kept me entertained for hours.I found that if I kept going in full circle, I was able to collect everything.What frustrated me in the other levels was that I couldn't get to all the dots and fruits, which is needed to earn a star, which determines whether or not you can go to the next level.I learned that there were secret doors, but sometimes I couldn't access them.Then there was the issue of the controls.The slightest push could send Ms. Pac-Man to her doom.There were many times where I lost a life because I had moved the controller one way, but went the other.That didn't matter because you can go back to the previous level and collect more health/life icons.By the time I finished the game, I had collected more than 150 lives.
Despite the frustrations, this is a very good game the whole family will enjoy.Highly recommended.

Fun and Addictive
I thought this game was the best! If i could i would have played it for hours on end-though some of the puzzles can be annoyingly hard-that gives the game texture. Along with the fact that there are many different courses to go alonge the maze. For retro loves there is also the first one and fun multiplayer games.

fun to play
Fun and simple gameplay, with complex moves to make and puzzles to solve.You must journey to save the Princess while on your way face mindless enemies.Rather than a fixed map, you can traverse the many lands and secret chambers in 3-d perspective, up-down-sideways etc.Collect items and power pellets, replenish your health with hearts, and defeat the evil Wicked Witch.The breathtaking soundtrack, cinematics and mini-games will make your twenty-bucks seem worth it.This game is great for all ages, but there's only a one player mode.I give a 4.5 star rating.(that rounds up to 5, oh well)

A true classic!
Even more fun than when I was a kid.It does have multi-player capability which is nice, but the solo adventure is good for hours of fun. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Four newly discovered and previously untold adventures are revealed when the closest friends of the missing Lara Croft gather in her honor. As they reminisce about her past exploits, they learn new details about her life, as well as the lives of characters from her past adventures. Lara journeys from the ruins of Rome to the bowels of a German U-boat to the rooftops of a high-tech city in search of four ancient artifacts. The game uses the same graphics engine that was used in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, but introduces new moves: tightrope walking, parallel-bar swinging, and a hand-to-hand stealth attack. An enhanced inventory system allows for greater combinations of a variety of weapons and items. Create your own adventure with the Tomb Raider level editor, which includes a tutorial level and all of the tools that are required to construct custom levels. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The Game is Great
This game is compilation of three different storylines. Because of the ending of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, we are taken back to the past in this game. The first two stories are relatively easy. The third is one where Lara is sixteen and has absolutely NO WEAPONS. Everything must be done without them and it becomes quite nerve racking after a while. The very last storyline is a great one and has the infamous Werner Von Croy in it. It offers a challenge because you are trying not to be detected and is a little like an espionage game. I encourage you to try this game out. You will not be disappointed.

Avoid Dreamcast Version
If you have to get this game, either get the pc version or playstation version.This game is full of bugs.I reccomend the playstation version because of its stability.Once you get past that the game is not too bad.Also at the end of the dreamcast version there is a glitch that can wipe out your save.

Tomb Raider is a great ride
I love this game. While not as good as 1 or 2, it is light years ahead of 3 & 4. The 4 different sections helps add variety to the game.

The first section is a standard TR shoot em up and explore.

The second is similar to the first except there is a little more stealth involved in certain areas.

The third is a prequel where you play as teenage Lara trying to solve a ghostly mystery.

The fourth and Final section is basicly a full blown Metal Gear Solid type stealth level.

A good game, truely, I'm not kidding!
Well personally I love Tomb Raider, have ever since I got the first one a long time ago.However even a hardcore fan like me is starting to think maybe enough is enough.I mean maybe, just maybe this is one too many games with the same name.Still even though I resisted a long time(notably till the price went down), I gave in and bought this one too, it's an addiction I guess.After I brought this one home and started it I was expecting the same old stuff that we always get.Namely minor upgrades, MINOR I say, and some more same old same old levels and junk.This game seems to be a lot better than all that though.I was expecting to hate it like I did TR 3.However I actually LIKE this game.I'm suprised that I do.It still has just MINOR upgrades and sure it still has the same old stuff and uses practically the same engine from the Last Revelations(TR4), still this game has a certain something that has been missing for awhile from TR games.I'm not sure exactly what that is, but this game is actually good.Still however I don't think it could stand alone without the other games behind it.But amazingly enough I actually recommend this game to old TR fans out there.Don't let it get away, especially after you have already played all the other ones!And besides, it's cheap now.

TR: Chronicles Review
Chronicles is clearly the most refined and engaging Tomb Raider game to be released so far. It has some unique play mechanics as well as some intresting and fun levels. The only problem is that the core gameplay is basically unchanged. You won't find anything new or exciting here, just more of the same, whichdepending on how you look at it is a good or a bad thing. In the end if you think you haven't gotten your fill of Lara and her boobies than by all means pick this one up, you'll enjoy it. On the otherhand if you have gotten tired of the formulatic and traditional TR formula, then leave this one alone. You won;t find enough here to draw you back in. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In this third-person action-adventure game--which is based, in part, on the live-action film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!--you play the role of the Mean One himself. Embark on a quest through 24 missions, from Whoville to an underwater world, and across four Seussian environments with three minigames and a bonus level. Players collect and assemble a variety of gadgets, such as the rotten-egg launcher, the slime shooter, bad breath, and the GrinchCopter. Players can transform into the Grinch's sidekick, Max the Dog, to explore areas that are inaccessible to the Mean One. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Enjoyable game.
My daughter loves this game. I bought it for her last Christmas and she has had hours of fun with this game. However, there are certain parts of this game that are very difficult and I wonder how the creators expect children to complete the levels. But as I said earlier my daughter does enjoy this game immensely.

I'm11 I know this kind of stuff
I'm 11 year old gamer and moviegoer. Now I think the Movie was OK not a World Wonder though. I was saving money up for this game. When I got it I played constantly but at level to out of 4 I got really bored you will too! Please don't buy this its confusing for kids and adults should be sleeping through it.

FUN!!!!!!!!
I bought this for my little boy but its a hard game and me and my husband stayed up all night playing it.I wouldnt rate it for a 6 year old but this game is definitly fun.

Clearly an under-rated hit.
I purchased this game for my sons as an after-thought and now we are all hooked.The graphics are ok but the plot and puzzles are extremely interesting.There is enough entertainment in this little heralded gem to keep all ages happy - for example my five year old is happy wandering around and smashing presents - using the "patented" grinch bun buster method - while the nine year old is zooming through mazes and consulting yours truly for puzzle solving tips.Now dear old dad - is curled up in front of the set wandering around in "who" disguises and swiping eggs.It is great fun and if you don't have add it to your collection!

Mike D.

"The Grinch" is GOOD!!
Believe it or not, this is really a fun game.... The graphics are average for a Dreamcast game but the small touches of humorand Suess based drawings make up for it. You play as the Grinch and run around various locales filled with "Who's" and basically try to ruin their Christmas. From stomping presents and snowmen, dropping beehives down chimneys and hurling rotten eggs into windows, this game is fun and has some challenging puzzles. Believe me, while kids might enjoy this game it seems directed at an older audience who can appreciate the subtle (and not so subtle) humor and it definately takes some patience (or cheat sheets) to get by some of the puzzles. Another fun aspect is that you can control the Grinch's dog Max to get certain items. It is a blast to run around town as the dog and bark at people. I have spent about 10 hours playing this game and I am not tired of it yet. So, if you want a fun "Mario/Spyro" type adventure with large worlds to explore... check out The Grinch! ... Read more