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review
DREAl/lCAST Shenmue
Certain games have an aura, that special something that demands you play them. You may not be actively enjoying yourself or have the time to spare but hitting that power-off button is impossible. This is Shenmue. It is riddled with problems, has a unique playing style that will irritate many and is as slow as molasses yet for some reason, the pet cat is easier to put down.
In the beginning was Ryo, a normal teenager with a martial artist for a father and everyone in the local village as a friend. Then one snowy day, Ryo bursts in on his father being beaten to death by a Ming—the—Merciless-type and the young Iad's life is irrevocably changed. The evil murderer must be tracked down and Ryo’s father avenged. But what about the mystery of the mirror that was buried in the garden? Shenmue begins with an explosion of melodrama and proceeds to ladle it on at every turn.
You control Ryo, guiding him around the world in search of his father’s killer. And 'world’ is the correct word here. Shenmue recreates reality to the smallest degree. Time passes, weather changes and people go about their business. Every cupboard is full, every shop
‘ t f. .. .3 . _ in. .’ "fl 3: For all its clumsiness, Shenmue is addictive
opens and closes, phones must be dialled, everything that is mundane in this life is mundane in Shenmue. And it is represented beautifully on the Dreamcast. Every face, every building and every character is unique. There has never been a more immersive virtual world.
Ryo might be clumsy to control, there may be many repeated discussions and a whole lot of time wasting but you will never forget where you were the first time you played Shenmue. (lain Davidson)
PLAYSTATION Dino Crisis 2
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SONY PLAYSTATION I £7 a SEGA DREAMCAST NINTENDO 64 ‘ NEW & USED, UK 8 IMPORT GAMES 1,. I oecouncv's ARCADE, CRESSWELL LANE, HILLHEAD, ii ‘. .
GLASGOW. TEL - 0141-334-3901 WEB SITE - www.cagames.co.uk
PC Deep Space Nine: The
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