Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

"Unbelievable graphics, but short and sometimes frustrating gameplay."

One of the more unique and original games out there for the Xbox, Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions brought to you by Activision, can truly show off the Xbox system's awesome graphical power, as this game is truly a sight for the eyes. However, unfortunately, where this game takes points for its visual concept, it takes off points at the same time for its length and sometimes frustrating gameplay.

Story - Wreckless features two different scenarios, with Scenario A letting you take the role of two extremely cute Hong Kong police officers named Madoka and Mei, who both take up their jobs chasing after the Yakuza, a huge crime ring who lurk the streets of Hong Kong. Scenario B has you taking the role of two bumbling rookie spies named Ho and Chang, who work for the Hong Kong government and are ordered to take out the Yakuza and their operations. The Yakuza are led by the evil Tiger Takagi.

Gameplay - After choosing a scenario, you can choose a car. Both scenarios have 10 missions each, with each mission having varied objectives for you to complete, such as racing against a rival car to smash an entire city string of Dim Sum stands, or protecting an armored van from Yakuza cars by smashing into them with your own, or driving around the docks taking pictures of Tiger Takagi while he is on a boat, and so on. Each mission has a time limit, and someof them are relatively easy, but certain missions can be very difficult and will take you several tries to complete them, and they can really test even the average gamer's patience.

The cars you can choose from are very unique, and some are better to use for certain missions than others, ranging from a normal police mini car to an super buggy to a Dolorean-like car.

Control the for all of the cars are *hyper* sensitive, meaning that one wrong turn of the left analog stick could mean the difference between you completing a mission on time, or you flipping your car over on its hood completely, screwing you up and causing to curse out loud.

Since there are only 20 missions and each one only takes up to at least maybe 5-10 minutes to complete, you pretty much have an arcade-like experience. After having fun marveling at the eye popping graphics and beating both scenarios, it's pretty much all over before you can blink.

Graphics - The game can nearly win an award for this. The graphics in Wreckless are spectacular, and looks even more realistic during the replays. Everything is pretty much drawn down to detail, including reflecting lights, exploding sparks from car collisions and breaking sidewalk rails, pedestrians scurrying to run out of the way while you drive by, and typical heavy traffic that takes up the street realistically. You can also nearly smash up everything in sight, and your car even visually takes damage.

Sound - You probably barely even notice the music while playing, since all you'll hear is mostly the engine of your car running and the loud smashing of obstacles in your path. But basically the music is okay.

Replay Value - So does Wreckless offer high replay value? Definitely not, and this is what hurts the game the most, since you'll most likely leave the game alone after finally completing all twenty missions. There are very little secrets, just hidden vehicles and extra camera views, but nothing to warrant a second or third replay just for them. Some missions are just too easy, and yet some are ridiculously difficult, so you'll be spending most your time trying to complete them, providing that you even have the actual patience to keep yourself from throwing the controller at your TV.

To buy or rent? Wreckless sports beautiful graphics, but with just a bit more tweaking to the control, a few more missions, and elimination of the random difficulty would have made this game even better. I still definitely give points for its originality, but keep in mind, this isn't a game for everyone. Wreckless will keep you entertained for awhile, but it's a short ride that can drive you nuts if you don't have the patience, so you may want to rent before buying.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/02, Updated 07/29/02