Of all the years i have been gaming, of all the systems i have had and games i have played, there has not been anything like Shenmue.


The first i ever heard of shenmue was when i was ready Offical Dreamcast magazine. they made shenmue their cover story. "OH great", i thought. "Some stupid japanize fighting game/"
but after reading the review, i realized that it was more than that.

It was about a 16 year old, Ryo Hazuki, living in the small town of Doubita in Japan. One day, his father gets murdered by a mysterious man named Lan Di. Lan Di stole the 'Dragon Mirror' for Ryo's dad, Iwao Hazuki (a martial art teacher and sensei) and then killed him.
Ryo is not looking for answers. Who is Lan Di. Why did he kill his father. What are the mirrors and why does Lan Di want them.

FRom the begining, u are hooked into this game. You can do anything you want. You want to follow the plot? Go ahead. You want to goof off?

Go to the arcade, blow all of your money.

Go to the store and buy cassette tapes (hey, its 1986) and food. Go to the park and practice up on ur martial arts moves.

This game is truely amazing. The plot sucks u in like u would never believe.

But why am i telling u about shenmue 1? its not coming out for xbox.

Well the answer to that is
Shenmue 2X.

it was just realised, and the sequel to shenmue 1. (There are about 16 chapters in the game, with 3 to 4 chapters in each shenmue) shenmue 1 was considered a prolog, and shenmue 2 continues the story of Ryo, who is now in Hong Kong continuing his search for vengence and Lan Di.

ANd the great thing is- Shenmue 2x comes with the DVD SHENMUE THE MOVIE so u wont be completely in the dark about what exactly happens in shenmue 1.

Of course, there is nothing like actually playing the game. But u cant do that (unless u got DC) and the dvd touchs all of the main points.

Shenmue 2x is also amazing. about 3 to 4 times bigger than shenmuie 1, it also offers more options and things that ryo can do.
FOr instance, In sehnmue 1 ryo got a job as a forklift driver. in shenmue 2, he can p8ick from a number of part time jobs.

there is also gambling, including armwrestling, street fights, and gambling games.
And the plot continues to deepin. it is amazing.

I dont know what u r know thinking of this game, but i recomended it to my freind (sehnmue 1 back in the day) and he is very thankful that i did, for it is his favorite game. and he was against the game at first. he thought that it was gona be stupid. but he found this gem of a game.


So, this holiday, if u r looking to get a xbox game for urself or someone else, definetly pick up shenmue 2x. Its a 2-in-1 value, beacuse u get the shenmue 2 (better version than the DC one) plus u get teh shenmue 1 DVD movie!
you will not regret getting this epic saga by the mastermind creater Yu Sazuki. (creator of such games as hangon, afterburner, Outrun, and VIRTUA FIGHTER.)
and it is said that shenmue 3 is already in production. (Yu Suzuki has actually finished the whole saga already, but they are now producing the games.)
So this is defeintly a must buy.

Trust me. After you get it, you will be very thankful.