Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

Im not going to go into too much detail but I have to say that GS was pretty hard on this game. The controls on this game are not polished and do take some getting used to because this is unlike any other Yakuza, but once you get the hang of it, gunning down hundreds of zombies is plenty fun. This game still has all of the Yakuza elements but instead of brawling with street thugs they have been replaced with Zombies that need blown away. Its almost like they borrowed some of the Zombie types from L4D and added a few of there own including some bosses.

Imagine having dual pistols and about 15 Zombies running at you at once. Then, with some quick aiming and shooting taking them all down with 15 headshots. Maybe you dont want to use dual pistols, maybe you want to use your hand cannon that can shoot through multiple Zombie heads in one shot. Once you get used to the targetting you could pull off either after your first time leveling up. You also still have your Heat abilities but in this case they are used for fancy shooting that could result in taking down large groups of Zombies with one shot. For example, when your heat gauge is full an icon will appear on anything in the environment that can be shot to cause damage to large groups of enemies. It could be a conveniently placed propain tank in the middle of a group of zombies or a gas line in a narrow hallway. With good timing and correct button input these moves are easy and fun to pull off and it can be done often to help you through some tight situations.

Your character will be able to carry 3 weapons, more if you choose so when leveling. All pistols have infinite ammo so you dont have to worry about running out, which is great because at certain parts of the game the zombies will keep coming and can appear from almost anywhere. Other weapons like shotguns and SMG's will require you to stock up on ammo, but I have never had a problem stocking up on ammo due to stashes being spread around the environment. Zombies come in a variety just as in L4D, some even seem like a complete rip off but oh well, it keeps things interresting. You also have to face larger monsters or prototypes as bosses. These battles are not too much of a challenge but are still fun to take on and with the DMC like rating system after each chapter it is also very rewarding to get a high rank as it contributes to leveling up.

There are still side quest and other attractions to take part in. The unquarantined zones in the city still function as they did in the other Yakuza games except no one tries to pick a fight with you anymore. (They must all know that you are packing serious heat now.)

Yes there will be some frustrating moments when you will get surrounded by zombies of all kinds and it may be a little harder to postion yourself and the camera so you can target them effectively but its nothing you cannot overcome by dodging out of the way and regrouping. You can do this by putting some distance between you and the zombies and using the targeting system to postion the camera behind you and proceed to shoot away.
(Nothing that would make you want to throw the controller)

There are two kinds of targetting. One keeps the camera at your back and allows you to strafe and move around to shoot all targets in view. The socond allows you to aim with a rectical for more accurate shooting and will even automatically target the head after a few upgrades. The second one is fun because it allows you to pull of headshot after headshot effortlessly.
(unfortunatly in this mode your character is unable to move around)
Although being able to pull off headshots so easily may sound like bumper bowling it is actually very necassary for the gameplay as is having infinite ammo for the pistols. Trust Me.

Even though this is not a Yakuza title we are used to, the fun factor is enough to make this a good game for me. The combat could have also been more fine tuned but I think they did a pretty good job considering that they took the mechanics of a street brawling game and converted it to a shooter. If you are too skeptical to purchase at full price you should at least rent it and check the game out. I deffinatley would not just ignore it due to the review, I almost did and I feel like I would have missed out on a fun game.