Shenmue Dojo

Just saw Empireonline.com's top 100 games and nice to see Shenmue mentioned not once but twice. (No.7 and No.51)

Seeing as there hasn't been much news lately i just thought I'd share. I always like seeing Shenmue so high up in these greatest games of all time lists.

For those that don't want to do work:

http://www.empireonline.com/features/10 ... ?title=100

I'm glad that they put in Shenmue, especially at such a high spot, but I still have to complain and say that Shenmue 2 is the better game.

I would've put Shenmue II higher then Shenmue I aswell and definately not that far apart. Well I wouldn't split them at all anyway. It's nice to see them count the two games as two though and give them two entries in their list.
Rarely saw that happen, if ever. Definately a nice thing to see them put Shenmue so high.

Rakim wrote: For those that don't want to do work:

http://www.empireonline.com/features/10 ... ?title=100

I'm glad that they put in Shenmue, especially at such a high spot, but I still have to complain and say that Shenmue 2 is the better game.

Cheers, no idea why i didn't post the link.

Happy to see I was quoted in the Shenmue write ups :B

I'm at a lost as to why they are ranked so far apart. I could see maybe 1-10 numbers between the two, but not 44. But, at least the games are mentioned.

I'll try and get around to reading the entire list one day, but it's great to see Shenmue ranked so highly. Sure, Shenmue II is the superior game, brushing up on a lot of the missteps of the original (killing time, etc.), but I think the original was such a smack-in-the-face surprise and is so... special... that it deserves to be ranked higher than the sequel. Kinda like how Mass Effect 2 is superior to Mass Effect, but the latter is the one many people tend to prefer, myself included. Same with Arkham Asylum vs. Arkham City, etc.

Something I see and hear so very often about Shenmue is how no other game offers the same level as immersion, and I wholeheartedly agree. I have been playing games for nineteen of my twenty-two years on this planet, and no game has come even remotely close to immersing me as much as the first Shenmue. It's truly magical .

xx

Pretty terrible list overall as it always is when you let the readers vote, but it's good to see both Shenmue games getting deserved recognition.

Nr 7? On an Empire list? I am actually pleasantly surprised.

Last of Us, lol.

Yeah, what groundbreaking revolutionary thing did that game do? Introduce the worst set of protagonists in a big budgeted cinematic narrative? Yeah, that's sure to change the landscape for future games in the years to come. Can't wait to see more ridiculously foul-mouthed preteens and rugged self-centered assholes with no sense of humor.

It seemed like it only reached #1 because of the amount of 10/10 reviews it received. I shouldn't look more into it cause this is just another stupid rank list based on how many times people can rig the polling, but c'mon. If I were to do a list, I'd list games that were not only critically acclaimed and lauded by the general public but also did something to change the gaming landscape as we know it.

You could put Shenmue on that list. You could also put Tetris, Pokémon, Half-Life, Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Uncharted 2, even Call of Fucking Duty 4. So yeah, until I see more games mirror Last of Us and adopt more of its mechanics it doesn't deserve to be anywhere on that list at all. Besides, the aforementioned Uncharted basically did everything Last of Us did anyway. And I would even put Tomb Raider on that list.

/rant

You're in the minority who didnt like The Last of Us. Tons of people loved it. If you didnt then thats fine but it's a favorite because MOST people loved it, not just review outlets.

To me the characters have an extremely deep personality, fleshed out beautifully over time. (And even more so in the Left Behind DLC) The story and setting while not the first of its kind, is the BEST of its kind. The sound design is brilliant. The graphics are beautiful which is made more apparent by the new photo mode. Yama has some amazingly creative and beautiful shots. The combat is tight. The difficult modes cater from baby with a controller to grown men who play games all their life dieing from the challenge in chat from frustration to then brilliant relief when its overcome. Plus the multiplayer is actually very good and requires team work.

Its too bad the game just isnt for you man. Just have fun with Tomb Raider and call it a day.
I thought that was a good game, but comes nowhere near Last of Us or Uncharted.
Tomb Raider had a boring plot that isnt fleshed out until the very end, horrible dialogue, characters I couldnt care less for because we know nothing about them and sound design no better then Uncharted. The game itself was fun though. Basically Uncharted with a bow and free roam. All about that. But its clear they copied Uncharted's gameplay almost exactly. Where as Uncharted 1 only copied Classic Tomb Raider gameplay in concept because they are in the same genre.
Either way though, fun game for what it was.

Kenny wrote: Introduce the worst set of protagonists in a big budgeted cinematic narrative?

No way hosay, that is crazy talk. There are so many frigging terrible protagonists in big budget gaming! Elle and Joel are definitely two of the better written ones in that category.

Empire is a shitty magazine so what do you expect