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jcjimher
Reviews
Jet Set Radio (2000)
Fresh and stylish, an overall great game
This is one of the better action games of its time. It offers great gameplay to the player, with some of the best designed levels ever seen in a videogame, good control, quite some challenge and a great sense of freedom.
It would have only been a good game if its highlights stopped here, but the truth is this game offers much more, specially in terms of aesthetics and overall style. This game pioneered the cel-shading technique to graphics, which give the game a somewhat cartoony feel without having to renounce to full 3D graphics.
Finally, the soundtrack is also top-notch, including a big selection of great music of quite a good range of styles, but without losing any of the personality of the game. This game was not a big seller, but I feel very few people could really explain why.
Shenmue (1999)
The next way of telling a story
This is not only one of the best videogames around in technical terms (graphics, sound, gameplay), but it also pioneers in a way of telling an story. It has a cinematic presentation, many dramatical and emotional scenes, but the viewer lives the story rather than watching it. It's the viewer/player the one who explores the environments, the one who makes the events happen, the one who knows the characters and in some degree influences the relationships with them.
The story itself is a little plain, and in fact this game is more like a prologue to the whole story that develops in further chapters, but even in this case the global immersion you can feel is extraordinary. I strongly believe this model of videogame hides a great potential, and should be developed in time.