Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

MORE MISSIONS

MORE MAYHEM MORE WRECKLESS

Sweep the Yakuza mob-ridden streets clean in insane, high-speed driving missions across a fully interactive, fully destructible Hong Kong.

Blast enemies with new CAR-MOUNTED ROCKET LAUNCHERS

and blast friends in MULTIPLAYER SHOWDOWNS.

Take on the cut-throat Yakuza mafia as a top-level cop or spy in 40 INSANE MISSIONS... double the number of the original hit.

Drive down the mob in high-speed pursuits, then explore the city in exclusive FREE ROAM CHALLENGES.

For even more high-impact action, DON'T BRAKE FOR PEDESTRIANS. Now if they get in your way, they're gonna pay.

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Back of Case - GameCube

Activision's Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube crashes onto retail shelves nationwide

Santa Monica, CA - November 20, 2002 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) has unleashed more high-speed driving missions and mayhem onto the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Nintendo GameCube with the release of WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions. Originally a top-selling game for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions now boasts a total of 40 missions, 60 fps, 30 different cars, a Free Roam mode, new mini-missions, rocket launchers, interaction with pedestrians and more. This high suspense action game is currently available at retail outlets nationwide for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and is rated "T" (Teen - Violence - content suitable for persons ages 13 and older) by the ESRB.

"The incredible, mission-based madness that made WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions a success on the Xbox has been enhanced for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube consoles," said Larry Goldberg, executive vice president, Activision Worldwide Studios. "With all-new features and gameplay enhancements, fans can wreak more havoc than ever in this highly interactive, fully detailed world."

WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions immerses gamers in the unpredictable underworld of Hong Kong by allowing players to choose from two distinct storylines -- either as part of an elite task force assigned to take down the Hong Kong mafia or as a high-level government agent trying to uncover links between the mafia and the police. The game lets players take full control of the action as they pursue Yakuza thugs amidst busy traffic patterns in 20 hair-raising missions and 20 sub-missions that unlock game enhancing cheats. Gamers choose from 30 different vehicles as they race through a free-roaming interactive city and maneuver real traffic patterns, tear through parks and drive on sidewalks to complete their mission.

All-new two-player action lets gamers go head-to-head as they face a variety of tough objectives such as chasing Yakuza transport cars, rescuing a police captain trapped in a destroyed tunnel, smashing into mob cars attempting to escape crime scenes and clearing a hijacked bus' path so that it won't crash and explode with the bomb that has been planted inside. The two-player action also includes non-stop action versions of "tag" and "capture the flag".

WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions for the PlayStation 2 was created using the Traveller's Tales game engine.

About Activision, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted revenues of $786 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.

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Press Release - GameCube and PlayStation 2

Activision's tribute to Hong Kong action director John Woo skids onto the Nintendo GameCube with all the enhancements you'd expect from a jump to an A-list budget.

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions GCN comes with 40 crash-crammed missions. In case you're counting, that's twice the number of the X-Box original. Other enhancements include a multiplayer mode, more than twice as many vehicles, vehicle-mounted rocket launchers and a free roam option.

Mean Streets

The yakuza are Japanese gangsters. The backstory here, which is as realistic as anything Woo ever cooked up, has a couple of petite agents with giggly voices on the prowl in a fictional Asian city. Although they sound as if they'd be more at home discussing the latest issue of Mademoiselle, jumping behind the wheel mysteriously morphs them into Vin Diesels -- only more aggressive.

The first mission requires you to cripple three yakuza cars pursuing an armored truck. Use any means possible, including terminating pedestrians. If you don't complete your mission quickly, you'll have your hands full with backup yakuza drivers.

As in a well-crafted first-person shooter -- which Wreckless certainly resembles -- later missions offer surprising variety and even humor. One mission requires you to flatten mob-run dim sum stands. (Dim sum is a Chinese snack. Who says video games aren't educational?) Others call on you to rescue a kidnapped professor of feng shui or deliver blood supplies to a very sick girl. There's even a shameless Speed rip-off, in which a bomb on a bus is set to detonate if the bus slows down. Your job, Keanu Reeves, is to clear a path through the congested city center.

You can choose an easy or hard version of a mission. While the main mission stays the same, the sub-mission changes. Some sub-missions impose deadlines, but most encourage a more destructive bent -- for example, hitting 100 or so cars, or smacking a few score pedestrians. Better be sure your insurance is up to date.

Car-Hopping

Vehicles aren't configurable, but with 30 to choose from that's not much of a problem. Much of your success will depend on selecting the correct vehicle for a mission. Aside from the usual fleet of muscle cars, you can also choose an urban assault vehicle, delivery truck, monster pickup, dune buggy, taxi, paddy wagon, garbage truck, family sedan, police car, sport utility vehicle, ambulance, cement mixer and double-decker bus -- to name just a few.

Vehicles are rated for length, weight (a key for bashing yakuza cars) and power. Considering how easy it is to roll over, a stat for center of gravity would have been helpful.

Steering can be frustratingly loose. Unusual for a driving game, doing well on the missions gives you cheats that improve the play control. Other cheats include giant pedestrians and infinite rockets.

Production Values

Graphically the game emphasizes lickety-split animation over detailed realism. A nice touch has vehicles momentarily becoming transparent if they block your view.

Many missions cover widely varying environments, including crowded downtown streets, freeway overpasses, docks and construction sites. As you careen through the missions, you'll learn shortcuts and trouble spots to avoid.

The streets teem with pedestrians of all sorts, taxis, cop cars, buses and other vehicles. It would be logical if some of these innocents made an effort to get out of your way, but since when did anyone expect logic from a Hong Kong action flick? More implausible are the crystal-clear voice samples. At 100 mph it's unlikely you'd hear a waiter inquiring, "May I take your order?"

Bottom Line

Once you're done laughing over the goofy backstory, you'll find that Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions delivers the action goods like a whack to the solar plexus. Doubling the number of missions and adding a multiplayer mode are big-time advancements over the original. It will take practice, though, to get used to the loose steering.

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www.nintendo.com – Nintendo GameCube

Face Life-Threatening Missions – Players must make their way through a total of 40 white-knuckle missions, featuring a variety of tough objectives in solo or two-player mode. Among the challenges players will face: chase Yakuza transport cars, rescue a police captain trapped in a destroyed tunnel, smash into mob cars attempting to escape crime scenes and clear a hijacked bus’ path so that it won’t crash and explode the bomb that has been planted inside. New sub-missions allow players to unlock game enhancing cheats.Talk About a Killer Commute – Gamers will experience realistic driving physics and threats to their life in up-close-and-personal car crashes with real-time vehicle deformation. Players will crash into and destroy enemy vehicles and take some body bruising hits themselves. Gamers better buckle up for safety.Choose Your Story – Pick from two immersive storylines with 40 different missions each. Take the wheel as a member of an elite squad tracking down lawless Yakuza units or drive against crime as a high-level secret agent who is trying to expose illicit activities between the Yakuza and police.Mix It Up in Fully Interactive Environments – Fight to make the streets safe in free-roaming, detailed, Hong Kong city environments loaded with shortcuts and alternate routes. Not only are the environments fully interactive, they are fully destructible, too. In this edition of the game, pedestrians are more numerous and varied, with increased interaction abilities and vocabulary. The player’s car will even collide with them!

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www.nintendo.com.au – GameCube