PlayStation 2

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

The PS2 couldn’t handle the awe-inspiring look of the Xbox version, so the developers actually had to perform a massive overhaul on the game to bring it to Sony fans. This proves to be a good thing, because it gave the team time to rework the original’s problematic and dull gameplay. It’s not as pretty, but the addition of car-mounted missiles, some slick two-player modes, and a greater sensation of speed more than makes up for the lack of graphical flash. Much improved, and it’s still only okay.

After all is said and done, Wreckless remains an entertaining game. But, the lack of other play options beside the missions really limits the game, and keeps it from becoming an extended gaming experience. In short, Wreckless is a fun piece of graphical fluff that will keep you entertained until its abrupt end.

So, if you're looking for something to enjoyably kill some time on a weekend, Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions should fit the bill for you. It's really not worth buying, unless you can get it cheap on Ebay or elsewhere, but the fun of running over everything in sight, including pedestrians should provide enough entertainment to satiate you for a decent amount of time.

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions can be a relatively fun game for a little while, if solely based on the fact that a good time is always had by breaking tons of stuff. The fun wears off pretty soon though, and you'll soon realize that this game is as deep at a kiddy pool. The missions are all varied types of the same couple of themes, so they just feel like a new coat of paint on the same old car.

Much to my chagrin, I found Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions to be a mildly amusing romp down the road, but ended up with a traffic ticket for a port that doesn't justify sense in a need to physically play the game. Tons of extras and modifications means squat when that same development time could've been put to use to give the game a little more polish in the many areas that call for it. Wreckless is a fun game indeed -- just not fun enough to use those pretty pennies on one final purchase gamers will curse themselves for having made in the long run.

So what have we learned? Hopefully, we've learned that most launch games should not be touched after the launch is over. The new Wreckless may have more missions (which get boring after a while), a free-roam mode (which you can only unlock by completing the game, so there's little point), and the ability to run over pedestrians (big whoop), but the fact is that there are games on both the PS2 and GameCube that easily outclass this one in everything it sets out to do.

Without the Xbox version's gorgeous visuals to distract from its weak gameplay mechanics and simplistic mission objectives, the PS2 version of Wreckless doesn't have much going for it. Players expecting the same visual smorgasbord seen on the Xbox will be deeply disappointed with Wreckless on Sony's system, and those looking for a driving game with a mean streak would be better off checking out Acclaim's superior Burnout 2: Point of Impact.

Pas intéressant, pas divertissant, pas bien réalisé, pas agréable à prendre en main et fatalement à ne surtout pas acheter...

For the uninitiated, Wreckless is undeniably Japanese in flavor. The game's 40 missions are divided in half -- 20 for the good guys and another 20 for the more devious sect of society. Choosing the noble side of the badge puts you in control of a duo of sexy, female Hong Kong cops (known as the Flying Dragons), one especially livid with the Japanese yakuza (the Asian mafia) for crashing in on their lunch break and spilling her cup of pudding.