Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

Wreckless is so goad that you may never want to take it out of your Xbox. Microsoft should purchase Bunkasha immediately to ensure that every game they make is developed exclusively for the Xbox. I honestly can't imagine playing Wreckless on any other console. Like Sony and Square, Microsoft and Bunkasha are a perfect fit. Don't even think about renting it -- Wreckless is a game that you must permanently own.

As with most games that include any racing aspects, physics is crucial for making a good game. Luckily, Wreckless is a better-than-average racer with decent controls. Similar to the MSR series of games, Wreckless takes use of accelerating, braking and power sliding. Even though the levels are laid out in standard street fashion, we have a certain freedom that is comprable with Crazy Taxi. Burrowing through trees, market stands, traffic and even Buddhist temples; don't limit yourself to street signs. Your car is also not fully invincible. Not only can you dish out some serious damage to your environment, you vehicle also takes a nice beating as well. Doors will fly loose, the hood will catapult and once completed your car is nothing more than a stunt double for Dukes of Hazard.

Wreckless ist ein schneller Spaß für zwischendurch und grafisch dabei eine Wucht. Die Mängel liegen primär in der für diese Art von Spiel zu starken Abbremsung bei Kollisionen, den zu stark zum Überschlag neigenden Wagen und dem zu geringen Umfang. Man hätte sicher noch einen lustigen Zwei Spieler Modus implementieren können und etwas freiere Missionen ohne die engen Zeitlimits. Für ein Erstlingswerk ist das Spiel trotzdem ziemlich gut gelungen. Die Grafikeffekte sind fast schon übertrieben und die Tiefen- und Bewegungsunschärfefilter wie man sie auch in Toptiteln wie GTA 3 findet, etwas zu stark. Ein wenig dezenter und alles spielerisch noch ausgefeilter und der Nachfolger könnte ein richtiger Hit werden - so ist Wreckless nur gut.

This game is awesome fun. It would be so much better if you could somehow disable the timer. You are timed for things that make no sense. Even with that, it’s still great fun. Another thing that this game lacks is game modes. There are only two scenarios and that’s the only mode available. They should have put in free ride mode or something. I really enjoyed this game, but I don't think I would buy it. Maybe, if a cheat to disable the timer comes out.

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is an odd concoction of mission-based racing that puts you in two sets of shoes as both uniformed and undercover police officers. The game’s premise, coupled with challenging and diverse scenarios, is more than enough to keep the customer satisfied.

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.

Der spielerische Gehalt von Wreckless kann leider nicht mit der Grafikpracht mithalten. Obwohl die Anzahl von gut 20 Missionen eigentlich ausreichen würde, um die Spieler bei der Stange zu halten -zumal die späteren Abschnitte auch mehr vom Spieler verlangen als simple „Seek-and-Destroy“-Aufträge- macht der urplötzlich rapide ansteigende Schwierigkeitsgrad das Bildschirmtreiben zu einer Zerreißprobe für frustrierte Nerven und sorgt so für eine unnötige Verlängerung der Spielzeit. Schade eigentlich, denn vom Prinzip her macht die Gangster-Hatz eine Menge Spaß. Nicht gerade der erwartete Überflieger, aber vom optischen Standpunkt immer wieder ein Spielchen wert - wenn man sich durch die Frustmomente durchbeißen kann.

Wreckless is a fun game that not only tests your driving abilities, but also all kinds of skills with its variety of mission types. I’m not going to lie to you, a lot of the missions are tough, and some of them are just downright hard. Keep in mind that this isn’t merely a driving game, but an adventure game, similar to MI or James Bond. There is a timer on the missions, but there would be no challenge at all if you didn’t have to drive fast and well at the same time. The sound is good aside from the wind-up sounding cars, and the graphics are by far some of the best ever seen in a video game. Take a close look at the water on any of the stages and you’ll see what I mean. Drive Wreckless, but be careful doing it. While I love the game myself, with all the mixed reviews I would suggest a rental first before a purchase.

My advice: Borrow Wreckless, invite your friends over and impress them for a half an hour, then return it and go back to beating Halo for the millionth time.

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is one of the most beautifully rendered games ever stamped onto optical media -- actually, I dare say that no other game can even hold a candle to Wreckless, graphically speaking. The visuals are simply stunning; at first glance you will swear that this is the game you've been having wet dreams about since the introduction of pixels, high-class bump mapping, particle-tracers, volumetric lighting effects, location specific damage modification, and stunning use of pixel shaders. At times, albeit fleeting, Wreckless looks perfectly photo-realistic, no joke.

So do the pros outweigh the cons, and when push comes to shove is Wreckless a decent driving game? Well yes, it is – but only just. The graphics are nice, the enemy AI amusingly realistic, the action fast and light-hearted. The car handling is however not quite so fun, and in many respects (such as the story) Wreckless borrows heavily from many other games of the genre. It is however still quite fun; and certainly well-suited to occasional quick fixes of fun, rather than hour after hour of driving obsession.

In my pursuit for gaming knowledge, I frequently visit video game retailers to listen to what the consumers have to say. What are their favorite games? Which system do they prefer? More intriguing yet, which upcoming titles are they looking forward to playing? I was quite taken aback when almost everyone I chatted with said they couldn’t wait to play Wreckless. Certainly, it’s a beautiful-looking title, and one of the more diverse Xbox releases as of late; yet I remained completely dumfounded by these statements. My reason? Well, for curiosity, I probed deeper and asked these giddy individuals if they have ever played Felony 11-79 or Super Runabout. Nobody, not a single soul, had a clue, not even a faint memory of the games I mentioned. For all intents and purposes, I wouldn’t be too far off of the mark if I said Wreckless is the sequel to Super Runabout, which in turn is a spin-off of Felony 11-79.

Wreckless has dry wit, and offers a sardonic view of action games. The game does have some features not available on other platforms, but lacks the graphical firepower of a game like Spyhunter. This game is enjoyable and challenging, but is also one of those games that likely won’t have you glued to your console system for hours at a time.

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.

Great graphics, mixture of great and boring gameplay and mediocre replay value, Wreckless is a purchase for hardcore action fans and graphic whores only. All other gamers will want to sample this dish first.

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.

Wreckless looks great. If you're looking for a great-looking game that will show off the Xbox's graphical muscle, Wreckless fits the bill. However, a general lack of gameplay depth, drab physics, and annoying mission design all get in the way of what could have been a fantastic, action-packed driving game. Check it out at your local rental store before going any further.

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.

The game also has a few questionable features, like the jokingly bad multiplayer mode. Wreckless might provide a short bit of mindless crashing fun for a bit, but it gets boring and repetitive pretty quick.

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.

En misant tout sur son impeccable réalisation technique, Wreckless a oublié l'essentiel : le fun. Sa maniabilité plus que douteuse et ses missions trop similaires réduisent de moitié le plaisir qui aurait pourtant dû se dégager d'un tel soft. Quel dommage !

Wreckless, on the surface, is a sane enough port of Bunkasha Games' Xbox original (where did that software house go, anyway?). You've got four main characters, two sets of missions, 30 or so cars, and a giant rendered version of Hong Kong to recklessly drive about in. Most of the missions and cars are locked at the start and must be unlocked by completing missions in both Easy and Hard mode. There are twice as many missions to play now, but they still mainly involve bashing enemy cars to bits or completing a course through city streets under certain conditions (time limit, damage limit, and so on).

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.

The poorly optimized GameCube version robs the original of most of its visual style and slows the pace considerably, resulting in a mediocre mission-based driving game with poor handling.

One of the biggest additions to the Gamecube version of Wreckless is the two player mode that was absent in the Xbox version. In four separate locations of Hong Kong, players compete in a variety of gameplay modes involving a hectic high speed chase through the city. In an unusual attempt at originality, the developers put both cars on the same screen rather then separating them via a split screen mode. Since the focus is mainly on the chase car, it’s difficult at times as the lead car since there will be times when you’ll speed ahead and attempt to change directions leading you into another car on the street or some other obstacle that will slow you down considerably.

Casual gamers will probably not like how some of the missions are impossible to complete. The AI drivers can sometimes weave through Atlanta-type traffic and not get hit once, while you are involved in a bottleneck. Hardcore gamers will not like how quickly this game will end. If you thought Max Payne was short, you will easily be disappointed with the title. Although the graphics are outstanding, Activision could have given us a little more for our fifty dollars.

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.