gaming gets real.(Software Review)(Evaluation)

In Shenmue's dramatic opening scene, a young man named Ryo Hazuki witnesses the death of his father, a master in martial arts, over the location of a mysterious set of mirrors--the Dragon Mirror and Phoenix Mirror--mysterious objects from ancient China that holds great power (and becomes the key to solving the murder). Angry and confused, Ryo scours the depths of the city--from the seedy areas frought with danger and crime to the high-rise office buildings brimming with power--while seeking clues and revenge. As the adventure unfolds into a vast international conspiracy, Ryo faces the wrath of the Chinese Mafia, deciphers a Chinese legend of Armageddon, and learns about his father's secret past.

In this drama--which takes place within a virtual world intended to mimic the real world--the action is intense, the tale tantalizing, and the backgrounds, props, and costuming perfectly detailed. "My goal was to create a game that was intricate and lifelike by merging the cinematic qualities of movies and the interactivity of computer games," says Yu Suzuki, director of Sega's AM2 game division and producer/creator of the release.

Shenmue, like an epic created for the big screen, was an ambitious undertaking. More than 200 artists and programmers worked to complete the Sega Dreamcast title, which took more than five years to complete at a cost of $60 million, making it one of the most expensive computer games ever developed.

The game, whose Japanese title is Shenmue Chapter 1 Yokosuka, is the first installment in a series envisioned by Suzuki. The drama begins in 1986 Yokosuka, Japan, as the player assumes the role of Ryo investigating his father's death. Unlike most computer games that focus on one genre--action/adventure, racing, role-playing, or fighting--Shenmue incorporates all of these within a fully interactive environment. Therefore, the players are not limited to following the game's story line, as they are for most titles.

"Shenmue offers players a wide range of choices. For example, they can go anywhere within the virtual environment or play with almost any object they find," says Suzuki. "Other general games have only the places and scenes needed for the main story. But when I created Shenmue, I created a virtual-reality world, which also contains places unconnected to the story that are fun for the player to explore." As a result, no two players have the same game experience.

In this virtual, living environment, a player can interact with more than 300 speaking characters--from children playing in the park to shopkeepers to delivery people--who exist on their own time schedules as they follow unique daily routines. "If I had created interactivity for only portions of the game, there would be a gap in context," explains Suzuki. "So I made all the characters have their own hourly life schedules that last for approximately one week's time."

During Ryo's investigation, the player chooses whom to question and when--for example, during the morning hours as a character hurries to work or in the evening as he or she dines at a corner cafe, where Ryo can even watch an appetizing meal being prepared. The characters also "hear" and react to sound. For example, if Ryo hears something and turns toward it, the sound will become louder.