Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions: Information from Answers.com Mobile

Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions

Release Date: February 06, 2002
Genre: Racing
Style: Mission-Based Racing
Similar Games: Driver 2 (PlayStation), Grand Theft Auto III (PlayStation 2)

Game Description

Courageous and creative driving dominates the dangerous streets of a Hong Kong gone wrong in Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. Players can choose to battle the Yakuza underground openly as an elite law enforcement officer or covertly as an undercover infiltrator, either option offering a different career of ten mission-based driving challenges ranging from straightforward car chases to more complicated rescue attempts.

The true hero will need both finely honed driving skills and a devil-may-care attitude in this world where the most useful weapons are the automobiles themselves. Familiarity with the layout of the busy city streets is important too -- knowing about that back-alley short cut could be the difference between success and failure. Wreckless is designed to offer believable, free-roaming environments with sophisticated, true-to-life physics and real-time car damage. Better buckle up...

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Few console games earn as much mileage on visuals than Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. Whenever a title touts the ability to watch and save replays as a main feature, there must be something special under the hood. Wreckless lives up to its billing in this area, as it's hard to imagine a more detailed city. The game effectively captures the chaotic traffic- and pedestrian-filled streets of Hong Kong without sacrificing a consistent frame rate.

One you get past that pretty veneer, however, the imperfections start showing. Wreckless is a fast-paced arcade racer consisting of 20 missions equally divided into two groups. There are no additional modes of play waiting to be unlocked, and there's only support for one player. Each mission must be completed within a specific timeframe, with the majority lasting under six minutes in length.

As in the Runabout series of games its patterned after (released on the PlayStation as Felony 11-79 and on the Dreamcast as Super Runabout 2), Wreckless lets players run into just about anything in their path on their way to completing a mission. Scenarios involve ramming into multiple cars or a specific vehicle, racing to smash 100 Dim Sum carts, tagging cars to steal items, and straightforward races against a computer opponent.

One of the more inventive missions involves freeing a man strapped to the front of an enormous dump truck filled with explosive canisters. To release the man, you have to quickly drive up dirt mounds in a construction yard and jump so your car hits the top of the moving truck -- causing the canisters to explode. After approximately three or four times (depending on your rate of speed), the person will be freed.

This sequence alone will drive some players fits, as the route has to be scouted beforehand and the timing of the jumps has to be precise. Once the man is freed, however, the real "fun" begins. Players must zoom up the narrow ledges of a building still under construction to deliver papers. Yakuza will attempt to slam into your car as you make your way to the roof, and if they hit you, you'll plummet to the ground.

This is typical of the more elaborate missions found in the game -- there doesn't seem to be enough time to complete the objectives, and players have to do some rather annoying things like jumping across docks, navigating platforms in sewer tunnels, and delivering plutonium to specific destinations before the radiation destroys their car. While four of the missions will make you want to snap the disc in half, things become manageable once you familiarize yourself with the regions.

Although the graphics are at times breathtaking (neon lights, real-time damage, reflective windshields, rippling water, animated pedestrians, and more), some of the razzle-dazzle effects are a distraction. Driving through streets results in a motion blurring effect making you wonder if your eyesight is failing. Objects become hazy to the point where it's difficult to determine where to go based on sight alone.

The physics system also detracts from the experience, as crashes never seem solid no matter how fast your car is traveling. There's a "floatiness" to most of the cars, and vehicles don't always react as you'd expect; a little tap against a car will sometimes result in a 180-degree spin, while a head-on collision with a bus does almost nothing. Most of the objects you run into will shatter, but there are certain fences and structures that won't fall no matter how fast you're going. This sense of inconsistency carries throughout the game, especially in the difficulty of missions.

Unfortunately, there's no need to revisit past levels unless players want to unlock the five hidden vehicles (a monster truck, taxi, police truck, armored car, and a Yakuza sedan). There's no scoring system other than the top three times earned for each of the 20 levels, and even then you can't register your name so you can compete with a friend. While there are two different groups (policewomen and spies), there isn't a dramatic difference between the styles of missions, and the game could have easily included all 20 in a row.

In the end, it feels Wreckless is more a showpiece for what the Xbox is capable of than a great playing game. Despite a beautifully rendered city, gorgeous cinematic replays that can be saved to hard drive, and the ability to smash into almost anything at will, Wreckless' basic gameplay doesn't satisfy the way it should. Considering the short length and limited replay value, most will find themselves guilty of Wreckless abandonment.