Yakuza (PlayStation 2)

YAKUZA, a game centered on a mission-based crime story, follows Kiryu Kazuma, an up-and-coming enforcer of a powerful Tokyo crime family. When Kazuma finds his boss murdered, he takes the fall for the crime rather than implicate the true killer -- Kazuma's friend whose criminal earnings pay for the care of a sick sister. Back on the streets after a decade in jail, Kazuma finds that a lot has changed; his friend is now a boss, his girlfriend is missing, 10 billion yen have been stolen, and a little girl is following him around asking him to help her find her mom.

Japanese organized crime (Yakuza) is a hard-boiled genre that's long been ripe for the video game treatment. And Yakuza the game delivers with rich and intense gameplay similar to the successful Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series. Yakuza serves up an epic story with heart, multiple intersecting subplots, scores of characters, and an insanely detailed, atmospheric game world.

But the streets are harsh, and despite its ambitious storytelling, Yakuza revels in M-rated trimmings. Players can hang out at a strip club, intimidate local business owners, get in a bloody street brawl complete with graphic slow-motion attack animations, get falling-down drunk, check out some DVD pornography -- all in a night's work. It's this stuff that makes Yakuza an adults-only affair, despite its engaging, high-quality production values and story.

Available on: PlayStation 2
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Sega of America
Released on: October 18, 2006
Price: 50
ESRB Rating: M for Mature Sexual Themes, Realistic Blood, Realistic Violence, Strong Language, Use of Tobacco and Alcohol