Yakuza Kiwami

For this long running series, it's always unfortunate to see how well each entry balances its repetitive tendencies (nonstop random battles) against its goofy sense of humor. Yakuza Kiwami, while technically a remake of an older game, boasts a couple of new plot lines that up the absurdity -- the most prevalent one is the "Majima Anywhere" mode, in which rival gangster Goro Majima tries to both train and challenge Kazuma Kiryu to be a better fighter by randomly appearing during the game to goad Kiryu into a fight. It's not always greatly implemented, and can be jarring for parts of the game where Goro did originally appear -- for example, he'll remark what a surprise it is to see you when, thanks to the new content, he had just appeared moments before to fight you. Other new elements are better implemented, perhaps because it trims plot points that just don't apply to series any more, making for a tighter game experience.

Still, at its core, Yakuza Kiwami is an open-world game. That means you spend most of your time running around and fighting other characters, which can become dull after a while. Fortunately, like all Yakuza games, this game does what it can to offer variety and charming weirdness. You can frequent batting cages, race remote-control cars, and visit hostess clubs to forge relationships with ladies working there. As geeky as it might sound, interacting with hostesses can be surprisingly fun -- conversations can go in any number of directions and even when you think you are picking the "right" response, you'll learn how you may have been insensitive or dismissive. It's far more refreshing than punching, kicking, and performing things that lots of other games have you do anyway. But you have to be rather patient as the clever, unique activities only open up after hitting certain milestones in the game. If you're intrigued by the weirder elements, and you're willing to put up with a lot of repetitive play, just know it takes about 10 hours to really start enjoying them.