A Good Idea Gone Bad

Picture this: a freeform city environment where you can drive anywhere, bash up cars with no penalty (some you MUST bash up), some of the most gorgeous graphics you've ever seen on ANY game, much less a driving game.

Now picture that picture sullied by some very ridiculous design decisions. You've just pictured Wreckless: Yakuza Missions, for the Xbox.

Wreckless takes you on a 20-some-odd mission trip as either two policewomen getting revenge on the Yakuza for ruining their lunch, or two Yakuza cronies doing their own thing. After playing a few missions though, you won't care who you work for, you'll just want to throw the controller then turn the machine off.

Take, for instance, the fourth mission as the policewomen. This mission is a perfect example of how NOT to make a game. In a limited time, you must first figure out how to destroy a dump truck. The problem is, you are physically only able to at certain points on the map, and if you miss them, you must wait for the dump truck to get there again, all while your time is ticking down. Once you destroy the dump truck, you must find how to get to the top of a building, all while the time is ticking down, and while you are being mislead by...well...misleading arrows. Once you make it to the top, you must wait a full 18 SECONDS while you go up an elevator. You are unable to do anything while you wait, and believe it or not, the time is ticking down while you go up the elevator. Then you must go back and forth across the tops of buildings, all while the time is ticking down. And if you run out of time, you have to go all the way back to destroying the dump truck again.

And when the missions aren't frustrating or confusing or frustratingly confusing, they're simple "bash up cars" scenarios, of which there are many in this game.

This is made even more frustrating by the fact that there is no "abort" button common to these kind of games (such as SF Rush). If you are upside down or in a bad position, you have to hope that the game agrees with you or you'll sit like that until either the time runs out or you just restart the level. And that will happen to you. On more than one occasion, I found myself upside down waiting to be placed correctly, and even worse, this game suffers from some serious clipping issues. I've many times found myself stuck on a mountain or ridge, unable to move, but since the game doesn't see it as a problem, it doesn't fix your position. So, a restart is necessary. However, a restart halfway through a level is not something that you really want to happen, especially when it could have easily be remedied by the developers relinquishing control of your position to you.

Graphics are amazing in this game, especially in the replays. You'll see heat waves, weird embossed effects, great animation, and more. Cars take damage, pieces fly off, they lean as they're turning. It's fun to watch the replay even if you did a lousy job. There's lots of cars, even if you set it to light traffic. However, this is offset by the fact that if you crash into a car, it flashes and disappears. Leaving a trail of destruction would be a lot more fun if you were actually able to leave a trail of destruction.

Not much extras on this game except the Yakuza missions, but they are available in the beginning of the game. There are various cars to use, but before you unlock too many cool ones you'll be too PO'ed at this game to care.

Save your money, go buy Halo.