Wed, Sep 15, 2010 | 07:43 BST
What a twist! Yakuza: Of The End is – no joke – a zombie shooter
It’s not April. Our little totem thing isn’t spinning for eternity, so we’re not dreaming. We still don’t understand the appeal of Glenn Beck, so we’re not insane.
Yep. This is happening.
According to the latest issue of Famitsu, people who took one look at Yakuza: Of The End and thought, “Oh great, another one” might want to reconsider. Well, unless those same people caught a glimpse of Dead Rising 2 and gave it the cold shoulder as well.
This time around, Kazuma and co. are burying the hatchet with each other so they can re-bury an entire zombie apocalypse. For whatever reason, Kamurocho’s been overrun by an undead army, and the Japanese Self Defense Force has managed to quickly fail at that whole defending itself thing. So, of course, the Yakuza’s stepping in to save the day and reassert its dominance.
This is either really silly, or the ballsiest social commentary ever attempted by a videogame. We honestly can’t decide which.
Anyway, you’ll be able to choose from a number of Yakuza characters both past and present, and they’ll wield customizable firearms – including a literal fire arm. As in, there’s a shot of someone with a gun for an arm.
Apparently, Toshihiro Nagoshi told Famitsu that Of The End won’t be the end of the series – unless it sells badly, in which case, it might. But who doesn’t want to see the Yakuza throw down with an undead legion? With this one game, Sega just made the Syfy TV network obsolete. Yakuza vs. Zombies? Sorry, Mega Shark and Giant Octopus. Your services will no longer be needed.
Thanks, Siliconera.
14 comments
#1
manamana
15/09/10, 7:16 am
Not really on-topic but Famitsu gave Yakuza on the PSP a stunning: 9/9/9/9 more than Reach btw…
#2
Gekidami
15/09/10, 7:24 am
Zombie shooter? Wait, what?!
Are we sure this isnt just a bonus mode?
#3
Freek
15/09/10, 7:45 am
Isn’t Yakazu a verry seriouse narative driven crime game series, with some beat em up bits inbetween?
#4
Lord Gremlin
15/09/10, 7:54 am
A twist? I’ve predicted it on official forum a week ago.
#5
kasasensei
15/09/10, 9:30 am
How to kill your best licence.
#6
Blerk
15/09/10, 9:39 am
What the fuck? What a complete disaster! :-O
#7
StolenGlory
15/09/10, 9:57 am
This had *better* be a fucking bonus mode or something.
If not, this at least has to be a spin-off ala Kenzan.
And if it’s not any of the above, the Yakuza series stops for me at four.
#8
StolenGlory
15/09/10, 9:59 am
@1 Of course it scored higher than Reach; the Japanese don’t like FPS’s like us Westerners do AND Yakuza PSP contains two things that are way more relevant to them:
The Yakuza culture and the PSP.
#9
AHA-Lambda
15/09/10, 10:18 am
wow i would never have guessed something this retarded in so many years
then again…sega
no but srsly WTF!?!? O______________o
#10
Lord Gremlin
15/09/10, 10:26 am
@1 Reach is not a very good game, really. It’s your average shooter. Japan lacks bias towards Microsoft products I suppose.
#11
CptKurk
15/09/10, 11:21 am
Zombies are the new Nazis. Well, not that new anymore. What next? I suppose aliens would be safe, at least until we encounter ET and the UN grants him human rights. The hunt for politically neutral bad guys for videogames never stops, does it.
#12
Crysis
15/09/10, 12:39 pm
Wait, everyone hates this idea without knowing anything other than japenese gangstas shooting zombies, atleast wait til you have seen some gameplay!
#13
AHA-Lambda
15/09/10, 12:41 pm
@12 – people hate the NT/DMC 5 news and its not even official yet!
#14
b163oi
16/09/10, 6:38 pm
Guess what? You’ve been Zapped!!!!! Man this is reality show. Now where the hell is Dave Chappelle?