@allodude: Isn't he supposed to be avenging the death of his father? Seems like this game could have used a totally different set-up for what it wants to do. Although I guess it is more realistic that a teenager is going to get nowhere to find a murderer if he does everything but call the police.
Agreed. I think Shenmue does a lot of admirable things, but its main problem (and the reason I don't blame the guys at all for the way they're playing it) is that its story and many of its characterizations are totally at odds with the goals of its design. For example, the first time the guys attempted to interact with a piece of world-building minutiae (trying to use the phone in Ryo's home), Ryo says "fuck that, gotta avenge Dad," flatly denying them the opportunity to interface with the game's ostensible strength. That kind of dead-ending happens all the time in this game - random passerby tell Ryo to fuck off, Ryo tells people who invite him to interact with them to fuck off (e.g. capsule machine kid), and most conversations with NPCs who actually give him the time of day are Ryo simply asking about the next plot objective and the NPC either pointing him somewhere else or not.
I like the game, but I can't fault anyone for not appreciating Shenmue's worldbuilding when the game mostly only communicates an interest in railroading the player through a mediocre revenge drama.
This is maybe my favorite location released so far. It's honestly packed with interesting stuff to do - it's just that the opportunities are much more reliant on intel-gathering and multiple steps of set-up involving specific NPCs at specific points in their routes, so tapping instinct and looking for the highlighted murder toy can yield an impression of emptiness.
I'm smiling just imagining how Brad and Dan would've reacted had they found and completed the exterminator opportunity!
Fantastic video, all of the HitDan videos this year have been super entertaining. In my mind, the ultimate culmination of all this Hitman content is Brad and Dan squaring off as a team against Dave Lang in a blind run of the game's final story mission, arbitrated by the in-game scoring system.
Brad is easily my favorite quick look pilot. When he's at the wheel, the people who just cannot handle themselves start pouring out of the woodwork, and it's hilarious. They're like trembling little rage chihuahuas.
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