In all my years of gaming I have yet to come across a more unique and satisfying feeling that Shenmue provides. It is something hard to truly comprehend in words. This title by Yu Suzuki has brought forth a level of immersion gaming has yet to experience; Yes, for a title released back in 1999 it was certainly ahead of its time. The primary reason for the mixed review scores this title received was mostly due to the nature of this title, the slow pacing of the story and the uncertainty of what they thought they would get out of this experience.
The Essential Perspective 