E3 2019: Experience The Other Side Of The Law In ‘Judgment’
Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio has taken us through the ins and outs of Japan’s criminal underground for years with the Yakuza series. But seven games, a few remakes and a zombie spinoff was what it finally took for the team to step away from a life of crime and approach things from a different perspective. During the E3 demo of Judgment, it was clear that this was still a Yakuza game at its core. Yet, now in the shoes of a detective fighting a city wide criminal conspiracy, we got to test our investigative chops in between the giant brawls.
As Takayuki Yagami, a private eye in the familiar town of Kamurocho, the detective employs two fighting styles that he can switch to on the fly when facing off against Tokyo’s underbelly. Using the Tiger Style for one-on-one encounters and the Crane Style to keep mobs at bay, anyone who’s played a recent game from the studio will feel right at home. Using various punch and kick combos to beat down waves of thugs feels as satisfying as ever with the over-the-top combat animations. This is all while filling up your tension meter leads to some brutal close-up attacks that will hurt your jaw from watching them. As if bringing 2D brawlers of old back in a 3D environment, almost anything can be picked up and used as a weapon when your martial arts aren’t getting the job done. Even if this is your first time playing a game like this, it’s easy enough to pick up and play.
Judgment felt familiar up to this point, but it wasn’t until the combat stopped and Yagami had to put his detective skills to work that it began to stand out on its own. Using a composite sketch to pick a suspect out of a crowd, the detective will have to compare facial features to pick out his perp. Once found, it was time to tail him to get deeper into his operation. Typical of many follow mission found in other open world games, Yagami then had to stay close enough to the target without being spotted until their destination was reached. Using signs, walls and even idling by on your cell phone as cover help Yagami stay inconspicuous as the nervous criminal constantly scans his environment before moving on. Once the end of the line was reached, the private eye was confronted with an even bigger threat… Which will have to be confronted in the full version of the game!
Promising a variety of side missions, mini-games and some odd uses of a drone, Judgment is looking to scratch that itch Yakuza fans have been left with in a new way. With the full game right around the corner, it won’t be long until we can dive back into this fictionalized version of Japan. We’ll be taking down criminals and answering strange requests all over again come June 25.
