Parliament Of Serbia in Belgrade – Half-Life 2

City 17’s European-inspired architecture and aesthetics are fairly easy to recognize, though the Overwatch Nexus is perhaps the closest to being based on an actual building. As the main building for the Overwatch forces, the Nexus was formerly a political building before the Combine invaded. It turns out that it’s actually inspired by the Parliament of Serbia in Belgrade. The similarities between the two buildings, from their general structure to the opening archway are noteworthy, though the signature dome isn’t as defined on the Nexus. Though it’s not outright confirmed in-game, browsing through the texture files reveals the word “parliament” which further hints at the inspiration.

Characters Modeled After Real Actors

Getting the likenesses right for a group of bad-asses like the Yakuza cast isn’t easy. However, it’s interesting to note how many of the characters are modeled after and voiced by well-known Japanese actors. Takeshi Kitano, for instance, serves as the template and voice for Toru in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Meanwhile, Riki Takeuchi lends his face and voice to Daiki Awano in Yakuza 0.

Grand Theft Auto 3

The open world genre still existed before Grand Theft Auto 3 but when it came along, Rockstar’s magnum opus caused a quantum shift. Never before had we seen a fully 3D open world like this with such nuance, whether it’s hijacking ambulances and moonlighting as a driver or engaging in wars with the police. Grand Theft Auto 3 spawned numerous clones but very few came close to matching its brilliance at the time.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the upcoming remake of the original Yakuza 2 from 2006. The game is set to release in Japan  in December and Sega has just made a demo of the game available  on the Japanese PlayStation Store. So if you’re impatient to try the game out, you can check it out here.

The demo’s download size is 9.89 GB and of course, it will be fully in Japanese. In the demo ,you can play some of the story elements of the game, but your save file cannot be carried over to the full version. If you are based outside of Japan and you want to download the demo, you will need a Japanese PlayStation Network account.

The game is set to release in Japan for the PS4 on December 7th, 2017. As of now, there’s no news regarding a Western release date. For the first Yakuza Kiwami, it took about 19 months before we’d finally gotten a worldwide release of the game, so we might be waiting a while.

It sounds like the remake of Yakuza for the PlayStation 4, Yakuza Kiwami, has done well for Sega- well enough, at any rate, that it seems like the company is now open to PS4 remakes of the other games in the crime drama series.

During a livestream earlier this week (via DualShockers), Producer Toshihiro Nagoshi mentioned that Yakuza: Kiwami had done exceedingly well since its release, selling half a million in Japan and Asian countries alone, and that that had prompted Sega to consider remakes of the other Yakuza games for the PS4- these would include Yakuza 2, 3, 4, and 5.

While this does not count as an official announcement, it is clear that Sega is exploring the idea to the extent that they feel comfortable enough floating it in public. Hopefully, remakes for further games in the series are announced soon. Meanwhile, Yakuza fans in the west can either pick up Yakuza 5 for the PS3 (free this month if you are a subscriber of PS+!) or wait for the release of Yakuza 0 on the PS4.

Sega has released new screenshots for their upcoming Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2 HD titles for the Wii U.

Check them out down below:

This is the first time ever in the franchise’s history that the franchise leaves its original exclusive platform which was always on Sony PlayStation way back in the day. Wii U will be getting the treat of the first two Yakuza titles in full HD later this year. Those who never got a chance to play Yakuza games on any other platforms can now give it a shot if they own a Wii U..

Sega has been giving quite decent support for the Nintendo’s new console. First the announcement of three new Sonic games that will be exclusively on the Wii U and now a franchise that has never been on another platform other than the PlayStation brand.

Let us know if you’re excited to play Yakuza on your Wii U in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBolt for more news and updates.

Nintendo announced Yakuza 1 & 2 HD via Nintendo Direct last week. This is a port of the PlayStation 3 version that will be coming out for the Wii U in Japan on August 8th.

Here are some screenshots from the Wii U version of Yakuza 1 & 2 HD:

Originally, Yakuza 1 and 2 were PlayStation 2 exclusives, then later on Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 started to come out for PlayStation 3 over a period of time. Then a HD re-release of the first two titles came out for PlayStation 3 in 2012.

This will be the first time in the series history where the franchise is appearing on a non-Sony platform. This unique Wii U edition will support GamePad features such as off-screen play and touch screen map.

It is unconfirmed if there will be a Western release of Yakuza 1 & 2 for the Wii U at this moment.

Let us know what you think of this announcement in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBot for more updates.