Shenmue

At the time, Shenmue was without a doubt the most immersive and realistic game ever created - and with a rumoured $70,000,000 budget, it's easy to see why. The game's creator Yu Suzuki coined the term "Free Reactive Eyes Entertainment", or FREE, to describe his venture into a previously-uncharted depth of interactivity and detail in a game world.

Following the story of Ryo Hazuki's quest for revenge against the man who killed his father, Shenmue takes the player to a quiet suburb of Yokosuka, Japan in the late 1980s, where you must track down the mysterious martial artist Lan Di, and avenge your father's death.

''He shall appear from a far Eastern land across the sea.

''A young man who has yet to know his potential.

''This potential is a power that can either destroy him, or realize his will.

''His courage shall determine his fate.

''The path he must traverse, fraught with adversity.

''I await whilst praying, for this destiny predetermined since ancient times...

''A pitch-black night unfolds with the morning as its only light. And thus, the saga, begins...''

Characters &raquo;