PLAYTHINGS TOO

The Fast and The Furious [Namco Bandai Games] PS2, PSP
No, Vin Diesel is not in this game. Nor are the digitized talents of Ja Rule, Tyrese, Bow Wow or that white dude who bagged Eva Mendes at the end of 2 Fast 2 Furious. So what makes this gaming adaptation so appealing? The fact that you get to rip the Tokyo pavement in up to 100 licensed cars, and do everything a racing fiend dreams of—namely, challenge cornballs to duels, hone your drifting skills on the highways of Tokyo and put more money in your fleet of whips than Vivica A. Fox put in the top half of her body. Apparently, spare parts are hard to come by these days.

Yakuza [Sega] PS2
With all due respect to those who specialize in placing decapitated horse heads in other people's beds, the Japanese Mafia strikes more fear in the streets than looters during an NYC blackout. Roam the seedy (yet stylish) underworld as Kazuma, the hardened soldier who comes home from a 10-year bid, and gets thrown back into the same mess that got him locked up. Thanks to the talented mind and vivid imagination of acclaimed Japanese novelist Hase Seishu, you'll get a taste of the gritty Far East that you never found on those Saturday-afternoon kung-fu movies on channel 5

Saints Row [THQ] Xbox 360
Okay, we're just as tired of GTA-style sims as you are of that awful motorcycle dance. But as much as we complain, we can't resist licking shots from a drop-top lowrider. Your objective in THQ's certified gangster joyride is basic: gain respect and paper as your gang attempts to run the fictional concrete jungle known as Saints Row. Thankfully, the 360's powerful engine catches every little detail—down to the bullet holes you leave in beat-up jalopies—to add realism.

Continue reading this story in the October ‘06 issue of KING (#36)