As I watched the RealVideo feed of Shenmue Saturday night, I couldn't help but be absolutely amazed. Everything about this game seemed perfect... flawless. From what I saw there were no bad features to this game.

At first most everyone who viewed the conference thought that what we were seeing was some sort of FMV, but as the camera zoomed in closer everyone was stunned to find that this was in fact being rendered in real-time by the Dreamcast. There were no polygon seams or tearing in view, and every last detail... right down to each snowflake, looked amazing. If anyone complains about this game's graphics you have my permission to slap them and then send 'em my way... only a labotomy could be the cause of such ignorance.

The music was also some of the best ever heard. This was even better than what we've heard from Square... it really is that good. If someone were to offer a soundtrack to this game I would certainly be in line to purchase it.

You can interact with every character throughout the game, all 500+ of them. They move about the towns, walking, talking, and conveying their feelings through body language... and all of it is amazingly realistic. I would be willing to go on record right now and say that this game will amaze you, it will draw you in to a world so realistic you may mistake it for a real one, and it will be one of the most ingenius games you have ever played.

On a side note, remember those first images we saw of the girl in the orange dress? The ones everyone assumed were FMV? Well... as I guessed even back then, they are real-time. Shenmue contains absolutely no FMV because it doesn't need it, we have now approached a time when consoles can render in real-time things so beautiful there is no need for FMV. Prepare yourselves to be stunned this Spring.