Shenmue Remains a Cult Classic and a Cautionary Tale
(N4G Xbox)

In Shenmue, you`re not so much playing a game as living out someone else`s life in the tiny town of Yokosuka. It has a day and night cycle, seasons, and weather. It`s one of the first open world games to feature NPCs with defined routines. When it was finally released in 2000, it was unlike anything that had appeared on a console to that point.