Not only did it revive the tired FPS genre, and transform Call of Duty from ok shooter into OMG shooter, it set a benchmark for multiplayer gaming and provided an incredible, 8 hour rollercoaster of a story that few have matched since.
Whatever you think of COD's current state, there's no denying that Modern Warfare was a watershed moment for games. Yakuza 5 is an exuberant abundance of gritty crime drama and abject silliness, and while it may not be the best place to hop in for newcomers, it's got more than enough goodies inside to entertain anyone. It's got baseball minigames, ramen cooking minigames, stand-up comedy minigames, an arcade with damn-near full versions of Virtua Fighter 2 and Taiko Drum Master, and so much more - and all of these pursuits are fun in their own unique ways. It's also a taxi driving sim a hunting game and a Japanese pop idol sim (complete with dance battles!).
At its heart, Yakuza 5 is a deeply serious story of the Japanese criminal underworld, of evil men doing bad things and righteous men ripping their shirts off in one swift motion to stop them in hand-to-hand combat. Lots of games talk about how big they are, but few offer a wealth of wildly entertaining and bizarre things to do like the Yakuza games.
