One of the stars of last week's Tokyo Game Show was Yakuza 3, though speculation raged around whether the third outing would make it outside of Japan given the lack of such a release for Yakuza 2. Fears appear to have been allayed today, however, with Sega confirming that Yakuza 2 on PS2 will make it to North America in 2008.

No word on a PAL region release as yet, however.

Yakuza 3, a PS3 exclusive and the first Yakuza game on a next-gen console, is set 400 years in the past, when Feudal dynasties ruled Japan. The nation is peaceful and as a former samurai of some renown you spend your days drinking and womanising - that is until a mysterious girl offers herself in return for your services - before instructing you to kill the man you used to be. What commences will apparently help players understand the roots of the Japanese underworld and the reasons behind the apparent peace.

"With the game changing into a historical drama, a lot of people are thinking that it's going to be a side story or a gaiden (or spin-off) type of release," producer Toshihiro Nagoshi told GameSpot. "But we're not trying to make a type of game that's got a different tone. We're making a completely new title, and in addition to making sure it's got very solid gameplay, we're also working hard on the casting and other various details to make the game surpass the previous releases in the series."

As the third-person adventure progresses you'll be leaving behind your slovenly present in order to become the great warrior you once were, sword fighting in the countryside and grappling hand to hand in the lantern-lit streets of old Kyoto.

No word on whether number three will travel abroad, as yet, but with Sega announcing their plans for Yakuza 2 today, we're hopeful of a second chance for the series in Europe as well as the US.

By Luke Guttridge

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