it's basically like shenmue on a fvckton of steroids, and with really good combat and a cool gangster soap opera story. you know the sleeping dogs thing where you do insanely brutal finishing actions to guys? they took that idea from this series, which has even more of those.

and this seems like the best one in the series so far. it's on a different engine from 3 and 4, and the transitions from walking around to combat sequences are practically instant, and you can fight huge amounts of guys, and it looks really cool.

you don't need to have played any of the previous games, since they all have recap videos included.

minigames include:

Taiko no Tatsujin (Taiko Drum Master)
Virtua Fighter 2
Snowball Fight
Chicken racing
Stand up comedy
Ramen Cooking
Air hockey
Karaoke
Fishing
Baseball
Darts
Pool
Bowling
Fishing
UFO Catcher
Slot Machine
Pachinko
Virtua Fighter Pachinko
Mahjong
Shogi
Roulette
Blackjack
Poker
Baccarat
Cho-han
Dice
Hanafuda
Oichi Kabu
Fighting Arena
IF8R Virtual Arena
Golf Range
Purikura (Photo Booth)
Boxcelios
Hot springs
also taxi races and taxi driving, dance battles, and bear hunting, and probably even more, since this list doesn't mention the stuff involving host/hostess bars.

it has 5 main characters and takes place in sections of 5 different real cities in japan, which are insanely detailed and immersive.

it's coming to psn for ps3 next summer :3