If there's a constant in organised crime, it's that there'll always be people that just need beating up.

After the side story, Kenzan, Yakuza is returning to the character of Kazuma Kiryu for the third game proper. Some of Yakuza 3 is iterative – improved visuals, Japanese celebrity talent on voiceover duty, more real-world brands inserted into its virtual Japan – but the concept has always begged for a little more horsepower to be fully realised, and this is its opportunity.

The story starts in Okinawa, where Kazuma and the young orphan Haruka find refuge after the tangled fallout from Yakuza 2. Soon, however, they head to the mainland and Tokyo. Here Yakuza begins to impress, seamlessly streaming its environment and moving smoothly into combat – a gang shouts insults or challenges Kazuma, and people begin to take cover or distance themselves from the impending conflict.

This quickly creates a natural ring in which Kazuma demonstrates he's lost none of his flair with tire-irons, broken bottles and fire hydrants. One innovative addition is Kazuma's ability to learn new moves by watching them being performed – this is accomplished by using his mobile phone to capture the moment, in a currently rather comical cutscene.

The biggest change, though, is that Yakuza 3 has a more mature tone than its predecessors. In combat, blood spills from your enemies' wounds, and several of Kazuma's moves are efficient and often nothing short of vicious. There's also a political undertone in its inclusion of real-world issues like the ongoing local opposition to the American army presence in Okinawa.

The main quest aside, however, Yakuza 3's side streets and shiny distractions look likely to remain the real draw, and where a lot of processing power is being directed. As well as the shops, bars and clubs familiar from previous instalments, a smattering of arcade minigames (that will likely become a flood) and even a civilised game of golf suggest the designers will be putting Kazuma's best foot forward. The golf course, incidentally, is an actual location in Okinawa rather than a menu option in an arcade.

Yakuza 2 may have been excellent, but its belated arrival on western shores undoubtedly did the series a disservice. It also made its host hardware creak at times in producing its beautiful, stylish locations, and left you thinking about how much difference a bit more technical grunt could have made to the details. Several years in the making, and with the dry run of Yakuza Kenzan in the bank, Yakuza 3 could make you an offer you can't refuse.