Yakuza is recommendable to anyone for a story, but is lacking in gameplay.
Set in a crime-ridden city in Japan, you play as Kazuma, a Yakuza with a vengeance. Seems like a simple plot, right? Wrong. The only game that I have played in all my years of gaming with a better story then Yakuza has been Metal Gear Solid 2. If story is important to you, you can't go wrong with this game. It's impossible to imagine anything that happens in the story could happen in the real Yakuza, but yet it really doesn't matter. If you like realism in gaming, get out. Seriously, go. This game won't do it for you if you like realism. Parts of the amazing story include the bombing of a construction site, a major battle on a harbor, a drive-by gunfight, and, as any good video game requires, a very James Bond-like funeral break-in.
As far as the gameplay goes... er, well, it's a bit lacking. As incredible as the story is, the gameplay is repetitive, and does get boring after a while. If you're a guy who would rather play a game without story, go play another multiplayer round of Halo. But the need you get to advance the story grows on you. The fighting never stops, and there are enough fighting moves to keep you occupied for, eh, a while.
The voice acting is also very well done. Kazuma's voice actor does a very good job of fitting the role, and so does basically everyone else. The only annoying aspect of the voice acting is the little girl Haruka. She's not "bad," but she's stereotypically annoying. Just once, I'd like to see a little girl who isn't whining the entire game. The characters are very nicely done, and the American voice actors surprisingly fit the Japanese faces.
Graphically, Yakuza is simple, yet still good. The graphics aren't Metal Gear Solid 3 quality, but they're not horrible. The textures are blurry, and the frame-rate does occasionally drop.
Yakuza is recommendable to anybody who enjoys strong story, and allows the gameplay to take a back seat for once.