Dragon Ball Z fans, prepare to eat your heart out. Yusuke and crew over at the Yu Yu Hakusho camp are about to show fans everywhere how an anime game is done. Later this month, Atari will unleash Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament and from what we've played of the game, it's definitely going to make fans build up their spirit energy with joy.

Right off the bat, it's very apparent that Dark Tournament will appeal to just about any fan of the Cartoon Network series. The story mode follows the anime almost exactly. Players will have to complete several missions to progress through story mode and unlock hidden characters. Each mission goes along with an event that happens in the anime, and players will even be treated to footage taken directly from the show between each mission.

As the name of the game would suggest, everything takes place during the Dark Tournament saga. We started off story mode with Toguro forcing us to participate in the tournament. Fans of the anime will know that Toguro and Yusuke have a small battle when Toguro invites him to the tournament. This same fight takes place in the game, as players take control of Yusuke, and must defeat Toguro to continue on to the next mission. From here you'll see a cut scene of Genkai training Yusuke, then you'll have to take control of Yusuke again and do some training with Genkai. You'll continue on like this all the way through story mode.

This is easily one of the most faithful anime-based games we've seen in quite some time, and it doesn't end with the story mode. Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament packs over 25 different characters from the anime, so just about anyone you'd want in the game has likely been included. Almost the entire cast of good and bad characters from the Dark Tournament saga is here and playable once you unlock them. We've seen Yusuke, Masked Fighter, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, Younger Toguro, Jin, Karasu, Rinku, Suzuka, Touya, and Elder Toguro, just to name a few.

The fighting aspects of Dark Tournament also remain faithful to the fights in the anime. Each character will be able to pull off all of their signature special attacks, and from what we've played, they all look very similar to their anime counterparts. Kuwabara can fight with or without his spirit sword, and every sword technique he had available to him in the Dark Tournament saga is available in the game. But you won't be able to use them whenever you want. Each character has a meter under their life bar that measures their spirit energy. The meter will build as you attack your opponent, but you'll lose spirit energy as you use your special techniques.

Every character also has several combo attacks available to them that will become a vital part of the battle. You'll need to use these combo attacks to build up your spirit energy and unleash your spirit attacks. Each character has different combos and special attacks, so you'll have a different playing experience depending on which of the 25+ characters you select.

There are also eight stages you can fight in, and each has a ring out. You'll need to be careful as you fight to insure you don't lose due to ring out. As you blast people into the ground and dodge incoming attacks, the stage will show damage. Just like in the anime, when fighting in the Dark Tournament, you'll be asked not to hit spectators as you battle.

If all of this weren't enough, there's even a token game that should add a bit a replay value to the title. While the game will be fairly easy to learn, it shows signs of depth in terms of the strategies you can use against your opponent. As you progress through the game, you'll earn tokens. These tokens can then be used in the token game. Each token will have a set number value to it, and you'll have to fight using these number values. It's very similar to most of the collectible card games that have been extremely popular lately.

From what we've played of Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament, there's very little doubt in our minds that fans of the anime will be more than pleased. It is easily one of the most faithful anime games to date. And while the fighting engine can't compare to real fighting games like Tekken or Virtua Fighter, it should be more than enough to make casual gamers very happy. We'll have a full review of Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament when it ships later this month.