Yakuza zombie infection spreads West in March

Japanese gamers have already had to deal with Tokyo's zombie-infestation problems in Yakuza: Of The End, and now Western gamers will get a chance with Sega announcing it will bring the game to the West as Yakuza: Dead Souls in March 2012.

The Western release won't be a straight port of its Japanese counterpart. Beyond the original campaign from the Japanese version, Sega is bringing over all of the Japanese game's downloadable content and adding an all-new Pachislot minigame.

The Yakuza franchise has traditionally kept its foot firmly planted in the realm of reality, but Dead Souls is set to change all of that. Series regular, Kazuma Kiryu, is joined by three new playable characters as he faces hordes of undead, mutants, and the ever-present seedy Japanese underworld in the streets of Tokyo's red light district.

Another first for the franchise comes in the newly expanded combat system. Players will still be throwing punches and kicks in classic fashion, but guns play a much bigger role in zombie-filled Tokyo. Sega touts the inclusion of pistols, machine guns, and rocket launchers, which it teases could be handy in case something "even more terrifying than the zombies" happens to show up.

For more on Yakuza: Dead Souls, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.