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Nintendo: Wii Previews

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Preview

Okami

Format: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Genre: Unknown

23-Apr-2008 Be excited. Be very excited

32 Comments

There's just no justice in the world, really there isn't. How is it that games that can only really be described as 'licensed tat' spend weeks at the top of the chart and make their publishers lorry loads of cash, while great games fall by the wayside? We wish we knew the answer, if only so we could get in on the money-raking act. But at least in the case of Okami, a game that didn't do nearly as well as it deserved to when it came out on the PS2, Capcom's giving its canine adventure another bite of the cherry... or dog biscuit, as the case may be.

On paper, the underlying concept of Okami doesn't sound like anything new: player roams massive landscape, discovers dungeons that need to be explored and eventually conquered, solves woes of locals by completing quests of the 'side' variety and eventually saves the world from an evil that would otherwise destroy everything.

So far, so pretty much every adventure game that tries to emulate Zelda, right? Maybe, although that's certainly no bad thing in Okami's case - not only does it manage to capture the magic that's eluded every other attempt at copying Nintendo's trademark greatness, but it manages to do it in a way that is captivating, exciting and downright gorgeous all at the same time.

Hungry Like The Wolf
Although it's almost impossible to capture the sheer beauty of Okami in static screens (you really do need to check out the movies in our Video Vault to appreciate that), you can get an idea of the elegant water colour art style that flows throughout the game. The motifs of painting and history carry over into the plot and gameplay; the former because the game is packed full of references to Japanese mythology (almost every character right up to lead heroine/goddess/wolf Amaterasu is part of traditional legend) and the latter thanks to the Celestial Brush that players can use to interact with the world around them.

From cutting through obstacles with single strokes and attacking with electricity by painting lightning bolts, to bringing trees back to life and even making the sun come up by literally drawing one in the sky, there's a wide range of powers for Amaterasu to master. And it's this element of the game that's seen the most improvement for the Wii version because, as you might expect, the Wii Remote makes it infinitely easier to 'draw' the symbols required - it takes the briefest of moments to master each one (not to mention the swing-based combat) but once you've done it, it's perfect.

That Capcom and Ready At Dawn aren't messing with the rest of the game, bar expanding it into 16:9 widescreen, is perhaps the biggest blessing because if we're honest, Okami was already pretty much perfect. The steady pacing of the action keeps you guessing by not becoming a repetitive overworld-dungeon-overworld plod, the story is incredibly well told and the graphics, as we said, are absolutely beautiful. It's proof that original games can also be great games. Now all we need is for the gaming public to realise that and the world will be a much better place.

Tom East

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Posted by Fyxe

I'm easily getting this as soon as possible. I may not get it immediately, so I hardly expect to see this game jump into the charts, but I WILL get this game. I have heard so much rampant adoration for it from those who have played it, and frankly it's beautiful.

It's just a shame that it's clashing a little with the imminent release of Brawl, and the recent release of Mario Kart Wii. People are going to be holding back their cash for those games. I guess it's just a bit of a busy season for games on the Wii, so mustn't complain too much.

Posted by Zabba 2

As many may have heard me say to no end, this is my favourite game of all time. It's near perfection. I have had the PS2 game for about a year, and upon completing this game I was left literally open-mouthed due to how good it was. Never before has a game done that for me.

Please ONM, you need to promote this game to the Wii audience as much as you can, like you did with Zack and Wiki, it'd be a crime if this game went as unoticed as it did during its PS2 lifetime.

and you better dedicate a cover to it! :)

Posted by o32o

I've never played the game before and upon hearing about it would never intend to...However, now that i have both heard about it and seen the screens i have to say, it looks stunning. It's a game that i will almost certainly be purchasing on release, and by the sounds of it, will be playing non-stop till completion.

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