Gameplay: Okami

Surely, I'm a little late in picking up Okami. Surely most people have ogled Sakuya's bum plenty by now. I got about an hour's worth of time with it last night and walked away with mostly good impressions.

The much hyped artwork definately lives up to the praise. This is stunning work. This is where the cutscene haters can bite me. I love watching Okami's animations and I have no problem waiting for them to get done so that I can play again. Actually, the art presentation in general - from textures to the animation to the sound effects - is exceedingly well done.

I can definately see the comparisons made to Ocarina of Time as well. It has that feel of a rich fantasy world welcoming you to wander around and explore. Sadly, though, it shares some of the "obtuse" nature of the Zelda (as Thomas would put it). A couple of times my wandering in the village was a bit aimless. Nothing provoking any controller throwing behavior, but a mild annoyance all the same.

I'm still debating about the "ink drawing powers" of the game. I love how it fits into design, sure, but I'm not sure it really adds a lot of entertainment value. On paper it sounds great - but in execution it feels like a odd version of connect the dots or the like. Especially in combat - where you can "strike out" baddies - it feels intrusive more than adding depth.

Also, there seems like there might be a lot of character management. I'm already trying to keep track of health, food, ink and ... money? God wolves need money?

All the same, I'm pretty psyched about it. Hopefully I can clock some hours in this week.



tagged: okami, gaming