![]() In one particular trial this was infuriating, and I could feel the same veins in my temple throbbing that last had a workout in Ninja Gaiden II. I’d try the quick, straight stroke that brings on Ameratsu’s power slash attack, and fail just about every time. I froze the action, tried to trace the perfect shape, and nothing happened. For the first ninety minutes or so of play I spent a lot of time wondering what I was doing wrong. The celestrial brush, however, is nearly, very nearly, a game breaker. Even later on, in the midst of a fraught boss battle, you’ll find yourself wishing for something as simple and direct as just pressing X. Jerking the remote to get the standard attack isn’t just tiring you have to keep your jerks to a certain rhythm, and this might take you an hour or so to get used to. Unfortunately, the reworked Wii controls bring to mind the phrase that begins ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Moving Ameratsu around is not a problem, but the basic dash and bite combat moves have now been moved from a simple button press to a shake of the remote, while the celestial brush controls aren’t quite as sensibly implemented as we might have hoped for. Anyone who suffered through the drawn-out intro of the original will know what a boon this is. It’s also worth noting that – finally – you can skip whole sections of cut-scene and dialogue at a press of a button. ![]() Curiously, the paper effect in the background of the original appears to have been toned down, but that’s a small price to pay for such dizzying imagery (even if it’s a bit weird when, in cut-scene videos clearly ripped wholesale from the PS2 version, the full effect makes a sudden reappearance). Now running in Widescreen at a full 480p, the lines seem clearer and the colours more vibrant than ever, making the illusion of a moving painting even more breathtaking than ever. For a start, this is an even more attractive Okami than the original PS2 version. Clearly, the ability to draw with the remote is a biggie, but Ready at Dawn has gone beyond that. ![]() In other words, drawing is a huge part of the game.Ĭonsidering it’s a company best known for taking PS2 properties and making them work on the PSP, Ready at Dawn has done a mostly fantastic job of making Okami work on Wii, sticking tightly to the look and feel of the original, but also fulfilling a wish list of features that most Okami fans would love to see. You’ll only have a couple of these skills in your repertoire to begin with, but the more the game progresses, the more will be added. At any time you can effectively pause the action and draw specific lines or shapes upon the still image, and these lines and shapes will have the power to slash enemies in half, repair broken watermills, create bombs, summon lily pads or call handy elastic vines into being. While Ameratsu has the sort of powers you might expect from a wolf – a decent running speed, some heroic leaps and a nasty set of jaws – he also has the power to wield the aforementioned art tool. Not only is Okami’s bold visual style based on the brushwork of classical Japanese scroll paintings, but the main tool you’ll be using is what the game calls ‘the celestial brush.’ You play the sun god, Ameratsu, incarnate in the form of a sleek white wolf, and on the trail of a malevolent uberdemon known as Orochi. Why? Because this is the game where the brush is mightier than the sword, and being quick on the draw has nothing to do with gunplay. After all, isn’t it a perfect fit for the Nintendo machine? Luckily, its release on Wii gives the UK buying public a chance to put things right. Arriving late in the lifespan of the PlayStation 2, this gorgeous, heavily stylised and brilliant action adventure was one of the few games worthy of comparison to an Ico or a Zelda, making the fact that it sold a fraction of the amount that the Simpsons Game or WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 did mildly depressing. If there were any justice in the world, Okami would have been one of the biggest hits of 2007.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |