For this review I will be going over the game "Okami". It was released originally for the PS2, but was later released for the Wii as well. In short, you are the god of the sun, Ameterasu, with the power of the Celestial Brush. You go around the game world - not totally sure where exactly it takes place other than some random place in Japan(of course) - and you have to use the powers given to you by other gods that you rescue for the Celestial Brush to destroy the demon that is trying to destroy the world. Simple, right? Well, as I said earlier, that's the short version. The long version is a lot more complicated and does the game justice.
The game starts with a bit of backstory. Shiranui, a white wolf, and a swordsman named Nagi are locked in an epic battle with Orochi, a demon who is trying to destroy/take over the world, like they always are trying to do but never seem to get that they never will be able to. You work with this little... thing... named Issun, who is an artist. He acts much like the Navi character from the Legend of Zelda games, being all annoying all over your screen. You get this disk on your back that breaks shit and you're told by the guardian of Kamiki Village to go save the world. Wonderful.
So you're off, time to save the world. But wait, you have more help than an annoying tiny artist and a dinner plate on your back. Yes, you are given the tool known as the Celestial Brush; the painting tool of the Japanese gods. You're taught the restoration brush technique and kicked out of the wonderful world of... the tree. So you go about restoring the world and things and fighting off evil with your dinner plate. Every time you beat a big boss, you get a new brush technique. A pretty solid game for all concerned.
But going a bit deeper into it, this entire concept of the Celestial Brush is amazingly intuitive. When you use it, the screen turns into a canvas and you paint the power you want to be invoked, aiding you in ways you wish you could have done in other games that aren't as ass-kicking as this one. You can slice up your enemies, summon a bomb on command, and bring about the sunrise and sunset on command to assist with puzzles or quests that are totally necessary to your big mission. The people you meet aren't totally unlikeable, and your ally is the normal drunk swordsman who thinks he can beat everything but really can't beat anything and carries around a giant wooden sword and thinks that it is some legendary blade... well I guess that isn't really the "normal." But either way, he's annoying and usually drunk and a credit hog. But whatever, you deal with him because the game is worth it.
This isn't the kind of game that has a fantastic storyline, despite it being fairly involving and overall pretty awesome, and it doesn't have the most horrifyingly awesome gameplay. It is simply immersive. The plot is convoluted enough to keep you guessing, and the puzzles and battles are intense enough to keep you hooked, but you simply can't stop playing it. There's such a great blend of story and gameplay and intuitiveness that it just blows away most of the mainstream games.
I give Okami this praise because it's not afraid to show it's true colors right away in the game. It doesn't try to lure you into thinking that it's action and then throw puzzles at you left and right while you're busy trying to fight off hordes of demons. It doesn't pretend to be scary when in reality it couldn't scare a two month old gerbil. It gets right up in your face and says "You have to kill things, then solve puzzles. You need to go on quests, and do whatever the hell you want to get them done, within reason. Have at it." I also give it the recommendation it deserves because it's actually got some creativity poured into it. It isn't like any other game that I've come across, and that's saying something.
>Ryft
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