Okami

The humble adventure game has got to be my all time favourite videogame genre. The original Legend of Zelda game was the reason that I’m a gamer now, and every now and again, an adventure of that calibre puts the life of gamers on hold the world over. The Ocarina of Time, Fable and ICO are great examples of such epic games that will be amongst many gamers' most precious gaming memories. Well, expect to add one more title to that list, as Okami is out in New Zealand on the 16th!

Sure, there are a few elements that sound pretty similar to Twilight Princess, a game any self respecting adventure fan will have played through recently. You play as a wolf who restores light to a world corrupted by demons. Don’t worry though, Okami has more than enough innovations and fresh ideas to keep any hero happy, even if they have recently been on a Zelda binge.

You play as the goddess Amaterasu, who has taken the form of a white wolf. As well as exploring the landscape, destroying demon shrines and restoring life to the world once again, you will also have to help NPCs and free animals. In doing so you will earn praise, which admittedly sounds a bit camp, but fortunately this can be turned into very real rewards, such as a longer life bar and a bigger wallet. As well as having all your standard teeth and claw melee attacks, you are also armed with a paintbrush (you heard me!) which can be used to solve many puzzles, as well as combating enemies. The paintbrush can be used for such things as inking the sun into the sky and drawing in missing parts of a bridge. Much of the game revolves around this concept, so expect some interesting puzzles to be thrown your way.

Cell shading has very much been the topic of conversation this generation. The technique, when employed well, looks absolutely fantastic. In Wind Waker the effect was used to really bring the world of The Legend Of Zelda to life with some vivid colours and off the wall character design. Okami looks just as beautiful but with the artwork taking a more traditional Japanese approach. The map destinations and enemies all vary a lot from place to place - and with little details like grass growing in your footsteps when running, the game always looks fantastic, and you’ll completely forget you’re playing on ageing hardware. You will always get a few ‘haters’ though who only play ‘adult’ (see: realistic looking) games. *sigh*

Okami has been receiving rave reviews overseas already and the crew here at NZGamer simply can’t wait to get our dirty little paws on the game. It might be stating the obvious, but if you are even remotely interested in having an epic virtual adventure anytime soon, then Okami should be on the top of your priority list.