Okami – E3`05 Impressions Preview

Last month at E3, TVG sampled Capcomâ??s forthcoming title, Okami, which is set for release on PlayStation 2 early in 2006. Although we had previously managed to take a first look at the game back in 2004, it was at E3 that we finally got our hands on a controller and experienced part of the adventure. Following the Japanese sun-goddess Amaterasu as she returns to the world in the form of a white wolf (Okami is Japanese for â??Wolfâ??) to battle the eight headed Orochi and return colour to the wasteland that the world has become, Okami uses Japanese mythology as a solid foundation for the adventures of the goddess, although a knowledge of Shinto mythologies thankfully are not a pre-requisite for enjoying the game.

Having already produced the Viewtiful Joe franchise for their parent company, it may not be much of a surprise to learn that Okami is the brainchild of Clover Studios. Although the game is essentially a 3D adventure title, Clover have woven their own creativity into the game with a range of gameplay features that make Okami standout from the crowd. Two elements in particular make Okami do just that, and they were both evident in the work-in-progress demo played at E3: the graphical style that leans heavily towards traditional Japanese art, and the use of a calligraphic pen (the â??Celestial Brushâ??) as a multi-use tool.

Despite it being a cell-shaded title, Okami is still very much textured, with the game looking as if itâ??s been drawn on Washi (Japanese paper) enabling players to actually see the â??grainâ?? of the background material itself. The cell-shaded visuals are far more subtle in Okami than Capcomâ??s Killer 7 with most of the game seemingly painted in light watercolours therefore allowing gamers to see right through the models right through to the Washi behind. Although it may seem a superficial decision to have made, the choice to stylise the game in such a way creatively converges the origins of the game, the sound of the game, and the actual gameplay, into a neat package. Orochiâ??s grip on the world has left it desaturated of colour, which leaves the gameworld feeling lifeless and weak. One of the abilities that gamers have when controlling Amaterasu is to return this lost colour back to the world, which can be accomplished just as easily as running over the land - itâ??s quite a sight to see the trails of flowers and growth follow in the wolfâ??s wake showing the return of life to the gameworld, and reinforces the distinctive visual style taken by the developers.

Aside from the cast of characters, the mythological references in Okami also extend to objects as Amaterasu carries one of the three Imperial treasures of Japan, the Yata mirror, on her back. The object, which now forms part of Japanese Imperial regalia, is used in the game during combat and gives the player various special abilities. During the E3 demo however the Yata didnâ??t feature in the actual gameplay and instead the â??Celestial Brushâ?? took centre stage of combat and puzzle solving. Complimenting and boosting the â??living paintâ?? effect of the game, the implementation of the Celestial Brush as the primary instrument of choice creates a unique gameplay element to Okami, and one that, from the demo at least, has been cleverly integrated into the game. Holding down a button on the controller pauses the game and transforms it into a virtual piece of 2D Washi, draining the colour from the screen and allowing gamers to literally â??paintâ?? the solution to the problem they face ahead â?“ be that a wooden portcullis, a mystical enemy, or even a gap between two cliffs. Some of the thirteen calligraphic techniques require more skill than others (such as outlining constellations), but the idea certainly conveys the notion that a story is being revealed on paper before the player.

The demo at E3 also gave a quick taste of the combat systems involved in Okami, and whilst the white wolf does claw and bite attacks, the Celestial Brush is used to finish enemies off â?“ after theyâ??ve taken the sort of scratching that normally occurs between two chavettes after a night on the Lambrusco. Whilst the gameplay was certainly fluid and flowed very well during the demo, weâ??ll have to wait and see whether the Celestial Brush dynamic will turn out to be a device that tires with the progression of the game.

Rather than use voice actors to propel the storyline, Clover have utilised textboxes, which somehow seems appropriate for the game, and keeps the style consistently â??hand-drawnâ??; after all, how many times have pages of paper been heard to speak? The demo at E3 already had the dialogue localised to English, and it seemed to be solid (so far at least), and given the gameâ??s serious mythological narrative the conversations can be decidedly quirky.

As with the gameâ??s visual style and animation, the control systems worked fluidly with the PlayStation 2 controller and off the back of its unique calligraphic gameplay, Okami would be very suited to Nintendo DS and its touch screen - hopefully the game will garner enough success on the PS2 to make the likelihood of a jump to the handhelds increase. With the release date still at least six months away, weâ??ll have to wait a short time before weâ??re able to play more of Okami, but hopefully the taster at E3 will make the wait worth it.