Oni

I'm no video game expert but Oni reaches new levels in addictive for me, it's one of those games you just dont get sick of. You simply love every morsel. The story is a mish-mash of the Star Wars series and Highlander but it is that cle she of agression, revenge and betrayal on a family backdrop that makes it something to love doing over and over again. The game is hardly daunting to progress through, you can pretty much leisurely spin kick your way by through some killer action sequences, be prepared for a 'more of the same' finish that is nevertheless the most gripping chapter.

Oni is basically the story of TCTF agent Konoko who in investigating certain companies starts to unearth some illegal technology. While pursuing such she is confronted by an ultra-cool looking crime boss named Muro and his syndicate. As Konoko starts to pick up details of the case her own past also starts to surface and things start to point to fowl play on the part of her boss Griffin. She begins to discover that she is in fact much superior in combat potential to any but one other person. Outlawed by the TCTF she endeavours to search for answers about her past and Muros alone through constant confrontations. Featured bad guys include first Barabys, a yellow suited half-robot who in head and shoulders looks dead set like the de-helmeted Darth Vader, and aside from your doppleganger and your former boss, a Black Ninja which acts like Darth Maul, sounds like Darth Vader and looks like a cross between the two. He is in fact the games most formidable adversary, beating him requires a good bit of practise.

As for the troops littering the game through and through, there is first some military looking guys in kaki atire and some red and silver equivalents. Each character also has his own troop clone (not literally 'clone' in the story). Barabys has these ogre-like deep voiced assaulants in two different colour atires, Konoko constantly comes across red and blue suited chicks that look like her including a boss that is identical, and the black ninja has these speed kicking elusives in two different colours, all these similarities are probably to save in the programming. Players will enjoy a dream sequence serving as an early precursor to the climax, in much the same way Luke was confronted by Darth Vader in a sub-real experience before fighting him later on in pursuing his quest to reach fulfillment, every time Konoko takes out a bad guy, Barabys, the Black Ninja and Muro she has a power-up from a special gem inside her.

As you play through the game you add to a chapter log in order to re-visit any of dozens of the particular parts of the game. There is usually four save points to a chapter and each time you reach a save point the game is automatically saved with whatever changes in health, ammo or weapon have been made. The fun of this game the sheer brilliance of the fight scenes, a 3D take on the classic punch-em-up walk throughs that were so plentifull in thier day. Of course no one can be told how the full fun of Oni is.......you have to experience it for yourself.

19/10

From Bungie, the makers of the excellent 'Marathon' sci-fi shooter series comes Oni. A unique fighting game that mixes futuristic anime with bouts of gunplay. The story won't win any awards, but it's serviceable in it's straight forward nature. While the graphic's are good - they don't come close to some of the other entries we've seen in the gaming universe this past year.

No this game works because it does one thing really well - fighting. It's fluent, exciting and modeled well. It does an exceptional job crossing anime and modern game fighting mechanics. There's a nice range of possible kicks and punches and they look strikingly realistic while the flow and style of the game keeps things running at a exciting pace with a cut scene placed here and there throughout the action to keep things moving forward.

Personally it's nice to be able to control a butt kicking female game character that doesn't rely on her bust size to draw rave reviews and sales too. Don't get me wrong Lara Croft is fine, but Konoko is the real deal. Not that the weapons in Oni shouldn't get a mention. A nice mix of the old and the new. Not overbearing on the brute fighting drive of the game.

Sometimes nothing is better than just sitting back as a Striker or a Tanker enemy runs towards you and dropping him with a frozen mercury bolt a split second before he's within melee reach. Oh the happiness.

Oni is a curious project that combines anime stylistics and cyberpunk elements, which was not so common in the early 2000s. The game catches the eye with its original visual style, and its plot plunges into a dystopian world where technology, corruption and the struggle for freedom are intertwined in one dramatic story.

The game tells the story of Konoko, an agent working for a government that controls the world through high technology. As the game progresses, the player is immersed in conspiracies, mysteries and unexpected twists that open up new facets of the world and the personality of the main character. Despite the fact that the plot does not become a revelation, it keeps the intrigue and allows you to better understand the gloomy atmosphere of the game.

The game's artwork is one of the things that made the game memorable. The anime aesthetic gives Konoko and other characters memorable features, and the futuristic locations enhance the feeling of a dark but stylish cyberpunk world. The animation of the heroine's movements looks good, especially in the action scenes.

One of the most notable elements of the game is its unique combat system. Here, the player is given access to punches, kicks and their combinations, which allows them to create impressive combos. Melee combat looks good and sometimes even dynamic, adding adrenaline. However, shooting turned out to be more difficult to master - alternating weapons and hand-to-hand combat sometimes seemed uncomfortable, especially in intense fights. I remember that in general, there were not very positive impressions of the character management. The heroine was too clumsy in her maneuvers.

The atmosphere of the game seemed twofold: the world feels empty, although it seems to correspond to futuristic locations, where it is required. But it's too monotonous. Music and sounds complement the gloomy surroundings, and the aesthetics of the levels help immerse you in the story.

"Oni" has become a project for me that is difficult to call pleasant, but at the same time it cannot be written off. It was an ambitious experiment with a good plot, good stylistics and good mechanics, which, unfortunately, could not reach its full potential. Bungie West Studio made its only project, and it stopped there. A controversial experience. It was difficult to play at times, and even boring in some places, but I still wouldn't have recorded the project in something passing. The value of this game lies in its unique approach and the courage to experiment. A one-off project for me personally, but it deserves attention as a vivid representative of its time.

6 out of 10.

Bungie Studios' Oni is a gloriously entertaining mish-mash of anime, martial arts, modern violence and dystopian science fiction. It is a game that is bathed in atmospheric tension, taking the form of dazzling settings and fascinating soundtracks. Great emphasis is placed on technology, and the game approaches this theme in an interesting way. Think Equilibrium, where the state uses technology to control its citizens.

Oni zooms right into the basic training of our main character Konoko and instructs us how to do basic acrobatics, punches, kicks, combos and how to wield standard weapons before we begin. Konoko is a female agent for the TCTF -- a kind of secret police operating for the totalitarian government, serving to rid the world of opposition. What is so endlessly refreshing about Konoko is that she does not rely on huge breasts Lara Croft-style to kick some ass, but she is a very real character. Except, she has purple hair.

The story of Konoko and the secrets of the government gradually unfold the more missions you complete and it spirals into a complex conspiracy, adding a surprising amount of depth. Constantly on the edge of startling new revelations, I remember being thoroughly engrossed in the storyline and the wide variety of enigmatic character that Konoko encounters as a secret agent.

I can't say I know an awful lot about PC animation and suchlike, but the graphics of Oni never struck me as mind-blowing, even for 2001. That said, they are completely satisfactory and I appreciate the fact that this game does not solely rely on special effects to be entertaining. Oni has a story to tell and offers dimensional characters to facilitate its storytelling.

But the single greatest aspect to Oni is not its story, but its fighting style. The technique is dizzyingly good and there are so many combos you can learn to use to fight your opponents. It truly offers the best set of fighting skills I have ever seen in a game--fluent, creative, professional. The guns are creative too, but Oni is primarily fighting mode-driven, and I have endless affection for that.

8/10

Among the multiple noteworthy things in this is how thoroughly and well-achieved the Manga/Animé aspect of it is. Everything in this is defined by that. The style is just plain *cool*. There are some bugs/glitches, but no show-stoppers... most of them are limited to something that is not entirely aligned, and they aren't that plentiful. This starts off with brief training which goes at your pace, that teaches you just about every function in this(the last couple are covered right after), and you can return to it at any time. This doesn't let you change which keys you use(well, not from the menu). On the other hand, there really aren't that many to remember, and it's set up with the popular WASD configuration(besides, if you ever have trouble remembering what does this or that, learning it is a press of a key, and a click with the mouse, away). Oni is third-person adventure and action, and the latter is an awful lot of fun(which is not at all to say that the former isn't, if it isn't as advanced or as dominant in this as elsewhere). You can shoot as well as fight, and they are both extremely well-integrated(and this is the best game featuring the twain alongside each other that I know), though there is perhaps more use for the latter... that doesn't mean that there hasn't been put strong focus on the weapons as well. The different kinds are... very much so. They're almost always unique, and fit in with the rest of this remarkably well. You can never carry more than one, and only a couple, literally, of ammo types are used for them. The martial arts... astounding, and entertaining, not to mention *awesome*. The system behind is intuitive and you get into it basically immediately. There is a nice wide array of moves, and they're simple enough to activate... and that is also true of your enemies, part of why battling them is not a matter of phoning it in. The other reason? The AI. It's of marvelous quality, with quite few exceptions. The boss matches are excellent, and no two of them are too alike. While there are three difficulty settings, even on the lowest this is challenging, and some may not be able to complete it, and this can be a source of frustration. This has a great sense of humor, and whenever(not so often that this loses it serious tone) it goes for making you laugh, it does so, no joke or gag is forced or tries arduously. This saves at certain points, rather than allowing you to do so anytime... these are usually placed well, and not overly far apart(obviously it can still prove to be annoying). Dialog tends to be very well-written, and equally well-delivered. Taunts, at least those of the foes... not always. They can be silly. Voice acting is in the favorable end of the spectrum. Sound on the whole is commendable. The music is divided into groups, the instrumental score for the emotional impact, and the techno for whenever the situation calls for something more sweet... and no, by that I do not mean love songs, or any tune revolving around lollipops, rainbows or bright colors. Story is interesting, and develops well, and there isn't any of it that is downright poor. The cyberpunk of it is good. It's told well, and with a continuous nod to the comic book nature of the Japanese type. There is an opening and an ending cut-scene, done in 2D cartoon(instead of the 3D of the rest), of course in the manner of films of the sort. In-game cinematics are in-engine, well-scripted(and major props to whoever programmed the cameras). Levels are fairly vast, and built well, however, they largely seem strikingly "empty" as far as objects in them go, interior and exterior. Design is a considerable plus in this. Every gun, attack, opponent, all things in this, well-done all-round. Futuristic, dystopian and threatening. This doesn't have multi-player... whether that's bad or not is subjective, but it's pretty clear that the efforts were fully directed towards single-player, and it pays off, big time. There could be more re-playability... no scores or ranking, not anything but the aforementioned option of choosing between Easy, Normal or Hard. Animation is varied, and it's attractive, as well. Visuals in general are well-done in this. That brings me to the graphics... they're magnificent. Sure, outdone by later releases, when isn't that case? The game-play marries distinct forms of engaging excitement, firearms and meleé with such expertise that you'd otherwise have to watch movies for. Stealth is possible, and can turn out to be worthwhile. Strategy is a must. Missions are somewhat imaginative, not reinventing the genre, nor utilizing or relying upon the stand-bys of it until creativity is a mere memory. You'll infiltrate(not the spy way) bases, give chase, defend, sabotage, and all along undermine the plans of those you are up against. The rating on this is open... something that's welcome and they manage to not downplay it, it's effective and masterfully done all the same(OK, granted, the first of those has a bit to do with the second). Almost anyone, regardless of age, could really play this thing. Sexuality is not an issue, there isn't any. All it amounts to is the clothing, and save for a single, nudity-free drawing, it's all sober. No language that I could tell herein. Violence is PG, PG-13, not a drop of blood or any gore whatsoever. There is disturbing stuff, and don't get me wrong, children should perhaps stay away from this, unless they possess skin of inordinate thickness. For anyone wondering, as far as I know, this is only available for the PC. If you are at all up for this kind of thing, you'd have a tough time of finding any that are better than this. I recommend this warmly to every single fan of the Asian form of expression that I have already mentioned and/or VG's. 8/10