Sunday, February 17, 2008

Preview: Okami Comes to Wii!


Well we have heard of this for a few months now, but there has little known about the game except for the fact it is going to be a port of the PS2 version. Except with added Wii controls. Which is great. Also there have been no screens or videos as well. Until now. We now see that IGN got their hands on a copy and they like it. Here is a bit of what they thought.

The game features a unique visual presentation made to look like traditional Japanese sumi-e brush paintings. On PlayStation 2, the in-world game graphics appear to drawn to life on a virtual landscape textured in rice paper, meant to harken back to ancient Japanese art. You will notice in our screenshots and videos that while the majority of the visual sense is maintained in the Wii build, the parchment paper texture is conspicuously absent. We suspect this is a filter that Ready at Dawn was unable to accurately translate to Wii. In a side-by-side visual comparison with the PS2 incarnation, we also noticed that the original title sports more subtle bloom work. However, to its credit, the Wii update to the game runs in progressive-scan (480p) and a quasi-16:9 widescreen mode -- we call it "quasi" because it's not full resolution; thin black bars remain on each side of the screen. The framerate differences separating the two versions are negligible, meanwhile. The ported build features a noticeably cleaner look, partly because of the missing parchment filter and partly because it's running in 480p. However, it's worth noting that everything also looks brighter and more vibrant on Nintendo's system.




Whatever visual sacrifices have been introduced in the Wii version are outweighed by the control advancements made to the build. You control Amaterasu with the nunchuk's analog stick and the wolf is effortlessly maneuvered through huge 3D environments as she quests to save the world from the evils of Orochi. The wolf barks / bites and digs with the C and Z buttons respectively, the former useful for carrying items and the latter for finding hidden goodies buried throughout the universe, like food and treasure. The A button on the Wii remote is used for jumping; tap it again when Amaterasu is near a wall or cliff and she'll double-jump up it. The 1 and 2 buttons toggle different camera views and bring up an on-screen map and the plus button skips cinematics, which is new to the Wii incarnation of the game; trust us, after 20 minutes of opening cut-scenes, you'll be thankful.



You simply waggle the Wii remote left and right and Amaterasu will dart forward and attack enemies. You can chain together combos very effectively by motioning left and right with Nintendo's controller and you can even combo in mid-air by leaping up and then gesturing with the Wii remote. It's not always as easy as it sounds, however, to keep a combo going. The simple button taps on the PS2 are easier to pull off in succession, in our experience, but using the Wii remote has a tactile feel and once you get the timing down, the combos will come. (You can extend Amaterasu's combo attacks by purchasing upgrades throughout the adventure.)


I am really excited for this game, from the videos and screens I have seen, I may actually go out and buy it. The forty dollar price tag helps. But this game comes out in March. March is Brawl time, so hopefully this game will not be overlooked.

Source: ign.com


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