A lengthy, beautiful game, that is sure to please anybody who likes good games.
GRAPHICS:
The art style in Okami is simply beautiful, and inspired all the way through. Subtle animations give an ambience and personality to the game, and the watercolor theme lends itself to the story, gameplay, and atmosphere of the whole experience. While Okami's visuals are a major plus, I can't help but feel let down by the lack of progressive scan support. On my HDTV, lines and edged look horribly jaggy, and things can start to look "muddy." I contribute most of this to the aging PS2 hardware, but games like God of War have the option for progressive scan, and the difference is remarkable. There is also a noticeable amount of pop-up, and sometimes the framerate drops to a stuttering pace, although not very often. Still, this doesn't take away from the impressiveness of what the artists achieved. GAMEPLAY:
It becomes obvious that the Legend of Zelda series was a major influence when designing Okami. For me, I couldn't be happier because it results in a great playing game, a lengthy adventure, and millions of side quests to keep you busy. The new brush mechanic is a perfect example of how there are still new boundaries for gameplay in past and current hardware. Without a touch screen or gyroscopic controller, Okami manages to make innovation out of a plain analog controller. SOUND: The music of Okami does a great job of capturing the Japanese culture, which compliments the art style to make a very well rounded theme. The voices, however, are Okami's lowest point. Imagine gibberish talk from games like Animal Crossing, Banjo Kazooie, and Star Fox (Snes), but a million times worse. On top of that, most of the main story cannot be fast forwarded by pressing X repeatedly, so you have to either turn the sound off, or put up with the annoyance. An option to turn off voices alone would have been great.
VALUE:
Considering most games these days last around 10-15 hours, and Okami lasted me around 35-40, I'd say it's a great value. The game is also $39.99, and more enjoyable than most of the $59.99 Xbox 360 games I own. There is a lot to do, a lot to unlock, and many secrets that will keep you playing for a long time.
CONCLUSION:
Okami is simply a great game that I can recommend to anyone. I enjoyed every moment of the whole experience, and it settled very well with the Zelda fan in me. Games like Okami are very important, because they offer something outside of the mold that games seem to be moving into. It's a well rounded game, and succeeds in almost every category, resulting in a very polished title that every fan of good games should check out.