Okami is a by-the-books adventure game with some sweet art, great music and some novel ideas. Get it!
The paintbrush mechanic is more fun than it sounds. Holding R1 freezes the game at any time and turns the scene into a canvas, onto which you draw lines and simple shapes to create magic powers. Thankfully the system is very forgiving, and usually does what you want even if you miss slightly. You'll love when you get good at using the system during combat... thrashing enemies with your weapon while attacking those out of reach with your brush all at the same time.
It does have a few problems though. As with most adventure games... Okami turned out to be very easy. Unless you rush through the game, you'll almost never feel genuinely threatened. The puzzles are also very simple... and they frequently just tell you the solution if you miss more than once. A lot of times you'll be wishing Navi... er, Issun... would just shut up and let you do SOMETHING on your own. This game could have benefited from some combination more dangerous monsters, a steeper experience curve, less access to healing items, or even just a hard mode. I'll admit it... I like my games challenging, but this is the only front on which Okami doesn't deliver. Also, if you are a fan of The Legend of Zelda, especially Ocarnina of Time or Windwaker... you will notice A LOT of parallels between the two games. Actually, the games play largely identically. Though Okami may be original in setting, visuals and some mechanics... in terms of core gameplay it borrows heavily from games like Legend of Zelda.
The Verdict:
This is the premier adventure game for ps2. Anyone who loves a good story, good presentation and hungers for an epic quest... look no further. The game is worth buying... it does last a little while, especially if you are particular and make sure to do everything.
Pros:
+Pretty
+Sounds great
+Cool new mechanics
+Great story
+Epic quest
+Solid gameplay
Cons:
-Too Easy
-Copies off Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time... a lot