Okami

Try being a sun-god for a while! Become the white wolf Amaterasu in this Japanese adventure video game, and rid Japan of the evil curse that has taken over the land in the form of an eight-headed serpent. The serpent was originally killed one hundred years ago, but has been reborn for some evil purpose. Use godly powers to paint the environment and save countless citizens from all kinds of peril and strife.

In Okami, you get to play in a impressive expansive environment filled with the usual adventure game icons like dungeon areas, strange creatures, and town folk to meet and interact with. The game takes notes of Zelda-like play in the fact that the game itself is a journey. Your abilities and skills increase as you work your way through and the playing time to complete is much longer than similar video games.

The side-kick for Amaterasu is a feisty little character named Issun who is a tad hyper and compliments Amaterasu's character perfectly. Ammy, as Issun likes to call her, has been reborn into a white wolf and as a god, she has the ability to change her environment to whatever she needs it to be to accomplish the task before her. The weapons she wields is a celestial paint brush. A button on the controller transform the screenfrom the majestic graphics to one that looks similar to an ink painting screen on which you can draw whatever miracle Ammy needs. She can transform night to day or summon wind if you've learned that particular technique from your wanderings. Drawing a line through an enemy will destroy the enemy; creating lily pads to jump on in a body of water are some examples of brush techniques. Never pass on an opportunity to help others, or fail to be of use to other creatures. Experience points collected from these good and forthright deeds only help your journey.

Ammy is armed with a sword-like weapon attached to her back. She uses this weapon in battles and since she is a wolf, she can dig holes, bark, and exhibit other canine-like actions. Her divine power is the paint brush which can also be used as a weapon if needed and frequently is. Ammy learns numerous brush techniques on her journey, and discovering how to combine new techniques is exciting. Using the divine power takes divine energy however, and can take a little while to recharge itself if you use several techniques close together. Battles are not very common in Okami, but there are enough to satisfy most players. Most can be avoided if you wish by side-stepping the danger and moving on. Ammy picks up new battle moves through the story along with her divine gifts. She learns from a martial arts master, who is one of the games more strange-looking characters. As in Zelda, Ammy picks up more health and ink reserves on her journey, and you feel like she is becoming stronger and stronger as play progresses.

The visual display of Okami is absolutely stunning. Whether you're touring the countryside, or investigating a new town, Okami delivers. All scenes are well-crafted and fluid. Given the Japanese influence, Okami has a very distinct look and feel to it unlike any other video game. The musical score follows the visuals to perfection. All in all, a very well-balanced and cohesive adventure that the entire family can play.

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