PlayStation2
By Chi Kong Lui of GameCritics
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Article
Discussion Forum
First
Impressions:
The
curse of being a game critic is that you have to play all games
with as little prejudice as possible. As you can probably imagine,
reviewing games you like is easy, but even covering games you despise
isn't as hard as you might think. At least you know where you stand
with the title and there's a sense of satisfaction you get from
warning the public and extracting you're revenge for time wasted
with a scathing review. What make this job tough are those games
that are more middle-of-the-road -- games with too many problems
that keep you from loving it, but at the same time there are just
enough good qualities for you not to hate it. The best way to describe
these "gray" titles is you tolerate them, and that's largely how
I felt about the highly touted and often delayed title, Oni by Bungie
for the PlayStation2.
When first announced to the public, Oni had no shortage of innovative
ideas. Players are assigned to assume to role of Konoko, a hot heroine
babe in a sci-fi setting. This was a game that was to be the ultimate
hybrid. A game that combined all the intense action of a first-person
shooter (FPS), the exploration aspects of a third-person game like
Tomb Raider, and the hand-to-hand combat of a fighting game like
Tekken. To top it off, the whole thing would be packaged in a hip
and trendy anime theme. But somewhere during the course of its development,
what sounded like a formula for success became a recipe for mediocrity.
Right from the start, I sensed something was wrong. I think in any
game, if you find yourself dead within the first five minutes of
playing, that's a bad sign. That's exactly what happened to me in
Oni. Despite the wonderfully crafted training tutorial stage for
players to get accustomed to the complex controls, the minute the
actual in-game mission started, I still found myself ill-prepared
and dying and restarting quite frequently. If the developers wanted
to immerse me in its world early, it failed. Oni is a tough game
to manage, and it certainly doesn't earn any kudos for progressive
and intuitive design.
Graphics:
Presentation-wise,
Oni isn't a knockout, either. Character models and stage architecture
seem a bit too bland and unremarkable considering the PlayStation2s
renowned graphic capabilities. All and all, the visuals were passable,
but not enough for me to lose myself in its beauty.
Sound/Music:
Extensive
background music is surprisingly absent. The game for the most
part is musically silent with the exception of some key locations.
Gameplay:
The
main problem with Oni is that all the different parts of the game
never leads to consistent and refreshing gameplay. The sum of
its parts never quite equals a whole. The control scheme, lifted
from the keyboard and mouse FPS standard, seems needlessly strenuous
to master. I quickly wondered if a more unique or console-like
control scheme would have been more effective. Mission designs
reek of age-old conventions that date back to the earliest FPSs
with little or no adjustment to the new concept. But perhaps the
worst part is that the supposedly innovative hand-to-hand fighting
just doesn't feel particularly special. One of the major problems
with the fighting portion is that the distinctions between hand-to-hand
and firearm combat isn't really apparent or even logical, which
makes switching back and forth between them perplexing. You would
think that hand-to-hand combat would be inappropriate against
an enemy with a machine gun, but what I found was that most guns
were ineffective at disposing of most enemies efficiently. Instead,
I found myself using hand-to-hand tactics more often than not
to disarm enemies rather than shooting it out. This didn't make
much sense to me.
I think Oni has such discrepancies because this is a case of function
following form rather than vice versa. The developers seem like
they had an idea for an interesting game, but never came up with
a game design that made sense and naturally exploited the concept.
Instead, gameplay situations feel contrived as if they were intentionally
setup just to take advantage of Konoko's unique abilities. Perhaps
what would explain why some security guards are armed and while
other others aren't.
Enjoyment:
Gamers,
who were waiting a long time for Oni, will probably be disappointed.
Despite boasting some innovative features on paper, the game doesn't
look or play all that different from other games currently dominating
the market. Action game and first-person shooter fans that don't
mind the monotony and sometimes laborious mission designs might
find themselves enjoying the title for its anime trappings and
dual combat styles. For me, neither anime theme nor the dual combat
innovation was exploited or developed enough for me to really
enjoy this title.
Multiplayer:
n/a
Overall
Impression:
I
don't doubt that Oni is a game that has grand ambitions, but regardless
of the writing on the wall, Oni feels more like a MOD; like a
first-person shooter trying to grow past its original design.
This title looks and plays more or less like what you would expect.
There are simply no surprises. You can see the story, enemy AI,
and mission layout coming a mile away. Oni doesn't defy expectations.
It revels in them. That doesn't necessarily make Oni a bad game,
but that doesn't make it a revolutionary or a good title, either.
Marketing
Efforts Towards Women:
Being
co-published by the bad boys of the gaming industry, Gathering
of Developers, quite frankly I was shocked at how favorable Konoko
has been marketed. Rather than emphasizing her curves, almost
all the ads feature Konoko kicking some serious butt. The message:
Konoko's character is defined by her action and not her looks.
Perhaps, Bungie, a well respected game developer had something
to do with that.
Konoko's in-game representation is also handled with similar grace
and dignity. She doesn't sport any incredibly skimpy outfits and
her portrayal is far cry from the male-fantasized vixens that
usually dominate the market. It's a shame that Konoko's character
is some-what wasted in a game of mixed success and questionable
quality.
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