G-pinions

These are good days. Not that I shouldn't be slightly more productive while on the West Coast, but I recently had the honor of watching Scott play through the entirety of Shadow of the Colossus, and was almost as enthralled experiencing it vicariously for the first time as my own deflowering. Then he started right into Ico the minute is was over, which is the best goddamned way to do that sort of thing. Then later that night we showed a lady friend Katamari for the first time.

The evening of vicarious enjoyment was only trumped by yesterday afternoon, when I picked up and popped in Okami for the first time, something I've been anticipating for a good three years now. I remember reading the first preview of it, three apartments ago, about a wolf god named Amaterasu who has to bring back color to a world devoid. That's still roughly the basic premise, but it has so much more going on.

The game starts out more slowly than I had expected, partially because I had played the demo already (I know, I'm a dispicable heathen) which kind of just throws you into the game mechanics. The real game methodically takes its time explaining the setting and characters, and slowly hands out your basic set of abilities and world-exploring tools over the first few hours. That's actually my only complaint about the experience thus far - for something so visually and thematically mature, it toes the line of overexplaining how everything works instead of letting you figure it out for yourself (especially when experimenting and exploring is so gorgeous and fun, it's not like I need to be rushed into figuring everything out).

Outside of that small issue (which I'm sure will be forgotten quite quickly in the grander vision of the game), I'm loving it. Any screenshot will show you how stunning the game is, and it certainly doesn't hurt that I've been playing on a 42" widescreen set. Like most truly great games the HUD is minimal and nowhere to be seen most of the time, the heart-achingly gorgeous visuals guiding you through the experience and encouraging you to try and see everything. Beauty like this will never be obsolete, and if nothing else the game will go down as one where literally any screen grab could be framed and hung on a wall.

The gameplay, while ultimate not structured that differently than the more recent Zeldas, is held together and driven so well by the celestial brush mechanics once they are at your disposal. Like any good adventure game, previously inaccessible areas become relevant when you gain new means of exploration, as do certain spots on the ground, cracks in the wall, and dozens of other visual quirks you notice in your travels. Every area becomes deeper and more intriguing each time you pass back through it, and there are layers of interaction that unfold as you realize the powers at your disposal.

It must also be said that the writing and subsequent localization is completely engrossing and charming, with Pixar-like layers of demographics subtleties, where anyone at any age can feel entertained and interested in the dialogue. Some of the conversations go on a bit long, but once you relax to the pace of the game and stop trying to see and do everything all at once you don't think twice about it.

I was going to write about Cooking Mama as well, but now I'm just excited to get dressed and have lunch so I'm nice and ready for a full evening of more Okami. Don't be jealous, just go buy a copy (and a PS2 if necessary) for yourself.