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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by Chris Jozefowicz

OKAMI tells the tale of a mystical white wolf that protects the people of Nippon (a fantasy version of Japan) from evil. At its core, the game is a solid third-person adventure, with dozens of characters to meet, treasures to find, vast landscapes to explore, and plenty of baddies to fight. As players roam the game's magical landscape, they learn "brush techniques" that give them god-like powers -- activating these powers freezes the game and causes a giant ink brush to descend over the scene. Players can then paint and change the game world: Night can be turned to day by drawing a sun in the sky, or walls can be destroyed by painting a firework bomb over them.

Is It Any Good?

5

Okami is a magical, intoxicating adventure that beautifully captures the essence of fairy tales in game form. It is gorgeous, creative, and surprising -- and one of the best games available for the PlayStation 2. The graphics are the most immediately striking feature: The game is like a Japanese print come to life. The characters and environments create a three-dimensional world, but the bold colors and sharp outlines look like a drawing.

Yet, like many magical tales, the bright exterior hides some mature themes. Although enemies turn into flowers when killed, brush techniques can chop them in half. Some players may also be surprised to find humor about bodily functions, sexual innuendo, and story elements about powers that derive from drinking alcoholic sake.

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