Oni
About this item
- Set in the year 2032, Oni is a third person 3D action adventure with weapons and hand-to-hand combat featuring Konoko, a highly skilled agent. It is available for Mac, PC and PlayStation2.
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Product information
ASIN | B00004WLQV |
---|---|
Customer Reviews |
4.2 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #67,655 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #1,253 in PlayStation 2 Games |
Package Dimensions | 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches; 4.8 ounces |
Type of item | Video Game |
Rated | Teen |
Item model number | PS 2 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Item Weight | 4.8 ounces |
Manufacturer | Rockstar Games |
Date First Available | July 31, 2000 |
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Product Description
Product description
God of War gives you the chance to live out the adventures of a single Spartan warrior in ancient Greece. Follow Kratos as he uses the powers granted by the Gods to slaughter his former allies and track down Pandora's Box. This legendary artifact is his only hope to complete his quest: Killing Aries, the Greek god of war!
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Although it's somewhat rough around the edges, Oni is an innovative third-person action-adventure title that won't disappoint hard-core gamers. Set in the cyberpunk future of 2032, the Japanese anime-influenced Oni casts players as Konoko, a spunky government agent on a mission to bust up a criminal organization known as the Syndicate.
While the game's free-roaming 3-D environments may not be much to look at--they're understated to the point of seeming bland or unfinished--Oni's real beauty is in its mix of hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat. The game's characters have their own distinct fighting moves and can disarm their opponents, making the arsenal of available weapons fair game. Admittedly, the controls (which utilize everything but the L3 button) are quite a handful and take a lot of getting used to, but the payoff is quite a kick.
Those who are easily frustrated should be warned that the action in Oni is fast and furious, and it's easy to get killed again and again at times--with each death followed by an annoyingly slow reload time. This is especially true when fighting multiple opponents who have the advantage of not being distracted by disorienting camera angles. --Joe Hon
Pros:
- Fast-and-furious mix of hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat
- Silky smooth character animations; stylized, effective onscreen displays
- New special moves are "learned" as the game progresses
- Japanese anime-influenced cyberpunk story line Cons:
- Understated 3-D environments
- Not for those easily frustrated by complex controls
Review
More and more, the world of Japanese animation is influencing American game developers. Daikatana, through its protagonist Hiro, has a distinct Asian flair. Septerra Core, with its focus on mecha , also oozes with eastern influences. The trend continues with Bungie Software's Oni, a futuristic science-fiction martial-arts romp that's one part Ghost in the Shell and ten parts Michelle Yeo. In short: weapons, mechs, and butt-kicking wrapped around a gorgeous female lead. Considering the game's action-oriented flair, you'd think it would make a great premise for a console title. Not surprisingly, Rockstar and Take-Two are hard at work porting Oni to Sony's PlayStation 2 game console.
Oni stars Konoko, a police officer for the Tech Crimes Task Force, the branch of the police in charge of bringing high-tech criminals to justice. Oni primarily means "devil" in Japanese, but the word has other meanings, including mischief, curse, and torment. Bearing this in mind, Konoko's past plays a big role in the overall plot of the game. While tracking down technologically enhanced master criminals and doling out futuristic white-knuckle justice, you'll come face to face with the kinds of traumatic events that could unnerve a hardened techno cop.
When it comes to gameplay, Oni promises to take the genre of 3D "beat 'em ups" to new heights with nonlinear worlds, highly interactive environments, and enemies that test the limits of variety. Through each of the game's 17 levels, you will encounter more than 100 enemies, many of which only appear once. Frankly speaking, action-fighting games are a difficult genre to execute. There really hasn't been a good one since Final Fight. Knowing this, Bungie and Rockstar are including a variety of innovations to give Oni a new and refreshing feel. First, though you begin the game with only a few stock punches, kicks, and takedowns, you can learn new techniques as the game progresses. Some combinations and moves will require specific button patterns, while others will come out automatically. Second, each level is large and nonlinear, giving you a variety of places to go. Whether you want to wander around buildings, climb stairs, or throw bad guys out second-story windows, Oni lets you do it.
Police officers are nothing without weapons to back them up, and when it comes to high-caliber pistols and explosives, Konoko comes prepared. Should you run out of ammo or require something a bit more powerful, don't fear. Enemy weapons can be taken away in the heat of battle, and the tables can turn. A majority of the time, this means nothing more than a pistol or laser. However, other times you can swipe mini-tanks and other assorted goodies. Tying it all together are a multilayered plot, some beautiful video sequences, and Power of Seven's original soundtrack - all of which will keep you interested as you're vanquishing countless foes.
Visually speaking, the PS2 version of Oni looks as though it will live up to the same outrageously high standards as its PC counterpart. Thankfully, though, PS2 owners won't need a $1,500 computer and a $200 video card to enjoy Oni. Every level has its own unique architectural feel - be it dark factories, neo-construction cityscapes, or glass-laden skyscrapers. To bring across a believable look, the game's creators hired a series of architects to design the environments within the game. As a result, Oni may be the first console action-fighting title where background visuals equal the best PC releases. On the flipside, character detail and animation is off the charts. Konoko, her enemies, and other interactive elements are composed of more than 1,000 polygons each. This gives the game a high degree of animation, while at the same time it leaves room for plenty of character detail. Clothing will flap, sparks will fly, glass will shatter, and weapons will litter the ground with countless rounds of ammunition. For those into techno lingo, Oni will use lighting interpolation, mip-mapping, antialiasing, and a number of graphical techniques to portray a world that's truly futuristic.
Take-Two has scheduled the PS2 release of Oni to coincide with the system's release this October. The E3 demo only contained six of the game's 17 levels, though, and enemies were utterly sparse. With this in mind, it remains to be seen if Bungie can meet a September release date for the PC version, let alone if Rockstar can complete the PS2 port on time. Still, the action-fighting genre needs a shot in the arm, and Oni's anime feel, coupled with its jaw-dropping visuals and varied gameplay, might just be what the doctor ordered.--Frank Provo--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
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Customers like the quality and condition of the video game. For example, they say it's an excellent game with exciting combat and nice music. That said, some complain about the controls, saying they're odd and clunky.
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Customers are satisfied with the quality of the video game. They mention that it's a great game with exciting combat, nice music, and a good plot. Some say that the controls on PS2 are easy, but overall the story and gameplay is fantastic.
"...; and difficulty is hard even on easy, but overall the story and gameplay is fantastic. A great start for Bungie's first game, now for the PS2." Read more
"It is interesting to see the work Bungie did before Halo, and this one is pretty good, although the controls on ps2 are not great, and the game is..." Read more
"Great item, great condition!" Read more
"An excellent game with exciting combat, nice music, and a great plot...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the condition of the video game software. They mention that it looks virtually brand new and is in great condition. Some say that the game looks nice on a HDTV.
"...of this game today, I haven't played this game in years, it looks virtually brand new too, playing it now and it looks nice on a HDTV" Read more
"...the holographic box and the game disk which is actually in great condition." Read more
"Great item, great condition!" Read more
Customers find the controls odd and clunky at first. They also say the graphics are terrible and the game is very dark.
"...did before Halo, and this one is pretty good, although the controls on ps2 are not great, and the game is very dark...." Read more
"Graphics are terrible, the controls are clunky as hell, but it does have an anime opening. That being said, that's like the only good thing about it...." Read more
"...I did find the controls odd at first, but I got used to it once I chose a different configuration. I highly recommend this game." Read more
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The main character is a brave female cop with enhanced physical abilities who must rid a big future city from organized crime. As the story unfolds she reveals secrets that will jeopardize her alliances and change her life. Anyway, I wasn’t particularly interested in the story although there is an effort to give the characters some depth.
First, you play a tutorial and then you are left on your own. Many enemies are unarmed but still pound the life out of if they grab you. Others are armed. Thankfully you can take their weapons once they die. Unfortunately, how much ammo they contain depends on how many times their previous owners had shot. So, you may find a weapon only to see it’s almost empty. Other problems are you carry one firearm at a time and weapons disappear after some time so you can’t go back to get one you left behind. Finally, unlike first person shooters, dropped guns here don’t increase your general supply of ammo. Each of them may be used a few times and that’s all.
The control system is very smart.
The keyboard is for moving forward/backward and strafing left/right while the mouse is for looking and aiming. With one mouse button you punch and with the other you kick. By pressing a key you equip or holster your current weapon. The total amount of moves available is impressive: you can jump and attack, block, hit while crouching, backslap, disarm an enemy or strike him while he is knocked down, kill instantly by breaking someone’s back, perform throws and combos. Too bad your enemies tend to interrupt those and hit you. Generally, their behavior is not consistent.
Sometimes an attack works on them and others it doesn’t, so you lose valuable health. The difficulty is increased by the fact there are few power ups, opponents become progressively stronger and shoot you from various angles and when you die you may have to replay a large section. I finished Oni at the easy setting but didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted. Maybe I should have tried a different approach, for example fight only when necessary or make better use of weapons, who knows…
I certainly found it appealing though. I appreciated the minimal graphics with their blue and grey tones, the cool design of Konoko and her fluid animation. I liked trekking through vast installations, running on metallic tubes, fighting bosses, exploring an airport or some rooftops in the night, shooting bad guys with uzis and laser rifles. The music is nothing special but the melee combat sound effects are very good.
Oni successfully incorporated many original elements and had a distinct atmosphere, reminding of “Ghost in the Shell”. It just needed to be more friendly in my opinion. I wish someone would bring us a remake.