Oni

Rating:
Summary: poor game, but great combat
Review: The combat system is great. It's so nice how a fairly simple number of controls can be combined in so many ways. It's incredible to be surrounded by enemies, and be able to just work through them like in a movie, using the right combinations of moves to put them against each other and yourself out of danger.

That's why I gave this game an extra star, for the combat system alone. Hell if this even had multiplayer, that alone might warrent it another star. Too bad.

The story is very standard fare, no character development. But this is okay, I can deal with this in action games.

But the level design is horrible. Every level is the same exact thing: fight some guys, flip a switch, open a new door, repeat. No reason to explore, no puzzles or obstacles, nothing. I got so bored. For a pure action game, level design is critical.

In terms of strict realism, I guess the levels are pretty good, but then I look at Deus Ex, which had very realistic levels, but they were also extremely fun to play. In Oni there were constantly empty rooms that did absolutly nothing.

The save feature is bad, but you probably know this by now. To just barely get through a fight and be looking for health, to open a door and suddenly hit a new save spot (with no indication that it was there), where the only way to go is foward through a load of enemies is NOT fun.

In short: Great combat. Boring levels. Fustrating play. No multiplayer.

Rating:
Summary: CCGR.ORG's review
Review: This anime action game is quite fun. I never played these types of games before, but I like this one. You are Konoko, a female combat expert. You need to know how to use guns as well as martial art skills. You are put into dangerous situations and must complete all of your mission objectives to move on. Along the way you will find out more about your mysterious past.
From a Christian perspective, I am impressed. The main character being a female is decently dressed. The is no foul language, you can taunt your enemies if you like, it's all clean! There is violence (guns and marital arts) but technically there is no blood. One interesting note, the word Oni has many meanings in the Japanese language. Some of the meanings include Ghost, Ogre, or Demon. In the game it is hinted that the main character Konoko is not completely human. I do not know what she is (I don't want to spoil the story). All that you do know is that she has an unknown past, unknown future and is living in a dark time.

The game is easy to install. The upbeat music adds to the game. There is no multiplayer in this game. One thing I found odd is saving. You can't save whenever you want, there are save points that save for you. As for controls the default is using the WASD keys. The only way to change that is to modify the key_config.txt file. This game got me converted to using the WASD configuration.

Rating:
Summary: sweet
Review: This game is one of the best i have played in a long time. The grafx are dated, yes and the levels tend to look the same but the game plays like a dream. Being chased by three guys over catwalks, sliding to dodge heat-seeking rockets, and watching ase the rockets you dodged hit your attackers never gets old. I love friendly fire! The storyline is cool, i care about the charachters and the final decision of chapter 13 is one of the coolest things in a video game to date. ...

Rating:
Summary: Another great game by GoD!
Review: Oni was an incredible mix of high technology and anime. If you like anime then this game is a must have. Even if you finish it and never play it again you'll be glad you bought it. However, multiplay mode was discarded due to the fact that the creators gave up trying to fine tune the netcode. So don't get this game thinking it has multiplay. Oni however doesn't suffer in its story and gameplay though. It is rather a difficult game as you can only carry 1 weapon with you at a time so you quickly find yourself favoring the Plasma Rifle or Mercury Bow as the game is filled with more energy ammo cartridges then that of regular solid ammo cartridges. I'd be pleased if GoD created the sequel to Oni, in which they have an overwelming percentage of fans trying to pursuade them to do so. The music is great, and having bought the game you will not be sorry once you reach the very cool dream level. ^_^

I would give the game 4 and 1/2 stars, but I guess it loses 1 star due that I severely miss the feature of multiplay, as the game is very Goldeneye and Perfect Dark esque in feature.

If a fan of FPS and Anime... again this game is a collectors piece for the computer game fan. Anyway, the hand to hand combat is okay, but its much more satisfying when you have a weapon to use. When in doubt.. spray spray spray.

Rating:
Summary: Great gameplay, horrid levels
Review: "Oni" is both the best and worst action game I have played in a while. As far as pure action goes it is one of the best out there. The story, which does a fairly good job of convaing the Anime feel, is fairly bland and has been done before (If "Deus Ex" had an anime style, it would be this game.) However the combat itself is second to none. Being able to pull off Street Figther 2-like moves in a living, interactive world is new and enjoyable. However "Oni" biggest flaw is in this world. Level desing is awful. Levels are mindnubbingly boring. Anyone expecting a dark and gritty setting, like something out of "Akira" or "Ghost in the Shell" will be disappointed. They all look the same and are mostly devoid of life. Also a problem with the levels is the typs of puzzles they hold. Hit a switch, open a door, hit another switch, open another door, repeat. You could do this in doom many many years ago. After a few hours it becomes almost unbareable. Controls are not bad, use of ranged wepons take some getting used to but the system as a whole is fine. That said however it baffles me as to how they leave out an option to remap keys?! All that said I still would consider this game worth your money. The action is qiute simply some of the bast in the PC market today. The first time you block a jumping attack, counter with a leg sweep, land a complex combo, throw an opponent down a fight of stairs and then finish him off from above with a plasma rifle it is gameplay unlike any other. This game is a landmark game, however it is still not a very good. When and if this engine is licenced to other companies or a sequal is put together this game will truly get the respect it deserves.

Rating:
Summary: innovative and original
Review: I'm not a huge computer game expert. I was there at the beginning of the FPS boom, with Wolf 3D and Doom, but my interest trailed off in these sort of action games pretty quickly simply because there was no real conceptual innovation. Technically, these games were improving by leaps and bounds, but this amounted to nothing more than being able to shoot more realistic bullet holes into the prettier looking walls as you walk into a room and blow up anything that moves. Admittedly, there have been some recent innovations like the Counterstrike add-on and Thief II, which place more of an emphasis on stealth and teamwork, but conceptually it's pretty much all the same.

On the face of it, the only distinction between Oni and the shelfloads of other FPS shooters out there is that Oni is third-person, the view following directly behind your character a la Tomb Raider. But the actual fighting engine is incredibly original and fun to play with. The hand-to-hand combat is truly something you have to experience first-hand. It's both relatively simple (you won't be spending a lot of time learning esoteric button combinations) yet extremely flexible, allowing you to do an extensive variety of moves.

Each time I encounter an enemy, a completely new fight transpires depending on the surrounding environment. It's not like I'll shoot each blue colored drone from behind with the same gun. Sometimes it's fun to draw him out with a scatter gun and then pound him with some sort of punch-kick combo. Sometimes it's fun to try to sneak up behind him and snap his spine like a toothpick. I've had fights where I've snuck behind a guard while on a ramp, disarm him and then throw him over my shoulder. Two other guards noticed and started running my way. I grabbed one, swung around him by his neck, kicking the other one, which knocked them both to the ground temporarily. Meanwhile, the first guard has since gotten up and is chasing his gun which has been rolling down the ramp. It seemed like it was scripted out of some B action movie. It truly is a fun experience because it is so easy to do so much.

The fighting is so brilliant that it overshadows some of the games admitted flaws. I can only cross my fingers and pray for a sequel in which they are all remedied. First of all, the criticism that advancing through levels in Oni is nothing more than switch hunting (find green switch to open green door, then find blue switch to open blue door, etc.) is a fair one. I really wish there were some more complex puzzles or mazes. Others point out that Oni doesn't have any multiplayer and that the environments were a bit simplisitic. This is also true, but I think that these were more technological limitations. It's common knowledge that multiplayer was dropped because there was latency problems. And while a grittier Neo-Tokyo would have been fun to have played in, for most computers it would have come at the expense of such smooth fighting.

I disagree about the controls being difficult. I think that the mouse/keyboard set-up that you have to use is the optimal set-up. I know many people are stubborn about how they like to play, but a joystick for Oni would seem particularly awkward. I can't imagine how PS2 players could enjoy this game.

A final note of caution is that those of you with older video cards could have a lot of technical problems. I originally had an ATI Rage Pro. The game made me install new drivers that caused continual crashes. Moreover, this older card didn't support transparent walls, so whenever I got stuck in the corner, I was fighting blind. All I could see was the wall behind me, obstructing my view. I have since upgraded to an ATI Radeon. The action is much smoother, the walls behind me are transparent, and I have had no problems with crashes.

Overall, a wonderfully entertaining game that yet has potential to be even greater.

Rating:
Summary: Best 3rd person game I've ever played (all genres included)
Review: This game has it all: passable graphics (for its time), good voice acting, engaging plot, and addictive gameplay. The only drawback that I have detected is the "Save Point" system it uses...it is not always fun to have to replay almost an entire level because you took your eye off the screen for a moment and fell to your death. But it is a minor obstacle and does not diminish the coolness of this game. Innovative, addictive, and FUN, Oni is a must-have!

**Side Note: If I have been properly informed, then in Japanese, an "oni" is a monstrously small possibility; a 1 in 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 chance, or something like that...

Rating:
Summary: Great fun--some flaws
Review: This is the first game that has every attempted having hand-to-hand combat as well as shooting. So far, the product is amazing. The fighting is awesome, there are tons of combos and power moves, and it's very, very easy to learn. That said, there were a few flaws for this game. First, because this game was released on both consoles and the PC, there are fixed save points. That in itself is not that bad, but the save points are very spread out. Another thing is the game is told in anime form. This means that the acting is pretty cheap, and the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But don't play this game for the plot. Play it for the fighting. The camera control can be kind of iffy sometimes, because a guy can sneak up behind you and you wouldn't know it. Also, the levels look a lot a like, you'll take full advantage of your compass.

Rating:
Summary: man, One playing and YOUR HOOKED
Review: i LOVE this game. It has got to be one of my favorite games i have ever played. The PC or MAC versions are much better than the PS2's. If you want to play this game, a two button mouse is a MUST HAVE. This game has superb graphics, amazing gameplay, and it is very immersive. The only thing wrong is the bad graphics in the cut scenes. They are just the ingame character models. I highly enjoyed this game. I played the demo and was hooked in 15 minutes. I highly reccomend this game to any person who likes fighters. Imaging Street Fighter or Tekken, just put into a third person game. That is what this is.

Rating:
Summary: The Matrix - The Animated Game
Review: Hyped beyond the stars, Oni left many reviewers cold upon release. But this Anime-style 3rd-person fighter should not be passed up for a number of strong reasons.

One of the many criticisms centers around the bland level design and the less than stellar graphics. However, the core of the game, namely the fighting system - is wonderful in its three-dimensional complexity and its aesthetic results.

Konoko, the cartoon version of Run Lola Run's female lead, can not only fight like Neo, but she has the same liking for guns, which she can borrow from her opponents. The enemies themselves are well-realized, though a bit repetitive, though this is fairly common.

In a way, this is a great opportunity to play an infinitely cooler version of Tomb Raider. Only now, the character's moves an other aspects of the game are somewhat better crafted.

Arguably, Anime-inspired games have an edge over their classically-themed competitors due the inherent appeal of violent cartoons. Oni is no different, and it's a wonder it didn't end up somewhat more highly regarded. Though cut-scenes aren't particularly well made, at least the voice talent is indeed talented.

As long as the criticisms are addressed, then Oni's sequel (if anyone takes up the franchise) could become a hit.