Oni (Mac)

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the wait.
Review: DL'd and played the three demo levels of Oni--well worth the wait. Hand to Hand combat unlike anything I've played. Buy it, NOW.

Rating:
Summary: Bashing that "W" key to a pulp
Review: First of all for Bungie to release this game for Mac at the same time as the other platforms gets a star automatically.

It's Deus Ex meets Ghost in a Shell all in a smooth playing Open GL environment. The lack of a right click button makes it near impossible to do some of the fancy kick moves in a fight but fortunately the old John Wayne punching works well in most situations. I found the "W" or run key not being always reliable and at times was innundated with ninjas beating me down while I'm frantically bashing the keyboard.

The weapons in this game are the ULTIMATE particularly the 'mercury bow' and the 'screamer'. I really hope this will be a first in a series of Oni releases.

I have not been able to stop playing this game and believe I'm near the end all while frustratingly loving every minute.

Rating:
Summary: Easily the best action/fighting game I've ever seen!
Review: First, a word of warning for people considering buying this. The system requirements are STEEP. To get really good performance, I think the real minimum requirements are a 400MHz G3 processor, 256MB of RAM (to give OpenGL enough memory), and an ATI Rage 128 video card. This configuration lets you run the game in 32-bit color mode at 800x600, which having played for a while I consider to be the optimum resolution.

With that out of the way, this has got to be the best fighting game I've ever played. The action is smooth and beautifully rendered, and combats (which are really the focus of the game) can be positively hair-raising. Wait until you're in your first 2-on-1 fight and you'll see what I mean. If a guy gets behind you, you don't see him (just like in real life) and you can easily be caught off guard unless you make sure to throw punches and kicks not just in front, but in whatever direction you know that other guy is waiting. You also have to make good use of the escape moves, or combats will be short-lived and frustrating (it took me a while to learn that critical bit).

You also need to know when to use a firearm versus your fists and feet. Sometimes sniping from cover can be much more effective than running up to a bad guy and getting blasted ten times before you even reach him. On the other hand, ammo is hard to come by, and the more powerful weapons get fewer shots per ammo clip, so you have to pick and choose the best time to fire off a round (and do so with good aim).

It does have some minor issues -- when you're not fighting, there isn't much else to do beside unlock doors and read the occassional computer terminal (although doing the latter does give you some plot-related info that adds flavor to the game). Thankfully, fights come frequently and with more than enough challenge.

No, it doesn't have multiplayer, and I say it doesn't need it. I'm having a blast in single-player mode and don't think I'll miss multi in any way.

Rating:
Summary: Oni - Ground breaking interface
Review: I just wanna say that as hard as it may to believe, this game is not as hard as it sounds. I got about halfway through lvl 4 (on hard difficulty) with using a touchpad. A TOUCHPAD! do you have any idea how hard that is? well, once uv practiced the moves a little bit, it isn't all that hard. However, halfway through lvl 4, i got the chance to buy a new 2-button mouse, and let me tell you, if have trouble playing the game with that kind of mouse, well......you need a lot of practice. But anyways, besides from the MINOR difficulty it possessess, this game also has all the cool combos of a fighting game, more sneaking around (if you want to) than any James Bond game ive ever played, and some pretty sweet guns. However, if you don't like sneaking up behind someone to break their back, stomp on their head, grab their gun and blow their brains out, than don't bother playing, cuz thats what this game is ALL about. And lemme tell you, this game has got the story as well, that's right. No mindless wandering with no plot, this game makes you really get into it with constant twists and cool fights. And if you like anime, buy it anyways.

Rating:
Summary: guns+fighting combos=*droooooooll*
Review: I just wanna say that as hard as it may to believe, this game is not as hard as it sounds. I got about halfway through lvl 4 (on hard difficulty) with using a touchpad. A TOUCHPAD! do you have any idea how hard that is? well, once uv practiced the moves a little bit, it isn't all that hard. However, halfway through lvl 4, i got the chance to buy a new 2-button mouse, and let me tell you, if have trouble playing the game with that kind of mouse, well......you need a lot of practice. But anyways, besides from the MINOR difficulty it possessess, this game also has all the cool combos of a fighting game, more sneaking around (if you want to) than any James Bond game ive ever played, and some pretty sweet guns. However, if you don't like sneaking up behind someone to break their back, stomp on their head, grab their gun and blow their brains out, than don't bother playing, cuz thats what this game is ALL about. And lemme tell you, this game has got the story as well, that's right. No mindless wandering with no plot, this game makes you really get into it with constant twists and cool fights. And if you like anime, buy it anyways.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, my POOR mouse!
Review: Let me make a few things clear from the start. For me, as for most people, computer games are a matter of perspective--and I usually prefer mine to be the 'first-person' view, like in Quake and Unreal, or isometric, in the time-proven manner of most Blizzard titles. I tried Tomb Raider, but the 'over-the-shoulder' perspective wasn't to my liking at all. Also, all my life I've been quite indifferent to the whole Anime genre. Then I tried the Oni demo to see what all the 'hype' was about.

Oh Mama.

Two days later I carried the shining box home in my hot little hands, and ever since I have been worrying just how much longer my keyboard and mouse will withstand the frantic battering. Because Oni rocks. The heroine's combat moves (and she's got quite a few of those) are fluid and lifelike, and the punches resound nice and juicy like in a Bruce Lee movie. The game features a pretty interesting arsenal of ranged weapons, but I doubt that the guns are what brings you to this game.

Mastering all the combat moves--especially in the heat of battle--is tough, and you will need to practice unless flailing about in panic (and ruining your input devices) is your idea of a cool fight. If you get good at it, you'll make some amazing stuff happen. It's the closest thing to playing an movie I've seen so far. The environments in Oni aren't as dazzling as in UT or Quake--some may find them bland, but I think that's because they're fairly realistic. Some of the cut scenes are a tad weak, lacking in character animation as they are, but the voice acting is pretty good. If you miss clues from the narrative, you can check your mission objectives and other useful info (including how-to's for new moves you learn as you progress) in a handy data pad.

The game is challenging (and sometimes a bit frustrating, especially since saves are limited to specific points in the levels), and there's a lot of key combos to learn--you'll have a hard time if you don't bring at least a two-button mouse, by the way. Well, I never anticipated to be hooked on this one, but here I am. It's a helluva ride--don't forget the Dramamine.

Rating:
Summary: The Good and The Bad
Review: One of the games that I truly couldn't wait for. It is a little taxing on any of the older Macs, but it isn't as bad as Quake 3. I'm an avide Quake addict, yet I was getting much better frame rates from Oni than from Q3 and still enjoying highrez graphics.

The worst part of the game is the fact that there is no multiplayer modes--not even LAN, which they had working before releasing the product. I could not wait to play this against my friends and show off some hot martial arts. Alas, multiplayer was taken out of the scene late last year.

A huge plus was the story line. It starts out with some hints and foreshadowing and keeps you going. That's a big plux when there is nothing else but single player. The bad thing is that after stage 10, there are very few entries in her journal, leaving you only one reason to continue: to beat the game.

The action and graphics are very good. The weapon system is unique, featuring energy and ballistic weapons. The combat system is pretty good, lacking a little in variety. The blocking is a bit hard to get used to at first.

Last, I don't see why so many reviewers point this out: they say the backgrounds and buildings are empty and uninteresting. Agreed, but the buildings were extraordinarily realistic: architects had designed them. The problem was that they were not filled in. Where were the furnishings to make it interesting?

I seriously suggest getting Oni, the single player is well worth playing. Perhaps if enough of us continue to pelt G.O.D. about putting in a multiplayer mode, they may release a patch. That would make it all the more worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Intense action.
Review: Oni is a fun, fast paced action game. The hand to hand combat system is interesting enough to make every fight at least a little unique, lessening the chore of redoing fights. New levels are always challenging, and when you replay earlier chapters, you'll wonder why it was so difficult before, as you've learned to fight better in later levels.

Many ascepts of the game are reminicent of Bungie's classic Marathon series of games, like the chapter opening artwork, the color coded enemies, the wall buttons to open doors, and a lot of the feel. These things are pluses for me. Oni's story may not be as innovative, but improved technologies mean that it's related in more ways than reading computer terminals, though Oni has some of those, too.

Most complaints about the game are not about what's there, but about what's not there which was promised years ago. If you put that out of your mind and enjoy what's there, I doubt you'll miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Intense action.
Review: Oni is a fun, fast paced action game. The hand to hand combat system is interesting enough to make every fight at least a little unique, lessening the chore of redoing fights. New levels are always challenging, and when you replay earlier chapters, you'll wonder why it was so difficult before, as you've learned to fight better in later levels.

Many ascepts of the game are reminicent of Bungie's classic Marathon series of games, like the chapter opening artwork, the color coded enemies, the wall buttons to open doors, and a lot of the feel. These things are pluses for me. Oni's story may not be as innovative, but improved technologies mean that it's related in more ways than reading computer terminals, though Oni has some of those, too.

Most complaints about the game are not about what's there, but about what's not there which was promised years ago. If you put that out of your mind and enjoy what's there, I doubt you'll miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Oni is a gem... flawed in places, but still breathtaking
Review: Oni is a fusion of two genres, a 'street fighter' game like Tekken or SoulCalibur, combined with third-person shooter games like Tomb Raider. The action is furious, fast paced, and EXTREMELY fun. This is a truly unique game, and nothing released before this comes as close as this to a no-holds-barred brawl. It also has an excellent Anime feel to it, and the game is wrapped around an engaging storyline. The environments are extremely realistic, since they were designed by real architects, and the ambience of the game is excellent. The balance between gunplay and martial arts couldn't be better, with the emphasis on hand to hand combat.

Oni also has its disappointments. Many features are missing from the game. No multiplayer, the graphics are somewhat dated (no shadows, lighting, fairly simple textures...) and no recordings to play back later (this was a huge disappointment for me.) The save feature is also ham-handed, with the game autosaving at certain locations in the game, even if you are almost dead and want to not save.

While the levels are realistic, they are also very empty, with indestructible, immovable contents and hardly any interactivity. (It would have been fantastic to have Jackie Chan-like sequences, alternating between using furniture as weapons, shields and objects to flip over!) Much of the action is repetitive, alternating runs through the landscape with fights against one or two individuals. And some of the levels are extremely hard, and might frustrate people who aren't good with the fighting.

It feels like the developers didn't get done with the game... like they had already been working on it for too long and needed to ship what they could. But the core of the game -- a free-form, fully 3-D version of Street Fighter -- is all there and it shines. The action is what counts, and Oni has tons of it. I really hope that Take Two comes out with a sequel or an expansion pack, and brings this idea to its full potential, with completely up to date graphics, a more feature-rich environment, and multiplayer. The original concept behind Oni is so strong it just screams to be given the full treatment.

Even though there is no blood or gore in this game, it still is an extremely violent game. One of the most devastating moves is the aptly-named Backbreaker, the sound of which (first a surprised exclamation from the victim, followed by a loud crunch) is absolutely chilling. I wouldn't recommend this one for the kids, especially if they're prone to imitation.