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Developer: Bungie Software
Publisher: Gathering
of Developers
Release Date: 1/30/01
 Well-known
computer game developer, Bungie Software has released the most recent addition
to their 2001 games lineup. We're talking about Oni here. For those who have
never heard of this title, well let me give you a brief description. Oni stands
as a 3rd-person manga-type action game. The game puts you in the skin of Konoko,
a woman member of the TCTF (Techno Crimes Task Force), and challenges you with
several missions. After playing the demo for a good amount of time, I got myself
face-to-face with the retail copy of this game I waited so long for. I must
tell everyone that it was a great moment. I highly recommend playing the demo
before buying the game, since the demo and the full version are almost the same.
Storyline
 The
storyline of Oni is shrouded in mystery. You don't really know what to expect,
which is due to the fact there is only a small amount of vague information given.
The actual storyline is about the main character uncovering her past which (you
guessed it) is shrouded in mystery. The plot is centered on Konoko, a young
woman who is a member of the Techno Crimes Task Force (as noted above, known
as TCTF). While on some form of assignment, she discovers something important
about her past and Kage. Kage is a crime syndicate (a sort of Mafia), so her
discovery forces a kind of role-reversal. She strikes back at the powers that
be to avenge the murder of her mother and father. The name Oni gives reference
to a ghost or monster, but also to a woman who morns the loss of her child and
seeks vengeance. But in this case it could have something to do with Konoko's
loss of her parents.
Graphics
 Oni's
graphics engine does the job quite nicely without any problems. It almost seems
too realistic to be a manga-type game. The screenshots shown throughout this
review speak for themselves. Unfortunately, I've only been able to play the
game at 16-bit resolution, but it still looked amazing. You can choose your
graphic resolution ranging from 640x480 to 1152x864, and 16-bits to 32-bits.
The player animations are very fluid and the graphics engine as been optimized
for higher-polygon counts. The level of detail in the game is incredible, especially
the insane fire and fog effects. The Non-Player Characters are pretty well done,
compared to those in other 3rd person games such as the Tomb Raiders, et al.
The frame rates are sometimes a little disappointing, however. When I tried
to push the details to the max, it became very choppy to an unstable and unplayable
degree. You may need a high-end system to really benefit from all the visual
goodies that Oni has to offer.
Audio
 No
3D Hardware Support. When I tried the demo, I thought surely it would be included
in the retail version. Well, no. So for those of you who dreamed about playing
Oni using your brand new Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1, well it's not possible.
As for the environmental effects, they are very well done, and are high quality
- 44khz. The sounds are all based on the manga-style. The voice acting is superb.
It sounds like an authentic manga cartoon. The music, which plays randomly once
in a while, when you do something at the right moment, will give you a burst
of energy. You simply can't be bored while kicking the syndicate's ass to the
tune of fast, hardcore techno music. Even if you like Celine Dion, trust me
the music in Oni will entertain you.
Gameplay
 Playing
Oni can be frustrating. Even if you are a good gamer, you will notice that this
game is extremely hard, and sometimes this can be very frustrating. The ability
to find health is somewhat difficult, since most of the health is given by actual
enemies and NPCs. You have to really master the moves completely before getting
involved into Konoko's quest. One thing that made Oni very difficult to play
was the controls configuration. When I first played the demo, which was released
some weeks before the final product, I was disappointed to see that the demo
wouldn't let me configure my controls as i would have liked them. I was SURE
that this could have been fixed in the final build, but that is just not the
case. For those who don't ordinarily play using the default W A S D configuration,
you will be frustrated. Apart from the controls issues, Oni's gameplay is far
from boring. The storyboard is well done, and you just want to get on to the
next mission to kick even more butt. Think about Lara Croft featuring big guns
and literally kicking ass; that's what Konoko is all about. But as you progress,
it gets more difficult to do so, since the enemies get bigger and better. You
will notice that they don't just fire a rocket once in a while. They will also
block your moves, and they seem to know what they have to do to finish you off.
Oni is not just a 3rd person shooter, it also adds a little of Eidos' Thief
element. Sometimes you have to crouch and sneak behind your enemies and make
a quiet attack. That is extremely satisfying. Oni lets you do almost anything
you could wish for, with a great deal of freedom of movement in the game. The
save system is kind of annoying, since you can't manually save your progress.
The game automatically does it for you at certain points, which was something
that made my Oni experience a little less immersive. Many times, I found myself
trapped in a situation where I had to face 10 angry syndicate members with no
hypos (which is a kind of health spray). If I could have saved my progress,
this wouldn't have been so bad. How is Oni's multiplayer, you ask? Well, there
is no multiplayer, so when you've completed the game, that's it, unless you
start the singleplayer gamve over again.
Final Thoughts
 Oni
is a very good game, in the final analysis. You will both love it and hate it,
because of the save-system and the controls. But if you can overlook those issues,
you will enjoy Oni as much as I did. The longer you play Oni, the more you will
love it. Trust me, you have to check out the end, it's worth it!
Pros:
- Excellent graphics.
- Good sound effects & music.
- Lots of missions.
- Large amount of moves.
Cons:
- Preset save system.
- Very hard game.
- No 3D Hardware Audio.
- No customizable controls.
- No multiplayer support.
Overall:
| Graphics: |
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| Storyline: |
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| Gameplay: |
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| Sound: |
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| Value: |
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| Total: |
8.2 |
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