Okami (Wii, 2008)

Being a core gamer, I can safely say Okami has to be one of the best purchases I've made in a long time.

When I look for a game the categories I am most interested in are simplicity of controls, storyline, art design, atmosphere, length of gameplay, and replayability. Okami has delivered on every one of these criteria with extra goodies to spare.
Think of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but combined with the story elements of Wind Waker and the graphics of Viewtiful Joe. That's the game in a nutshell.

The story begins [don't worry, no spoilers!] as a legendary blade is removed from its pedestal and a great evil is released on the world. Amaterasu is reborn in the form of the white wolf that previously saved the world from this evil. Your mission is to end the evil before it consumes the world and all within it. In the end I found this had a great story, mimicking that of Zelda but in a much higher level of emotion, comic relief, depth, character development, and plot.

Shortly into the story you find yourself beating imps, exploring vast areas, communicating with rather comical residents, and thinking to yourself "Man this is how Wolf Link should have been!"
The cutscenes can get pretty lengthy but are well worth watching.

When you first get into the game you may find a slight difficulty learning the controls but it won't take long before you're introduced to a bit of a tutorial.
The game handles very well as the controls are rather easy to master once you get the hang of them. The motion control is great for the Celestial Brush and you wont find yourself in a "wagglefest" as the only moves required are small flicks of the wrist for attacking.

The beautiful art style and music combine their brilliance to form an atmosphere that resembles an ancient Japanese painting come to life. You dash through fields leaving trails of flowers and grass in your wake, swim through lakes of cell-shaded goodness, and traverse intensely colored ancient-Japanese cities. The environment is fantastic, as is the blend of atmosphere, and the art style is simply gorgeous. My only complaint is that you may want to use a larger TV or high def as the colors may appear somewhat blurry when you first start as your eyes have not grown accustomed to this style.

One of my biggest beefs about any game is being too good and too short. That wont be something you'll need to fear about Okami as the amount of content is as vast as the fields you roam. In the end I found it took my 30 hours of gameplay to beat this game! By no means does this mean the game is tedious. I found myself eager to beat the game, yet apprehensive of the experience ending. I was taken on the gaming joyride that I've been waiting years for. Plenty of areas to explore, side quests, unlockable moves, and bonus rewards at the end of the story leaves for plenty of reasons to play and keep coming back.

I give this game a perfect 5 stars as I haven't enjoyed a game this much in many a year.
Fantastic environments, a thrilling storyline, great characters, beautiful design and atmosphere, and more content than you can shake a Wiimote at make this game a must-have for any Wii owner.

A wonderful game fur ALL AGES! You have to use the Celestial Brush Techniques learned in the game as you navigate through ancient Japan. Ammy ((Amaterasu)) is a wolf god that has been asleep for 100 years and is awoken by a charming, and cute ^.^, wood sprite named Sakuya. Japan is in desperate need of Amaterasu's help ((which you play as in the game!))
Along with the Issun the Wandering Artist ((a little 'green bug' is what he is referred to in the game)), Amaterasu explores the world after a 100 years of slumber to gain back her Celestial brush techniques such as "Power Slash", "Cherry Bomb", "Inferno" and lots others! The ultimate battle rests with Orochi, an 8 headed dragon sought out for revenge for being imprisoned by the ledgendary Shiranu and Nagi, 100 years ago...
As you navigate through Japan as a wolf god you must gather back these unique techniques, defeat the evil monsters && bosses, gain new weapons, and learn new moves at the Dojo from Onigiri Sensei.
It's a very interactive game where you have to use the Wii remote to LITERALLY draw out your 'Divine Instrument's Powers'. Such as if you wanted to make your enimies explode with a deadly cherry bomb, you would have to draw a circle and a line, and then *poof* a wicked explosion would take place to incenerate your foes! It does take a little practice and getting used to, but in time anyone can easily colck in 30 + hours of play time.
This game is very artistically oriented. Beautiful art and artists were used in making this epic production. Words in this game are not spoken with acctual English dialogue, but instead weird sounds are in place that add attitude, and even more imagination to the game. The original game was launched on the Playstation 2 from CLOVER STUDIOS. I highly recomended it not only for Wii, but PS2 version as well.

The art, the music and the gameplay on this one are of the most original and beautiful I have ever seen even on PC, MAC or even 3d generation consoles.
You play the role of a god incarnated not in a human form, but in the form of a great looking white wolf.
YOu will have to use the WII control as a brush to paint on the screen and defeat enemies, solve puzzles and advance in the game.
I just loved it.

I can't say enough good things about this game. Okami is the most beautiful game that's ever been made, an opinion shared with major magazines when it was heralded as Game of the Year in 2006 (it was competing with Zelda: Twilight Princess and Gears of War for the title, and won). Now in 2008 and released for the Wii, still no game has surpassed the artwork in Okami. After you rescue the first sapling, you'll understand why. This game is an incredible work of art and imagination.

Okami was originally a PS2 title, but don't let that turn you off. It belongs on Wii. This had to have been made for the Wii, there's no other explanation. The brushstrokes, which are used for nearly every fight and obstacle, come so naturally to the wiimote, that it's impossible to remember how it was ever done with a gamepad.

In conclusion, for those new to the game, I would give my highest recommendation. For those who already caught it on the PS2, without any new content it's hard to justify the purchase just for the control change. At $40, this game is an absolute steal, good fun for almost anyone with a liking for adventures and epic stories. The learning curve is there, but not very steep, and the game holds your hand through all the initial stages. Various reviews have given it a 9+ out of 10, and I'd agree, it's definitely at least a 9.5. For $40, you're getting at least 40-50 hours of solid, brilliantly crafted gameplay, set in an immersive environment of colorful artwork and deep culture.

This is withought a doubt the best wii game on the market. It is very lengthy (I finished it with 350 hours of gameplay) and has a great story which is very unpredictable with lots of cutscenes. The main draw of this game is it has a paint brush interface which lets you draw lines that crate things and manipulate the elements. It is challenging, but not so hard that you get stuck all the time. The boss fights are challenging since each one has some weakness you have to take advantage of. You take controll of the celestial god of the sun, Okami Ameratsu, a reincarnation of Shiranu who vanquished the mighty Orochi 100 years ago but died shortly after. In the form of a wolf, you run around restoring order to the world with a pongle named Issun (an inch high race of people like things said to be envoys of the gods.) You will meet many interesting charaters in your journey. You will travel through time, you will shrink yourself down to the size of a bug, and much much more. This is a great game which every wii owner should have.