Navigation
Otogi is a Japanese myth game. Firstly we'll give it the official word. “For a thousand years, the imperial court had ruled the land of mortals, but apparently there is a seal that’s broken now and demons are spitting mad and want to take over the world of men. Wind and rain broke the city and the court was left in ruins.” Ok so you've followed this far, and you can tell I am very skeptical about this whole Jap legend myth magic stuff, but let’s continue. You play as Raiko, an undead warrior who must stop these demons, and you get 30 weapons and 12 different types of magic to help you make your final goal.
Now that we have the official part over and done with, on with the game. Otagi was a game that I really have not heard much about, and to be honest me and Jap legend games don’t get on since the day I was gravely disappointed by Final Fantasy 7. So you can imagine my apprehension when I was asked to review this game for the XBOX. Grabbing the game from the shelf I looked at the back cover and from what I could see the graphics looked ok, but we all know how many times we have looked at a game box and were fooled by the eye candy. So popping it home I switched on the XBOX and grabbed a can of lager and let my son fire it up. Within seconds of him starting the game I just had to wrestle the paddle out of his hands. This game looks awesome I thought, so I started playing it.
Otogi is a 3rd person slash'em up, for all the people out there wondering what I mean, think MDK vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but unlike those 2 games it works extremely well in my opinion. Spooky Japanese music playing in the background and lady's voice guiding you through your training, only adds to the complete authentic feel of a Japanese legend game. As you can tell I am starting to warm up to this game.
You start in a forest and your only weapon is a sword that would put them statues from Tomb Raider movie to shame. It's just plain over sized but makes very short work of the demons that you encounter in this level. Sitting back for a second, looking at the game to admire the visuals, you get the chance to have a play with the controls of your undead warrior before wondering off into the woods to battle the army of darkness. Pretty much straight forward, the gameplay is run about and slash stuff, "Y" button giving you the extra power to take out some demons with one swipe of your mighty chopper.
Double jump button means you can make all those flying maneuvers you see in a Jet Li film without much effort. After you get the hang of the control, let's go lay smack down on some demon ass. Quickly you're thrown into the middle of action, and let me tell you, these flying beasties don’t do much except stand there, so you can turn them into sushi. The visuals from the fight scenes are nothing short of amazing, with the light slash effect you would see from a typical manga movie. As you're jumping and attacking, you're actually slowed in your descent to the ground, which allows you to get your hit ratio up on your enemies; after quickly dispatching the 4 or 5 demons you get a little cut scene with flawless graphics showing you that there is more of them waiting for you, but it's only then you appreciate the eye candy on the screen.
The forest scene looks amazing and I am not just saying this, the light shining from the canopy looks fantastic, and the soft picture effect from the game itself would remind you of a love scene from Dallas. This level is not just flat: there are mini trenches and hills in abundance, which only adds to the amazing gameplay. Energy for your character is gained by killing demons, and the glowing life essence is collected to top up your health and keep you on the slaying path. Ok so this is not new, Soul Reaver already did it, I hear you say. but unlike Soul Reaver, Otogi does not look like he's swallowed a bottle of draino and actually looks good for an undead guy.
After dispatching the last four demons, you’re greeted with a slash’em up replay of the last demon exploding back to the nether world, and leaving you with a feeling of satisfaction at a job well done. After you have completed level one and are greeted again by the whispering woman telling you, that as you go on you will be given more magics to play with. Reading the official word on this, apparently there 12 types of magic to master, and over 30 weapons to slash and beat them demons into submission.
Graphically I have seen some good games for the XBOX, but this one is head and shoulders above the rest. The makers of this game (FROM SOFTWARE) have produced a game that will definitely be the benchmark when it comes to more MYTH 3rd person games in the future. It also definitely proves the superiority in graphics and gameplay of the Xbox over any of the other 2 major consoles on the market; when the action gets thick and deep the Xbox GPU/CPU does not break a sweat, even considering that the demons are way bigger than your character. Promising some of the biggest bosses ever seen in a game, it should keep the average game player entertained for a good few weeks and should keep the average 14 year old interested in it for some time.
Conclusion:
If you want a bit of mindless fun, then this game is what you're looking for. The demons get progressively harder as the game goes on, so won’t be put off by the ease of it after the first few levels. Trust me when I tell you that the screenshots you of the game do not do justice to the actual quality of the gameplay; with the visuals and the creepy sound it makes the for the most complete package I have seen on the Xbox for ages and I believe you wont be saddened at the cost of this game. Amateurs and professional players alike will just want to pick up the paddle and thrash some ass to whittle away the hours, and it will succeed
