Phantasy Star Universe -- A Long Time Coming of an Initial Impression.

This initial impression is a tad late. I've already reached level 21 or so with my primary character. A Cast name Searren. The game stumbled on its way to retail and shipped a day late, which of course meant it arrived a day late. UPS supposedly failed to ship it from their hubs do to a clerical error. Buying a Guardians License via the Xbox Live Marketplace proved simple enough. Just log on, locate the license, choose your payment method, purchase, then log out and back in for it to take effect. Load up the game and you're off and running. There is a strange glitch of people not being able to hear each other with the in-game voice chat if they happened to have the system begin loading the game before the system can sign into Xbox Live. A simple fix has been found of simply powering on the X360 without a game in the drive, allowing it to sign in, then placing the game disc in the tray, and then loading the game. From the time spent playing a few things are apparent. They've altered the structure of almost every aspect of the game. And most importantly, it's Phantasy Star Online fun. I'll be getting into more detail of course over what should be a couple months worth of playing the game.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- Down to a Cutscene.

I have completed the offline single-player game of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. I earned all of the available achievements that are possible in the offline mode.  There are six-hundred set aside for the offline game, and four-hundred for the online multiplayer. I played the game on the hard difficulty setting, killed or saved all the right people, and earned the best ending, as well as collected all the right intelligence. Now Ubisoft sold Double Agent as there being the real possibility of Sam Fisher being a double agent. They set it up by having Fisher seemingly becoming more disenfranchised with the NSA which is then furthered by the death of his daughter. This is done by a set-piece in the first level, and a thirty seconds or so cutscene in between level one and level two. A cutscene narrated by Lambert that explains Sam Fisher's downward spiral and their strained relationship, and Lambert's hope that Fisher's taking on the mission to infiltrate a terrorist group will be what it takes to turn him around. The game then moves on to the premise that Fisher has been put in prison for the last six months so he can establish a relationship with one of the terrorists also imprisoned. The second level is their escape from prison. Which moves us to the terrorist group. The rest of the game plays out pretty much just like every other Splinter Cell title as Sam tries to walk the line between the needs of both groups. The game's concept pretty much remains a concept as far as practical application goes. For me anyway. I mean, the path is clear. It wasn't any level of shades of gray. It was black and white. It was obvious in the choices they presented me. I can imagine myself playing through the game again to see the outcome of the other paths, but I'd have to force those choices, as they're not something that would come natually. The game has three endings. The best ending sets up a direct sequel and literally teases that there are loose ends to tie up. The next Splinter Cell game is rumored to be subtitled Conviction. For me it's rather clear where it's going. The choice aspect of the double agent gimmick didn't really deliver as promised by Ubisoft. But for me, this is a good thing. I was worried about Sam Fisher essentially becoming a pussy. That hasn't happened, and should be clear from the ending that it isn't going to happen. The other side of the story, the actual story itself, I really liked. All of the Splinter Cell stories have been very tight and smartly told. This one is no exception. I was pleasantly surprised by a particular twist that's based on your actions as far as the actual story goes. They say it's a good thing to always leave them wanting more. I find myself wanting to know how this next one ends up. I'm sure I'll get around to checking out the online aspect of the game sometime soon... maybe...

Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- Shadows of Shanghai.

I have played through the Kinshasa mission in SC: DA and I should be heading into the final stretch. There shouldn't be that much left. As I stated in the previous entry Sam Fisher is still capable after all these years, but there are some changes this time around. Ubisoft uses the staggered teams approach to series game production that's starting to become the normal business model. Just like SEGA is currently doing with Yakuza and Capcom has been doing with Onimusha. The first Splinter Cell game was produced by Ubisoft's Montreal team. Midway through the original game's production, Ubisoft had their Shanghai team begin work on Pandora Tomorrow. Once Montreal was done with the original, they were able to begin work on Chaos Theory. After Shanghai was done with Pandora Tomorrow they began work on Double Agent. And Montreal is currently working on Splinter Cell 5, the first one built for next generation from scratch. Double Agent is based off the Chaos Theory engine. Anyway, this development model allows for timely sequels, creative competition, and helps to lessen any feelings of burning out from not having to churn out the games as fast as if it were one team knocking a game out each eighteen months. All of the Splinter Cell gameplay is there, but there are some subtle differences. The on screen HUD meters for light and sound are gone. The light meter has been replaced with a device on the actual character model that registers the conditions of visibility. A green light on the device means Sam is in the shadows. It's no longer a guarantee that you won't be seen. A yellow light means Sam can be seen clear as day. A red light means that Sam has been engaged by the enemy. Sound has been ignored as far as meters go. Sam still makes noise, and can use sound to his advantage. You just don't have the meter to see just how much noise you're making. I personally prefer the HUD from Chaos Theory with both its light and sound meters. That's a little change that really doesn't hamper the game at all and just comes down to personal preference. Another change comes in the form of rewards based on completing specific objectives. Normally for completing an aspect of the game without causing any alerts. The rewards are in the form of new or more powerful gadgets. You can unlock shotgun attachments, sonic, smoke, and EMP grenades for use in missions you wouldn't normally have access to them. A couple of theupgrades are questionable though. The one that updates the hacking device to V2.0 and the one that improves your lockpicking. The problem with these is they are automatically applied and can't be removed.  With lockpicking, you no longer get to do it. The game does it automatically for you each and every time. Hacking seems to be dependent on something, but I haven't been able to figure out what. Sometimes I have to hack, and sometimes it just does it automatically. I really enjoy the lockpicking and hacking aspects to the series. I don't like that the upgrades remove them from the game. Another area in which they've altered things would be in the structure of the levels that take place at the JBA HQ. In the game you're supposed to be a double agent, so you've infiltrated a terrorist group and you need to be convincing that you're truly one of them. So you have access to their headquarters and are free to roam about certain sections of the place. You'll have to sneak your way around the sections you're not supposed to be in. The problem with these levels is that in trying to maintain their trust you have to complete certain tasks for them like decrypt an email or prepare some land mines. You're given a set amount of time to finish your task. You're given plenty of time in which to complete the one task. Problem is that you've also got to achieve your NSA objectives within the same amount of time. Not only that, but there are a bunch of secondary objectives as well. Splinter Cell has always employed time, but it's normally not that much of a hassle because of the straightforward nature of the levels. The JBA HQ levels result in a lot of trial and error gameplay. You'll essentially be wandering around lost until you slowly but surely start to figure everything out. But the time structure means you'll be playing just to figure everything out. Restarting again and again until you've gotten it all laid out. Then you'll restart again and make your attempt to get it all done in time. The levels are cool on the back end when you see it all done correctly. But they're a struggle when trying to piece it all together. A couple of the biggest changes in the game are to facilitate the story. The trust meter is the biggest change. You have to attempt to maintain the trust of both the NSA and the JBA. This is done by successfully completing objectives for each side and in the choices you make during the game. The game was sold with this being a much bigger deal than it's turned out to be in my experience with the game as far as gameplay is concerned. So far there have only been a couple situations where this has truly come into play. As far as the story goes, I have to say I'm impressed with the turn it has taken based on my choices. There is a subtle difference that's also to facilitate the story. That's in the lack of interaction between Fisher and Lambert. Normally Lambert is Fisher's handler and they're in constant communication through the levels of the games. The nature of their relationship and their witty banter has always been one of the greatest aspects of the Splinter Cell series. Because of the story, they're not interacting very much. Sam has been trying to fit in with the JBA and has been taking orders from them. Lambert has only been able to contact Fisher sparingly, and there isn't time for anything beyond conveying the NSA's desires. I miss their interaction. I will save my opinion of the story for the next entry.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- Still Capable After All These Years.

I have played through the first five or so levels of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. That's enough for me to know that most of the gameplay is entirely as it was with a few alterations. Sam Fisher is still as capable as he ever was.  His standards are all there. The crouching, climbing, creeping, hanging, hand-over-hand, throwing, swimming, and zip lining all return. His advanced moves also return.  The split jump, drop attack, rappelling, and hanging neck break are all as easy to perform as they always were. He can still shoot while in split jump, shoot while rappelling, and shoot while hanging. He can still grab people. He can still interrogate them. He can still use people as human shields. He still likes to move bodies around and pile them up in dark corners.  He can still open doors silently. He can still smash them open.  He still has all the coolest gadgets in town. He still uses the OPSAT to communicate. He still has those cool goggles with the heat, night, and wave vision. He still carries the 5-7 SC Pistol with the OCP attachment. He's still able to temporarily disable electronic devices with it or put a bullet in the back of the head of an enemy in silence. He still carries the coolest rifle in video games, the SC 20K Rifle. It still has full scope functionality. It still comes with the SC 20K Launcher attachment that enables him to fire those sticky cameras, sticky shockers, and air foil rings for non-lethal means of dealing with threats. He's still hacking his way into computer systems to bypass security and steal information.  As far as what Sam Fisher can do, it's all still there.  It's all the same.  Next time will deal with what's missing or changed...

Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- Initial Impression.

I have played through the two training levels and the first proper level of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox 360. The training levels are a bit strange as they take place within Sam Fisher's mind. They do however get you up to speed and get you familiar with the basic functions of the game for those who've never played Splinter Cell before. The first level of the game had me swearing to myself in frustration. The enemy AI seems insanely sensitive. It also seems that the game means business this time around. Much more so than any of the others before it. If you're spotted, you're pretty much dead. From the first level it seems that the sound and light meters have been removed. The load times seem to be extreme and Ubisoft is still doing that annoying load to a title screen, then load to the offline or online mode title screens. The graphics initially seem impressive as does the voice acting. Hopefully the game lives up to it's predecessors in gameplay and story. And I'm a little concerned that the concept of this entry in the series is going to alter the character of Sam Fisher in a very negative way.  I don't want Sam Fisher to become the bitching Solid Snake. There is only one way to find out...

A General Update.

Before I get around to the initial impression of the latest Splinter Cell title I'm going cover a couple things. First of all, the PlayStartion 3 went up for preorders at Electronics Boutique and GameStop all across the country on October 10. Sony recently delayed the launch of the PS3 in Europe until March of 2007 and announced that 400,000 units would be available for the North American launch and only a mere 100,000 units would be there for the Japanese launch. The reason Sony gave is that a diode needed for the Blu-Ray laser was slower to manufacture than anticipated. This news essentially sent a shockwave of fear through the people already gun-shy from the Xbox 360 shortages at launch. GameStop and EB were also gun-shy from the X360 launch as they had oversold preorders for systems that weren't there and took a hell of a lot of heat from their customers as a result. This time around they weren't going to let that happen. So they hadn't been taking preorders at all. They waited until they were going to get firm launch allocation numbers. They then decided on a one-day preorder campaign where each store would know the exact number to take preorders for and they weren't allowed to go beyond the given amount. People camped out for a PS3 preorder. Most PS3s were gone by two in the morning and the stores ended up turning away people by the time the stores were open at ten. I have no desire for a PS3 this year. Mainly because there isn't anything I want to play. There won't be until Virtua Fighter 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4 hit well into next year. I'm also personally expecting a rather high failure rate on the PS3. Better to wait until it's had a few production cycles. On the heels of the PS3 preorder day comes the one-day preorder campaign for Nintendo's Wii, which happened on Friday the thirteenth. Now I want a Wii. Nintendo is saying they'll have two million units available by launch with four million before year's end. So whoever wants a Wii can theoretically get a Wii come launch. But I went through hell to get an X360. I'm never doing that again. I was beyond antsy to preorder my Wii and be done with it. So I found myself heading out to the local GameStop that Friday morning at twenty to six. I arrived and found myself to be sixth in line for the fourteen Wiis that store was being allocated. It was a warm fifty degrees and only a four hour wait. I could do that with ease, especially after a the fourteen hours and nineteen degrees of the X360 launch. I was surprised by the crowd waiting at my GameStop. The first person in line was a grandmother who was there to get her grandson a Wii. Next in line was a father and mother there to get a Wii for their son. Number three in line was the only teenager there. He was there for himself.  Number five was a guy around thirty also there for himself. The woman behind me was easily seventy and she was there getting a Wii for herself. She is a huge fan of RPGs like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Kingdom Hearts, and she couldn't wait for Zelda. The four hours just flew by as there was constant gaming related conversation. The manager got to the store about nine and handed out copies of all the items available to preorder with their SKUs and price and titles and available dates. They were numbered one to fourteen and we were turning away people from then on. It was cool that there was only one teenager in the group of fourteen. I ended up paying in full for the Wii, one Wii Classic Controller, and I had already paid in full for The Legend of Zelda. I'm set for the Wii this year. Everything else I want on the system hits next year. I am hoping to snag a gem or two from the Wii Virtual Console though. The other thing that was noteworthy going on since the last update has been the beta demo of Phantasy Star Universe. Easily my most wanted game of the entire year. Between the various versions of PSO I've spent thousands of hours playing the games. I'm looking at adding hundreds more to that total if all goes well. Despite some connection issues, and content not turned on, and the general glitchy nature of the beta, all signs point to Phantasy Star Universe being something great. From what I've played of the PSU beta I can say the game looks and sounds great. It seems to be PSO with deeper action combat. Greater depth in the new skill and type system. It adds in crafting for the rare weapons. It also removes the lobbies for a more MMORPG city aspect that will add some 'life' to the proceedings. The voice chat inherent to the X360 version also frees things up and is very welcome. Although it leads to things like Riddel and Arcee both mocking the enthusiasm apparently conveyed by my voice. Sugar and spice... my ass. I found myself already addicted and itching to play it when not playing it. The very addictive grind nature of PSO is clearly there. I can't wait for the final release next Wednesday.

Yakuza -- Final Opinion.

Roughly thirty-four hours later and the credits have rolled on Yakuza to arguably one of the strangest staff roll music selections. The third aspect of Yakuza that makes the game tick is the story. It's easily the best aspect of Yakuza. The game was created by Toshihiro Nagoshi of Daytona USA, Virtua Striker, Spikeout, F-Zero GX, and Super Monkey Ball fame. Nagoshi enlisted the Japanese novelist Hase Seishu to pen the story of Yakuza. The story is a well written and gritty crime drama filled with detailed and vibrant characters. It's a story about honor and loyalty. The story takes some expected twists, and more importantly, it throws in a few you won't be expecting. It doesn't pull any punches either. The use of a nine year old girl to provide the heart of the story is a brilliant move. It separates Yakuza from just the standard video game crime story into something special. The voice acting deserves mention as it's quite impressive. Especially for the main characters. There isn't a single bad voice in the entire game. I'm greatly impressed with the story of Yakuza and I can't wait for the sequel. I would say Yakuza is a must play game for the story alone. You'll have the wonderfully atmospheric adventure mode and the brutal combat to go along with it. All wrapped up in a realistic and good looking PlayStation 2 game that's overflowing with production value. You will have some technical issues with the load time and the collision detection. But they won't matter in the face of such a strong story. I'm giving Yakuza an 8.5.

Yakuza -- The Spirit of Adventure.

One of the other aspects of Yakuza beyond the combat is the adventure mode. Adventure mode allows you to roam around the town of Kamurocho. While in adventure mode you can listen to rumors and talk to people, go shopping for items and food, mess around with the UFO catcher machines in the arcades, hit some balls in the batting cages, gamble in the casino, get a massage, and go to a hostess bar to flirt with a hostess who is paid to talk to you. There are also seventy some side-quest to find and complete during this phase of the game. You can also find fifty coin locker keys scattered around the town. Each one granting you the item within said lockers. Of course there are some random battles to stumble into that help you gain that needed experience and money. It's all padding to help fill out the story. But it works really well within Yakuza. Adventure mode really helps set the mood. It's the same sort of atmosphere that's wonderfully conveyed in Snatcher. It conveys a real sense of something dirty and wicked just beneath the surface. Adventure mode is also where one of the game's flaws is the most apparent. Load times are quite noticeable in Yakuza. The game uses the stylized camera angles of the older Resident Evil titles. There is a noticeable load time for each change. You'll move Kazuma toward the edge of the area and he'll just freeze mid run while the new environment and subsequent camera angle is loaded in. These can last anywhere from half a second to three seconds. It's jarring at first, but you become used to it and hardly notice it by the end. That leaves one final aspect in what makes Yakuza tick...

Yakuza -- The Art of Fighting.

Yakuza's battle mode is essentially the modern day 3D take on Streets of Rage beat-'em-up style games. When you're about to go into battle you'll get an introduction screen. They announce your opponent. You'll see VS. Street Punks or VS. Yakuza or a specific character name for example. In the battles you'll use the left analog stick to move Kazuma around the limited arenas you fight in. The battles are loaded in and out from the exploration mode. The square button is your standard attack. The triangle button is your stronger attack or finishing move. The circle button is your grab and throw button. Hit it once to grab, hit it again to throw. Your grab depends on a few factors. The level of your grab and the strength of your opponent. You can grab someone and depending on those levels, you'll opponent will be able to almost instantly shake your grab off, or you'll be able to hold on to them for varying amounts of time. To the point of being able to drag them around the arena to position them where you want. The X button is a special action button. The R1 button allows for what the game calls shifting. Shifting allows you to move your character around without changing the direction he's facing. While shifting, if you hit the X button for example, you'll dodge in whatever direction the left analog stick is being used. The L1 button is your guard. The R2 button is your taunt. The L2 button resets the camera based on where Kazuma is facing. There isn't any lock-on in this game. Button mashers will also have difficulties as there isn't a combo break. If you mash the button five times while facing toward the side of an enemy, Kazuma is going to throw those five punches off to the opponent's side. He's then going to be wide open to attacks. You can't stop him. You have to be more precise. You have to slow things down and retain constant control. It's slower and more deliberate combat. The combat has some depth. You can throw or attack from the grab. You can throw and knock enemies into other enemies. You can pick up and use almost anything not nailed down as a weapon. Everything from swords to baseball bats to chairs to signs and more. There is also the heat system. As you attack enemies you build your heat meter. Your attacks gain strength and you have access to brutal finishing moves and special environmental attacks. The heat meter will deplete on its own, and from taking damage. You earn experience from the battles and you'll earn more experience than normal from using heat moves. There are three categories to level up where you can spend that gained experience. They are Soul, Technique, and Body. As you build up the three categories, you'll learn new moves. There are ten levels in each category. Building up Soul will increase everything to do with the heat meter. It will make you get heat faster, make it deplete slower, increase your taunting heat bonus and the like. You'll get something for each of the ten levels. Raising Technique will give you new moves like drop-kick, it will increase your grab strength, increase your ability to escape a hold, and improve your combinations. Body will improve your defense and attack power, improve your dodge, and the like. As you raise your levels in each category, you'll be able to learn special moves from a certain NPC. There are eight special moves to learn. They range from counters to recovery techniques. The combat for Yakuza is really that of an updated Streets of Rage style with an action RPG's experience and stat raising. I personally like Yakuza's combat, but I can see where some people are going to hate it for its no lock-on and more deliberately controlled style. Because unless you realize the non-button mashing control aspect, you're just going to get a sloppy mess and it will seem like a poorly designed combat system. If you get it, you'll get a fun and brutal combat experience. But the combat is only one-third of what is Yakuza...

Yakuza -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me is the PlayStation 2 game Yakuza. What am I expecting from Yakuza? Well, I'm expecting an action RPG that's part Shenmue and part Streets of Rage, wrapped up in a heavy Japanese crime drama. It seems to be that initially. You have some good kick and punch combat. You have a section of a large Japanese city to roam around in. You have large doses of drama in the story. The story is going for dark and gritty, and the combat wants to be down and dirty. We'll see how the leveling up system works for the combat. If the combat itself is hit or miss. How the graphics help keep it real. How the story plays out. How English voices sound in such a decidedly Japanese story. And whether or not it's all worth it, of course.

Trace Memory -- Final Opinion.

Lite is what I wanted, and lite is what I got. Six hours and forty-five minutes of gameplay and the credits were rolling. Trace Memory is essentially exactly what I was expecting it to be. A point-and-click style adventure with touch screen applications.  The bottom screen is the active screen and the top screen is essentially the view. The game uses a weird mix of polygons and 2D art. You'll see what amounts to an artists' take of area in the top screen and the world to move around in on the bottom screen. As you move around the bottom screen the view in the top screen will change allowing you to focus in on specific areas and a magnifying glass icon on the bottom screen will light up. Clicking on the that brings the view into the active window where a pointer will show up so you can click on the objects in the close up view. You can pick up only specific items and usually only after you've triggered the need for it, even though you personally already know you're going to need whatever it might be. The game allows for full touch control, or a combination of traditional control and touch control where the touch control is mandatory. For example, if you need to cut a rope, you'll have to actually use the stylus and make the sawing motions on the touchscreen. Most of the puzzles have this sort of touch application. It controls well enough. There is no combat. There is no threat. There is no chance of death. The game is all story and puzzles. The puzzles are a mixed bag. They're all over the place from simple uses of the touch screen just to be sure the touch screen is being used type things to one puzzle that makes you do something that is entirely illogical and unnatural. There are a decent amount of puzzles in the game and some will make you think for a little bit. That leaves the story. The story is amazingly straightforward. So straightforward in fact that you know where it's going for sure about halfway through it. The story is decent for what it is. A Japanese anime type soap opera level mystery. The sound and music aren't anything special. The graphics are a strange blend of realism and anime. I probably would give the game a much lower score had I bought it for the original $30 asking price, but it's an okay experience at the $9 clearance price I got it for. There isn't really anything bad in Trace Memory, you're just not going to remember it down the line. I'm giving Trace Memory a 7.0.

Trace Memory -- Initial Impression.

I wanted something lite after coming off the larger than expected Okami, so I've decided on Trace Memory for the Nintendo DS. Trace Memory is an adventure game. The kind of game they don't make anymore. The point-and-click adventures along the lines of King's Quest, Maniac Mansion, Shadowgate, and The Secret of Monkey Island. I picked this because we're two weeks out from Splinter Cell: Double Agent and three weeks from Phantasy Star Universe. I wanted one of those games you use to cleanse the palette before the next course comes along. Something to reset the system before attempting to get Yakuza in before those major games arrive. Trace Memory is an old-fashioned mystery. Hopefully it tells a good story and has some great puzzles and makes good use of the touch capabilities of the hardware. It shouldn't take too long to see this one through...

Okami -- Final Opinion.

I have completed Okami with a final play time of seventy-five hours and forty-eight minutes. I died zero times. I earned $6,172,544. I collected 551 demon fangs. I earned 6,344 in praise. I found all the stray beads. All of those are considered to be S-rank levels. Earning S-ranks for everything unlocked a plethora of bonus content. Nine different character models for use in the new game plus. There is an amazing amount of art, some 374 images in total ranging from character, monster, and environmental concept art to high resolution bestiary art. There is something called the video treasure chest. It contains ten movies that range from the Clover Studio Founding Presentation to every trade show trailer, to the Famitsu Capcom Vol. 2 Promo and Dengeki PS2 Vol. 388 Promo from magazines. The real interesting ones are the Internal Company Presentation A and B videos. They show Okami in its original realistic art style instead of the highly stylized cel-shaded final art style. There is also a full soundtrack jukebox unlocked. Every single track used in the game is made available with fully translated titles. I truly enjoyed Okami. Just about everything absolutely worked for me. The graphics are easily the best thing the PlayStation 2 has ever produced.  The sound and music are wonderful. They fit perfectly with the visuals and action. A truly great score. The combat is a fast and fun and varied experience. I like the depth of combat going well beyond the hack and slash. The boss battles are all epic and amazing in nature. Truly some of the best boss battles I've ever experienced. The celestial brush mechanic is a resounding success for me. It rarely ever failed. I never had to struggle with it. Its in-game application is just impressive.  There are thirteen main techniques and a couple of them have multiple variances. That amounts to a great level of depth of use when applied to both the combat and puzzle aspects of the game. The story of the game is another area where the game worked perfectly for me.  It's essentially a retelling of the Japanese legend. I say the Japanese legend as this is like the mother of all Japanese legends. Everything that makes them tick is in here. I was amazed to see how many Japanese games have borrowed from this. Taking little bits from here and there and running with them. There is a very slight breaking the fourth wall aspect to the entries in the journals that I like. They'll explain that a character in the game is traditionally drawn this or that way and explaining ever so slightly the myth origin. The characters actually have character. The story itself is surprisingly filled with a goofy humor that works. In between the bits of great drama, the game keeps laughing. It's a strange mix that somehow comes out right. The game pokes fun at itself. Another good thing about the story is that it's just not Zelda. The story is insanely deep compared to the typical story of the Zelda games. Not that that's a bad thing for Zelda, but the story has always been that series' weakest aspect. Okami is easily my Game of the Year front-runner as of right now. I truly enjoyed it. The game won't be getting a perfect ten because there are a couple very minor complaints. Chief among those are the game holds your hand for a little longer than it should in the early going of the game. Secondly the game uses a noise whenever a character speaks. You know the deal, to give the text a voice, even though it's just gibberish. That's slightly annoying. I'm giving Okami an 9.5. Awesome game. The upcoming Zelda game is going to have to be something truly special to take the Game of the Year title away from Okami.

Okami -- Drawing to a Close.

Okami is a massive adventure. I'm sixty some hours into the game. The story is rapidly heading towards its climax. A good deal of that time has been spent doing all the little optional activities that are available. The game has an extensive journal system. It catalogs numerous types of items. There are entries for the treasures found, the fish caught, the creatures fought, the moves learned, the animals fed, and the stray beads retrieved. I personally want each tome one-hundred percent complete. The animals fed rewards you with praise which can be used toward raising certain attributes and making you stronger. The fish and treasures can be sold for money. Their individual entries remain which will make sure completists collect them all. The stray beads are the real heart of the optional activities in the game. You'll find them in the most remote treasure chests, or earn them as rewards for completing some activity dealing with a NPC. The stray bead tome is well organized in that it will tell you how many stray beads are within a given area once you've found one in that area. Once you find one in Kamiki Village for example, the tome will tell you that there are three of them there. I have some stray beads to collect, some fish to catch, and a few more animals to feed before I bring the story to a close. The final opinion on Okami should be coming soon.