Preview: Oni

Previewed By: Kirk Hiner

Preview Date: January 18, 2001

Genre: Third Person Action

Format: CD

Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Gathering of Developers

Availability: January 29, 2001

Konoko reminds me of someone I know. I can't remember who, but I swear I've seen her face before.

Actually, there's quite a bit about Bungie's game Oni that's familiar. Perhaps this is because we've been hearing about the game for so long. I can't say exactly, but I'm pretty sure the first time someone described Oni to me my only thought was, "No way that'll run on my shiny new LCII." So we watched, and we waited, and we watched, and we waited, and then Microsoft bought Bungie, and then we lost hope.

But here it is, the first new Bungie title since the acquisition heard 'round the world, thanks to Gathering of Developers. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure I'd be checking this one out. With all the hype surrounding the game, I figured it would get more than enough coverage without me joining in. But then there was this gold master disc sitting on my disk, wrapped innocently in a pink, plastic case. "Okay," I thought. "I need a break from Rune, anyway. May as well see what all the fuss is about."

The fuss is about one of the most amazing games I've ever played.

The first element most people will notice about Oni is the anime inspiration. I knew the graphics drew from this Japanese artform, but the homage goes much deeper than that. The cut scenes, the designs, the weapons, the purple hair...Oni is so deep in anime that I kept waiting for Konoko's hand to start talking to her.

Many elements of Oni actually remind me of Yukito Kishiro's Gunnm, or Battle Angel Alita to the English speaking world. Like Alita from this manga, Konoko knows little of her past, and nothing of her destiny, but you just know there's going to be a lot of killing before she gets there. I wonder if I'll get to use the Panzer Kunst along the way?

I ask that because I need it. From what I've learned from Oni, the reason weapon-based combat and hand-to-hand combat games have forever been separated is because guys like me can't take the shot to the ego. I can control Lara Croft...just keep running, don't get too close to the enemy, and keep those weapons drawn. But with Konoko, I almost felt guilty controlling her. Each time she was kicked down during a battle I could almost hear her sigh impatiently, waiting for me to get the hang of her moves so she can could finally kick the butt she knows she can.

Oni does have an excellent training facility to show you the basic moves, but it affords you no opportunity to practice them. It's like, "Okay, you've got the concepts of thrust and lift, here's your rudder, and this thing's called the stick. Now go shoot down von Richthofen." I haven't seen the manual for the game, so hopefully it'll help gamers like me. Also, GoD's official Oni website is illustrating new moves every day until the game's release, but they're just movies, not actual key/mouse click combinations.

Luckily, there aren't really too many keys to learn. You've got your standard WASD movement, and neighboring keys allow you to crouch, jump and grab stuff. You control direction, punching and kicking with the mouse...and friends, if you don't have a two-button mouse, please leave Oni on the shelf for someone who can actually get some work done with it. The Apple optical mouse may look cool, but poor Konoko lying under the boot of some lowly guard because you coudln't throw a punch, punch, kick combination does not.

For the most part, the actual weapons in Oni serve only to get you close enough to throw down and fight man to woman. And no matter how hard I tried, I could never just keep calm during these fights. Konoko automatically blocks some blows if she's facing her opponent, but I never remember that when I'm being attacked. I also never seem to remember the defensive maneuvers...despite how cool they looked in the training room. With me it's always just click, click, click, and although that is ruining my mouse (the thing actually squeaks now), it's not winning me many battles. When fighting, remember that you can't always throw the first punch.

You also can't always save your game. I've been spoiled by games such as Tomb Raider that allow me to save whenever I want. Oni uses checkpoints, more or less. Once you reach a certain spot, you return to it when you die. Miss it by one fight and it's back to the previous checkpoint. However, this has its advantages. First, it forces you to get better much more quickly. Second, game saves are automatic and quick, saving a lot of time and the hassle.

I can't comment too much on the story because, honestly, I'm not far enough into the game to understand exactly what's happening. I've gleaned there's a conspiracy going on (isn't there always?), and not everyone on our side is to be trusted (are they ever?). To learn not only what's happening around her but also about herself, Konoko will undoubtedly have to fight her way through countless labs and cityscapes, each one a joy to explore. The graphics aren't as impressive as those in Deus Ex, but real life isn't as impressive as Deus Ex. And remember, Oni isn't supposed to look real. It's supposed to have the high-style of anime, and it does to perfection.

I'll be playing Oni for quite a while, I know that. I'll hopefully be far enough along by the time the retail version hits to have a better grasp on the story for my full review. I'll also hopefully have reached the point where I can spend more time accomplishing goals and less searching for health capsules. And speaking of searching, Oni has the coolest...compass, I guess...I've ever seen. In the bottom left corner is a dial that indicates in which direction you need to go. As the yellow line expands around the dial, you know you're getting closer to your goal. There is also an arrow to indicate if you need to move up or down floors. No more searching the same rooms ten times for something you may have missed.

The gold master for Oni was very stable running in Mac OS 9.0.4; unlike most other games I've reviewed as of late, it didn't even crash when I was taking screen captures. Oni has Mac OS X support right out of the box, but because the OS X Public Beta doesn't support my multiple button mouse, I didn't even give it a shot. I experienced no frame drops, but I do have my G4/450 decked out now with the ATI Radeon and 512MB RAM. Oni initially asked me for 113MB, I gave it 150MB. Keep that in mind.

So, if for some reason you haven't allowed yourself to get excited about Oni, it's now safe to do so. I guess it always ways, though...this is Bungie about which we're talking. I don't care if they're bought out by Satan, Martha Stewart or Sierra, they'd still make kick-butt games.

Well, maybe not Sierra.

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