Jamie Clark’s Posterous

The Wii version of Okami fell through my letterbox this morning - I'd ordered it Monday afternoon from GAME.co.uk for as little as £4.98. I hadn't read any reviews on it, though I had heard that it was a very highly regarded game, so I gave it a shot. The following thoughts come after about an hour and a half of gameplay, so it's safe to say these are very early impressions.

It's also worth noting that this game was originally released on PlayStation 2, and that I've never played that version.

First of all, some bad news: I don't think much to the story so far. It probably doesn't help that when you first start Okami the actual playing of the game is delayed by 10 or so minutes whilst it gives you a story to read. I'm all for games giving you a bit of background, but I was already bored when I finally gained control.

OK, so not the best start, and things continue at a fairly slow pace whilst you completely a little training level. However, GOOD NEWS, the controls on the whole feel nice to use. They're responsive (for the most part), they're intuitive - it certainly doesn't feel like a game that originally used a standard PS2 controller. In fact the drawing bits make you wonder how they did it with PS2, as waggling an analogue stick can't have felt the same. The only place the controls are a bit of a let down are during combat. Waving the Wii-Mote is a touch unresponsive (gasp), and if there are new attacks you can learn later on, I can see myself struggling to get the game to recognise one waggle from another.

But moving on now, let's talk about the graphics. This game is beautiful. It uses a mix of cel-shaded visuals and an East Asian kind of brush painting known as "sumi-e" in Japan, and it suits the Wii perfectly (ie. it can handle it). Everything is consistently sharp, although there is the occasional bit of pop-up here and there.

The music is also a treat, and reminds me very much of a Final Fantasy game. The other thing that reminds me of an FF game is the way it deals with saving. Rather than giving you a save option in the pause menu, the developers created specific save points. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but I absolutely HATE this sort of saving system. There's nothing worse than making loads of progress in a game, then realising you can't find a place to save your progress. I guess it'll depend heavily on how frequent these save locations are.

All in all I'm actually really looking forward to playing through Okami, despite the overwhelming amount of negativity shown here. It's the kind of game I could easily see myself getting addicted to. However, it also reminds me of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is worrying as that game bores me beyond belief. We'll see...

I think this officially makes me a geek, just in case there was any doubt previously.

I'd submitted a "Top 5 Gmail Labs" list to Chris Pirillo which he very kindly read out on his live show. Chris is an avid blogger and continues to run Lockergnome, a blogging network which he created. He'd previously presented the TechTV program Call For Help. Chris can now be found at his personal blog (chris.pirillo.com) or at live.pirillo.com, which showcases his live video-stream from his home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Update: Chris has posted the list complete with my reasons for choosing them on his blog. Naturally he had cut things out for the video. If you'd like to read it, it can be found here.

So, Wii Sports Resort, the latest casual serving from Nintendo was released in the UK yesterday, and thus my brother - being the huge Nintendo fanboy that he is - picked it up. I have to admit, I was sceptical. Whilst Wii Sports was fun, it's main appeal was that it came free with the console. I wasn't convinced Nintendo could make a sequel worthy of the £40 price tag (basically, I thought Nintendo were cashing in).

I was wrong. Wii Sports Resort is fantastic. And here's a run-down of some of my favourite games so far:

Basketball
An absolute blast. You can play either a 3v3 game or have a shoot-out - both of which can be played against the CPU or a friend. What amazes me most is how well it emulates the feeling of playing basketball (nearly). Every slight moment of your wrist actually has a tangible impact on your shot. This is the kind of thing that pressing buttons will never be able to achieve. Quite simply the best basketball game I've played.

Hit-a-man-with-a-stick Duelling Game
Yeah, I can't remember what this one is called. But it's great fun. This one offers three game modes - duel, speed slice and showdown. Duel is your standard 1v1 affair where the aim is to knock your opponent off the podium (think Gladiators). Speed slice throws various objects at you, along with a direction in which to slice it as quick as possible (ie. before your opponent). But showdown is my favourite. Your Mii runs through a level, and you have to fight off numerous enemies at once. It reminds me very much of Dynasty Warriors. Again, this game is a great ad for the Motion Plus, as your Mii accurately follows the way in which you slice, block and hold your sword. It makes me want a proper Star Wars lightsaber game even more.

Bowling
I always had a problem with Bowling on the original Wii Sports game. Unless I bowled in a ridiculous, unrealistic way my ball would always swerve to the left. Not the case with Resort. Other than that it plays much the same as the original, it just feels like you're in a lot more control this time around.

Now, I don't want to mention all of the games - mainly because I haven't played them all, and even some of those that I have played haven't been given a proper go. But so far I'm getting a very positive impression. It's really pushing me to go out and drop £20 on a second Motion Plus, and like I said earlier - it's a great demonstration of what kind of things the Wii could do in the near future. Nintendo, somehow you've won me over with Wii Sports Resort. Well done.

And to those gamers that say Wii Sports is the only game they play on the Wii, here's another to add to that list.

I stumbled across this on YouTube and immediately emailed it to a friend - she's going to Canada in a couple of days.

It's from the same YouTuber who gave us the Talking Cats Translation.

Just been reading the latest post "What Difference Does It Make?" from the blog Cigarettes and Parkbenches. It's about the writer's perception of her own work.

Read it. Then read it again. Then comment. Then explore the rest of the blog. Superb.