by Norm Stovall normstovall@gmail.com
Okami - For Playstation 2
Playing Okami is a unique and fascinating experience. With visuals on or above the level of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Okami is great to play and great to look at. Putting you in control of the wolf-god known as Amaterasu, you will go about your way in this action-adventure game creating beautiful scenery, weapons, and tools, all with the use of a paintbrush. The game is practically one giant, interactive canvas, allowing you to learn new techniques by controlling brush strokes.
The dialogue in this game is terrific, and the translation from Japanese to English is impressive, considering most Japanese-made games come off a little bit corny-sounding after translation. (Gigawing’s “All your base are belong to us” comes to mind) The characters and the way they interact provides an interesting and entertaining experience, and I’d recommend anyone looking for a unique game try Okami, as it is great on so many levels.
Cooking Mama - For Nintendo DS
If you take equal parts mini game, bright vibrant colors, and tasty far-eastern recipes, and let them simmer in your Nintendo DS for a good bit, you’ll end up with a heaping helping of fun with Cooking Mama. Using the stylus to stir, chop, slice and otherwise prepare your food, Cooking Mama will have you preparing loads of awesome food items in the form of quick and entertaining mini games. With over 60 recipes to learn, it’s hard to keep from becoming addicted to the quick-paced gameplay and bright colors, and you’re guaranteed to be hungry when you are finished playing. Don’t forget to blow on the microphone to cool off your food!
Bomberman - Sony PSP
Bomberman for PSP takes everything that is good from the Bomberman series, shrinks it down to PSP size, and gives you all the fun you remember having years ago, with added Ad Hoc wireless multiplayer and game sharing features. This Bomberman is the Bomberman you remember, and you’ll no doubt love the simple yet captivating, maddening gameplay. With Bomberman for PSP, Hudson has more than made up for that crap that was Bomberman: Act Zero for Xbox 360. If you aren’t familiar with the game, the idea is simple: from a birds-eye view, you will navigate the maze like levels and attempt to make walls and your opponent explode, all the while collecting cool power ups and bonuses. Bomberman is a game best enjoyed in multiplayer mode.
When comparing this version of Bomberman to the Nintendo DS version, Bomberman for PSP has a great single player mode, which the DS doesn’t have, though it should be noted that the Ad Hoc wireless does have a few minor issues with hiccups in gameplay. (Up to 4 players per one copy of the game is possible.) Bomberman is great fun, regardless, and if you think it sounds like the game for you, it probably is.
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