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Oni: Difference between revisions

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→‎Release: further reading
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After a few months of beta testing, Oni was released much later than originally expected -- on January 26, 2001 in Europe, and January 28th in the U.S. The PS2 version, ported by Rockstar, came out on January 29th in the U.S., and March 9th in Europe. Oni was translated into other languages, including Russian (by [http://www.buka.com/ Buka]), German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. These localizations were critical to building Oni's fan base, which today is largely based outside of nominally English-speaking countries.
After a few months of beta testing, Oni was released much later than originally expected -- on January 26, 2001 in Europe, and January 28th in the U.S. The PS2 version, ported by Rockstar, came out on January 29th in the U.S., and March 9th in Europe. Oni was translated into other languages, including Russian (by [http://www.buka.com/ Buka]), German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. These localizations were critical to building Oni's fan base, which today is largely based outside of nominally English-speaking countries.


Oni's storyline is fairly straightforward, although it has been called "understated". Because the story takes place over about a week and a half in the game's timeline, there is little room to develop the characters or setting, although large amounts of additional information are to be found in consoles scattered throughout the levels. (The [[Chapters]] page links to plot summaries by level, and the [[Quotes/Consoles|Console Quotes]] page lists all the text from the game's consoles.)
Oni's storyline is fairly straightforward, although it has been called "understated". Because the story takes place over about a week and a half in the game's timeline, there is little room to develop the characters or setting, although large amounts of additional information are to be found in consoles scattered throughout the levels.


The developers achieved a unique blend of gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, with fluid controls and a camera that ensures that the action is always visible. Gunplay is fairly standard for the action genre, with some added emphasis on realism (Konoko only carries one weapon at a time, and a gun's ammo is tracked persistently whether it is being handled by the player or an enemy).
The developers achieved a unique blend of gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, with fluid controls and a camera that ensures that the action is always visible. Gunplay is fairly standard for the action genre, with some added emphasis on realism (Konoko only carries one weapon at a time, and a gun's ammo is tracked persistently whether it is being handled by the player or an enemy).


The melee component of the game is particularly complex, using over 2000 unique animations, and is frequently the main element that fans point to when praising the uniqueness of the gameplay (the short list of games with comparably deep melee includes [[GUNNM]], [[Lugaru]], and [[State of Emergency]]). See the [[Gameplay]] article for more information.
The melee component of the game is particularly complex, using over 2000 unique animations, and is frequently the main element that fans point to when praising the uniqueness of the gameplay (the short list of games with comparably deep melee includes [[GUNNM]], [[Lugaru]], and [[State of Emergency]]).


Oni also uses a custom graphics engine optimized for handling levels with lots of open space, and the levels were designed by actual architects, giving them a much more realistic feel than many game worlds. The actual texturing in the game is minimalist, a style chosen to try to match the look of [[Anime|animé]].
Oni also uses a custom graphics engine optimized for handling levels with lots of open space, and the levels were designed by actual architects, giving them a much more realistic feel than many game worlds. The actual texturing in the game is minimalist, a style chosen to try to match the look of [[Anime|animé]].
''Further reading:'' [[Gameplay]], [[Chapters|Chapter Summaries]], [[Quotes/Consoles|Console Quotes]].


==Reception==
==Reception==