Oni 2 (Angel Studios): Difference between revisions

'''Oni 2: Death & Taxes''' (working title) was a sequel to [[Oni]] which was in development from 2001-2002 before being cancelled. The game was being developed by Angel Studios under publisher Take-Two Interactive before Angel was acquired by Rockstar and renamed [[wikipedia:Rockstar_San_Diego|Rockstar San Diego]]. An ISO of the last (?) development build of the game leaked in 2016. The build was documented by the game preservation YouTube channel PtoPOnline [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZItobLIJJMY here].

There is only one level available by choosing New Game. Other levels, however, can be chosen from the Load Game menu. These are documented under "Story and levels" below. Levels can take a long time to load, and some do not have loading screens, displaying a gray screen until they're done loading. The only levels that could be considered traditionally "game-like" are levels 1, 6 and 8: The Blast Chambers, Initial Attack, and The Rooftops. These were the primary levels used to prototype the game. The other levels are intended for the developers to test features or scripting, but some are rather substantial, like level 14, AI Abilities Test.

Oni 2's melee combat was shaping up to be considerably more complex than Oni's, incorporating the grappling and parrying that some Oni fans have wished for in a sequel. Ledge-grabbing, AIs that can disarm you, contextual abilities, and blocks that stun the attacker are also additions to Oni's formula. Gunplay is still present, and is as simple as it is in Oni. Konoko's agility is as good as in Oni, with the ability to perform melee strikes in all four directions, strafe sideways, and perform a jump-flip while still using her weapon. A curious choice was made in allowing Konoko to double-jump as if she is a character in a platformer (of course, no design decisions were finalized at this point in development). Konoko can also perform wall flips (see "Controls" section). When she is facing a wall, the wall flip sends her backward away from the wall, but when her back is to the wall, she comes back into it with her flip, and can continue to perform additional backward wall flips ad infinitum. This allows her to climb any wall, which is essential to clearing level 8.

Note that Oni 2 is meant to be played in analog mode so that the left thumbstick can be used for movement and the right stick to move the camera. In digital mode (the "Analog" light on the DualShock 2 is off), the D-pad has to be used as the movement control, but in analog mode, the D-pad is freed up to serve as the inventory control. In the following tables, analog mode is assumed to be on unless otherwise noted. Note that ledge grabbing does not work everywhere, only where the devs intended it to.

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|Toggle camera mode: standard, close-up, free-flying

It doesn't seem that the Oni 2 project actually had any writing done for it yet, so any story-like elements in the build are probably placeholders. Even the title of the game is probably a placeholder or joke, as it would be rather unusual for a shipping title. Also notable is that internal resources of the game repeatedly use the title "'''Oni 2: Rebirth'''".

 

The lack of any kind of finalized story is the likely explanation for the fact that Konoko is back to working for the TCTF, an organization that previously tried to kill her, not to mention that Mai is called "Konoko" again instead of her real name (though that may be because she is working for the TCTF). Konoko is briefed on missions by an android named Amaya (she does not look human like an SLD). The organization of bad guys is simply called the Neo-Syndicate, also likely a placeholder. The setting of the game is a traditional cyberpunk atmosphere. We see all sorts of cyborgs, as well as scavengers living off collected junk.