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Oni


 
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By Andrew Bub
(5/4/99)

  
 The Basics
     
Publisher: Bungie Software
Developer: Bungie Software
Genre: Action
Release date: Winter 1999
 
Oni, Bungie Software's upcoming third-person-perspective action title, is nothing if not ambitious in its concept. Imagine taking the adventure format of a game such as Tomb Raider and the combat options from a game such as Tekken 3 and combining the best of both disparate genres; that will give you an inkling of how Oni may play. Risky? Yes, but I can't think of a better company to tackle such a concept. Bungie is best known for redefining real-time strategy with the groundbreaking Myth series. But Myth was a fantasy/strategy game. Can Bungie do action? By now all you Mac gamers are nodding your heads in affirmation. Bungie is also known for its Marathon 3D shooters, a series that some believe was way ahead of its PC brethren in terms of innovation.

Ghost in the Machine
With a story inspired by Japanese animé, the game features all of the over-the-top action, mature themes, dystopian futuristic cities, and acrobatic heroics associated with that genre of stylized animation. In Japanese, oni means ghost or demon, and Oni's story concerns a young female cop, Konoko, who is haunted by the demons of her past. For now she serves the TCTF (Technology Crimes Task Force) as a one-woman SWAT team. Almost single-handedly she must conquer the evil Kage crime syndicate that inhabits a postmodern urban landscape.

To bring the future, and the animé-inspired locality, to life, Bungie has drawn upon the talents of architects to design many of the numerous indoor and outdoor levels. The levels will be so detailed that you'll be able to use furniture or objects as weapons. You'll also need to rely on your wits or instincts to survive and progress. Each level will offer multiple nonrestrictive paths, so you can use common sense in getting from point A to point B. The graphics promise to exemplify all of the current 3D-acceleration buzzwords. Although there's no word yet on minimum specs, it's likely that the game will not require high-end hardware acceleration.

       
       
   
 
Blow it up!
 
Blow it up!
 
Blow it up!
 

Full-Contact Action
"Full-contact action" is the phrase Bungie has coined to describe Oni. It isn't just an empty slogan, either. What makes Oni different from other third-person action fare is its combination of running, leaping, rolling, and shooting, as well as martial arts. The game employs a standard keyboard/mouse 3D shooter control scheme, but adds a punch button and a kick button, which should allow greater combat versatility than similar games. Hitting those buttons in different combinations allows you to execute a wide variety of combat moves, giving you unprecedented options on how to handle a combat situation. You'll be able to kick weapons from opponents' hands, pepper their ugly mugs with your fists of fury, and then topple them with a roundhouse kick. Or you can pick up someone's gun and blow away his friends. Bungie also says that Oni will have advanced AI, similar to Eidos' Thief: The Dark Project, so at times it may be necessary to hide silently.

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting
Most of the combat moves are possible due to Oni's interpolation of animations within animations. In a game such as Tomb Raider, executing a roll and then a jump means that the roll animation must finish before the jump animation can begin. Oni promises to allow you to roll, jump, and attack in one smooth movement. Consider the potential of that innovation and add multiplayer to the mix, and you have an intriguing new approach to multiplayer gameplay. Multiplayer will be offered in co-op or deathmatch mode, and you can play as any of the game's many characters.

         
     
     
 
Blow it up!
 
Blow it up!
 

I asked Bungie's wild-eyed PR evangelist Doug Zartman what he thought makes Oni so special. "[Oni] doesn't place any limitations on how you fight. You wanna kick the guy? Kick him. Wanna shoot him? Shoot him. Wanna flip him over your back, slamming him headfirst into the ground? You can do that too." Soon enough, so you'll be able to make those choices--in the comfort of your own living room--when the game ships simultaneously for both the PC and the Mac later this year.

Do you think Oni's Konoko can steal the heart of gamers everywhere? Does Lara have anything to feel threatened about? Let us know what you think in the CNET Message Boards.

Andrew Bub has a black belt in "pretend" karate. He is lucky his wife Linda puts up with his silly jumping and flailing around. Got some feedback? Let us have it!

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