Ah Okami…I don’t think any developer could bow out from the industry with such finesse and accomplishment as well as Clover Studios did when they released this on PS2 two years ago. Since then, the company may have been dissolved and reborn in the shape of Platinum Games (formerly Seeds Inc.) However, Okami’s charm lives on with the excellent re-release of the Wii version, which I have been thoroughly enjoying this week.
This level of artistry is rarely seen in many modern games
In that special way that they do so well, Clover perfectly captured the look and feel of playing within a hand-painted world in Okami, thanks to their mastery of all things cel-shaded. They also put this talent to good use in Viewtiful Joe and it’s equally awesome sequel, with Capcom label-mate and head of Grasshopper Studios, Suda 51serving up an equally abstract title in the form of Killer7 at roughly the same time.
Indeed it was the season of the cartooney, the colourful, the weird and the wonderful. Then, save for the release of the exemplary No More Heroes, all fell silent in cel-shaded land, apart perhaps from the Dragon Ball Z and Naruto titles, but they don’t reaaally count as they were cartoons to begin with y’see?
So how surprised was I and probably everyone else, when Platinum Games announced they were working on a slew of new titles with Sega – ‘Happy days’ I thought and sure enough, their first offering Mad World looks like the shiznit! It’s got all the ingredients Clover used in their games: Cel-shading? Check! Abstract visuals, Check! Violence, Erm…just a tad…(check the below screenshot!)
That’s quite a nasty nosebleed you have there pal :/
For some odd reason though, I found it odd that this is the only reportedly cel-shaded title the team are working on, with the rest being pretty ‘normal’ looking (if you get what I mean?) They don’t use that comic-book style they perfected so well, but, on the other hand, they are yet to produce a naff game. Even the critically-dividing God Hand, was a madcap, non-cel shaded scrapper that, for me, is the closest thing a 3D game has been to replicating the 2D scrolling beat-em-up format (Mint soundtrack too! I urge you to seek it out).
So it’s really nice to have the team back producing games. After all, these are the guys who conceptualised Resident Evil and Devil May Cry – talent like that should never, ever be taken for granted…Here, I’m talking specifically to the people who take one look at the front cover of their games then put them back on the shelf because it looks ‘too different’.
But to be fair, that’s fine, because taking a gamble with that hard-earned forty quid is never easy for anyone, so it will be very interesting to see how well their more ‘realistic’ looking titles, Bayonetta and Infinite Line do, in comparison to Mad World, once they hit the streets.
Either way guys, it’s awesome to see you making games again, you have been sorely missed 😀
Check out Mad World, Bayonetta and Infinite Line here
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