In the discoveries of man, we have learned the truth that artists like to paint, and gamers like to play. But what about the poor souls who like both, but have a life and only enough time for one activity? Say no more, Okami is the answer to these and many more problems. This title, developed by Clover Studio of Capcom, blends art and gaming to create an incredibly unique, and sometimes zany, experience.

With a game based around incredibly innovative graphics, it is difficult to limit the description to a few paragraphs. Just as unique as the experience, the visual graphics of Okami stand out from any other game. To those who don't look close enough, the graphics simply look cel-shaded. Cel shaded is mostly the base of the graphics; but instead of looking completely smooth, like in games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the dark outlines have more of a rough, shaky look to them. This look makes the characters seem as if they were animated from paintings. The screen is also glossed over with an outer layer to make every playable moment seem as if it were all on a canvas put into your television.

Okami's environments are very colorful and bright, giving an additional feel of warmth to the player. The environments are huge, enabling the player to gaze upon large fields and deep forest areas. As with most action adventure games that have vast environments, the day later turns into night, giving a second view to everything that was just seen. The night visuals give the colors of the areas a cooler feel that is just as inviting as the day time. Reviving fallen trees from empty branches to full bloom is also a visually stunning effect.

Elements in the game add even more character to the environment. While traveling in the outdoors, animated lines can be seen swerving through the air signifying wind. The lines, mixed with rustling leaves from the trees, give an accurate visual of wind. The water visuals in Okami seem to be fairly plain. But even though there aren't many waves, the color blends in well with the rest of the environment. Fire effects in the game are by far the coolest elemental visuals. Also looking like an animation straight out of a painting, the colors are bright and the flames look thick and very "full".

Sound is another example of how strange and one-of-a-kind Okami really is. The story is told in subtitles, but the voiceovers have no comprehendible language at all. It sounds more like computerized gibberish, comparable to the voiceovers in Banjo-Kazooie. The noises are a little weird at first, but easy to get used to. The soothing sounds of the wind and environment are also enjoyable. The playable character in the game is a wolf accompanied by realistic wolf sound affects. One of the most entertaining sound effects for the simple minded is that one button makes the wolf bark. With all of these sound effects put together with great entertaining music, it is much easier to have an enjoyable gameplay experience.

Okami begins when an evil dragon that was concealed away from past events is released and reigns destruction over the land. The player takes the role of a god in the form of a wolf, nicknamed Ammy, that has been reborn to revive the destruction in the world. Alongside Ammy is a tiny, flea-like friend who guides her in her adventure. As you can tell, the storyline is a bit on the fantasy side. The game is fully soaked in an Asian style of telling the story, from the weapons to the music. Controls are fluid and easy to pick up on. The simple things, like jumping and character movement, are smooth and graceful. Attacking enemies is also fluid and very exciting. But what makes the gameplay so innovative is the paint brush. After gaining different powers for the brush, the player is able to repair broken things in town, create paths to a new area, and create sunlight itself. The best feature about this magical brush technique is that you can use it to perform different attacks on enemies. This is something I have never seen in gaming. In the middle of battle, the player is able to hold R1 and freeze the screen to look like a canvas, and paint different patterns with a brush onto the screen. Each pattern the player draws is a different technique or attack. I have compared freezing the screen in the middle of battle to the powers of controlling time in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Freezing the battle allows the time to quickly find a way to counter the enemy's current attack. There are many powers you can get for the brush by making progress through the game and finding constellations. When a constellation is found, the player must draw in missing stars to bring the constellation to life, which then gives you a new power.

There are many different types of enemies that Ammy encounters in her adventure, each getting more difficult as time goes by. In the different areas of the game, players will find floating scrolls that, when touched, will trigger a battle with enemies for money. Stronger areas such as gates trigger the same action but with more enemies and, once defeated, revives a small area of land. Boss battles are also longer and extremely exciting. After completing tasks and performing certain actions, the player is rewarded with praise orbs, which the players use to add to their max health, max ink, and others.

Okami's learning curve is at a great slope. Players are told exactly how to do things in the game without even having to read the instruction booklet. When taught new brush skills, your flea partner hints at places to practice them. Later in the game, hints aren't revealed so easily to provide a decent challenge. There are few times when the player has completely no clue what to do. However, this strategy may not be people's favorite. Okami, in some parts, seems too linear and provides little extra exploration and only so many items to collect. Overall the game's difficulty is evenly balanced; regular enemies provide a challenge while the boss battles may take a second try, but not too many tries.

As far as mechanics go, Okami has a good camera system that uses the right control stick. The camera moves a little slow, but offers different angle opportunities and doesn't seem to be a nuisance. Fighting is smooth with different attacks with or without the magical brush. The map pops up easily and without interrupting gameplay at the push of a button. The in-game menu is easy to navigate and contains important information about missions in case the player forgot.

In all, Okami is a fantastic and innovative game containing fun characters and a captivating (and strange) storyline. In some ways, it is very similar to Zelda games due to its similar action adventure style. People who appreciate art need to check out this game just for its form of graphics; and people who enjoy a good action adventure game also need to give Okami a chance. If you're looking for a good game to enjoy for a long time, Okami will be worth getting. It will at least give us something fun to do until The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is released.