Otogi 2 - Xbox review

25 February 2005 6:54 GMT / By Stuart Miles

More Japanese ninja-style action ensues in this follow up to Otogi. For those not familiar with the title (and let's face it, it's not really a household brand just yet), Otogi is back from the dead once again to fight the forces of evil. Although, as the game rightly points out, you destroyed all the demons last time around, it seems you were sloppy in your dealings and a few survived.

According to the storyline, this resurgence of evil prompts Seimei, a female sorceress, to devote the lives of four warriors to bring back Raiko (that's you) once again.

What this means to the player is that you've now got six characters to choose from to fight the forces of evil. It's a nice addition to the game and one that certainly brings new life to it.

On reaching a new level you get to choose your character and as with all these things each character has different strengths suited to the task. Some use magic, while others resort to brute force. To add an extra element to the characters, the more levels you complete, the greater level that character achieves and this means that you must spread your choices out otherwise you'll have one strong character and 5 weaklings.

Aside from the character developments the game play hasn't really changed. There are two modes to play Havoc and storyline. Havoc is a smash and grab approach where you can play any opened level and carve your way through the bad guys. Storyline gives some reference to the action. Either way the core of this game is killing bad guys. There is little problem solving to do and plenty of bad guys and scenery to destroy.

Verdict

The graphics have that Xbox shine to them. In a visually obsessed gaming climate though, they're nothing out of the ordinary and over the course of the levels, the killings begin to bore. If you're in looking for mindless spell-casting, sword-wielding action without having to think too hard then this is for you. If you're a puzzle solver or someone looking for a good storyline to challenge you, our advice is to look elsewhere.