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Posted by @ 8:29 AM, EST
Stomped posted first impressions (of the PC version) of Bungie’s action game Oni:

The weapons you get in the first few levels range from a pistol to a machine gun to some kind of plasma weapon. However, the firepower you may be packing is not nearly as much fun as taking out the bad guys hand (and feet) to hand. Oni finally brings a console-style fighting game to the PC that is not embarrassing or dull. There is nothing quite so satisfying as flinging an enemy over your head and watching him crash down to the ground. Also, unlike most other fighting games, there is no blood or gore involved. You can tell an enemy is defeated when you strike him and a colored light turns red when you hit.

Following a rather trite introductory sequence that underlines the collection aspects of the game, Donald is dropped into a number of pseudo-3D game worlds, each based around jungles, cities and B-movie themes. Within these, Donald scurries from start to finish, collecting shiny cogs, using the time-honoured "bum bounce" manoeuvre to kill anything in his way and navigating hazardous narrow walkways and treacherous routes. The action is viewed in the third person, although the camera is surprisingly distant from the action and thus misses out on the game's neat animation touches and some very attractive level and enemy design. But, ultimately, Donald Duck Quack Attack takes a path as familiar as its graphical themes, and while it is eminently playable, it lacks the finesses of the original Bandicoot titles.

The real kicker, however, is the fact that the game is set up in a fashion that keeps the pacing erratic. After you beat up a group of enemies, you're treated to a loading screen, then a menu that enables you to buy your powerups. Next, you're moved over to the save menu, then, another load and you get to watch an FMV sequence (which can be quite long), then, after yet another load, you're back in the action. While the order of these things may shift a little during the game, it's the same thing over and over, and it gets horribly jarring to constantly have to stop the action -- sometimes after only a minute or two of actual fighting. So instead of providing the excitement of Double Dragon or Streets of Rage, where you walk along a path fighting enemies as you come to them, The Bouncer feels more like a compilation of short fighting vignettes.