Aug 06, 1:40 pm
I pondered in my last blog whether or not to play Okami, so recently I decided to go out and buy it.
I am sure you all know it is a delightful and beautiful game, with nothing but the pleasure of playing it to be had. Sitting on my sofa helping to restore the world to its former beauty, whilst gaining praise for being good at painting and generally helping out, is really rather nice. It made me realise that it has been a little while since I really gamed for pleasure.
I have of course been gaming, and enjoying it, but not quite in this way. On the Xbox 360 there is a constant social side to gaming. One of the first things I always do when I switch it on is have a quick eyeball at who is online and what they are playing. This I guess is the real world equivalent of phoning all my friends and asking them what they are up to before I settle down for a nice cup of tea. Seems like slightly random behaviour to me. There is also the issue of gamer points with the 360. I am no score whore, and do not try to be, but even I get disappointed when I do something in game that I feel I really should get an achievement for, but don’t.
I have been playing my DS lots recently. However, it’s usually used to kill boredom in a short spaces of time. I have got so used to being busy these days that if I have 20 minute tube journey, half an hour at lunch, or a sneaky few minutes to fill before bed I pick up the DS. This is fun gaming, and I also enjoy it, but it is more of a time-filler then a true source of relaxation.
I have also recently been having a go at single player Rainbow Six: Vegas on the PS3, but this was secretly just to compare it to the 360. Spotting the difference is an almost child-like pasttime, but rewarding in its own special way. However, once again I was gaming with a hidden agenda.
So Okami has been really refreshing. I get to take up the whole sofa, nobody messages me, nobody keeps an eye on me, and I have absolutely nothing to achieve other than trying to find all those beads. It is so nice to want to complete a task just because you do. No gamer points, no comparisons, and no urge to do it in under 3 minutes because that’s when the bus stops.
