Review
For several years, Oni was a game as hyped as it was delayed. Rockstar's title went through development pains even as it was heralded by some as a game which could become a new standard in the realm of action. It debuted on the Playstation 2 at a time when the fledgling console was in desperate need of a quality title. Oni seeks to embody the frantic and chaotic beauty of Japanese animation, and bring a fighting game sensibility into the third dimension. Given the amount of hype the title received, one would hope for an outstanding, genre-changing game.
Don't believe the hype.
Which is to say, most titles can't possibly live up to the assumptions of the gaming press, the expectations of gamers, and the heaps of exaggeration churned out by companies' PR departments. Those that can live up to the hype are rare gems indeed, and while Oni has some attractive components, it does not measure up to its promise. Does that make it a bad game? No, but it does qualify Oni as a definite disappointment, with glaring flaws that hold it down from the lofty gaming heavens to which it strives.
One of the things Oni does well is convey the anime aesthetic for which it strives. Much of the design, from the beautifully animated opening to the sleek design of the characters, positively screams anime, which should please fans of the style. While the characters look great, the environments in which they inhabit look anything but, with giant room after giant room littered with crates or other such boring objects. The imagination and creativity that went into Oni stopped with a screeching halt when it came to level design, and the result is an unfortunately bland-looking game, where the incentive for progressing is marred by the disinterest in the actual locations to which you will be traveling.
Another aspect of Oni that will hold you back is the game's astounding difficulty, even on the easiest of settings. Oni's difficulty, coupled with an unforgiving save feature that only lets you log your progress once in a great while, leads to a disheartening pattern of trying repeatedly to beat an area, only to be crushed time and time again.
The combat system is a mixed bag, with the vast array of weapons offered proving to be both useful and graphically compelling. But the fighting system, one of Oni's original selling points, is highly suspect from the get go. Konoko has a decent amount of moves, but combos are very limited and many of her special maneuvers are only useful on certain occasions. Much of the game will be spent fighting multiple enemies, and although Oni goes for a more fluid feel than the locking systems of other games, group melees are still chaotic and the control within them is difficult to manipulate. Combine that with the inability to save often enough, and you have a game that often turns into an exercise in tedium.
That's unfortunate, too, as Oni looks and sounds great, except for a few mistakes that are so obvious they should have been caught early in development. But despite the attention to detail in a few areas, the lack of that attention in a few other key spots really holds Oni down. There is entertainment value within the game, and many people will probably enjoy it for what it is, especially those who find it's visual design appealing, but overall, Oni doesn't live up to it's early promise.
Graphics 
Great models and fluid motion are marred by terrible, boring level designs that seem like an afterthought rather than a key component of the game.
Sound
The voice acting is competent, the sound effects are great, and the music is adrenaline pumping.
Enjoyment 
While fighting seems great early on, by the time you log some hours, you'll probably find yourself both frustrated and unhappy with the difficulty of the game and awkwardness of the combat, which will undoubtedly lead to your death many, many times. Add that to the fact that the levels are bland, and the story itself is rather generic, and it's hard to be extremely excited about finishing Oni.
Replay Value 
Once you finish Oni, there isn't much of a reason to go back to it, as the first jaunt through was probably time consuming and often tedious. It really offers no incentive to play it again.
Documentation 
The manual explains some of the story and tells you how to use most of the game's special maneuvers, and it runs down a list of most of the enemies that you will meet along your journey. Pictures would have been nice, however.
