WITH most game developers looking at the PlayStation 3 for its next games, it’s bittersweet to know there are still amazing games that come out for aging the PS2. Capcom is among the loyal game developers for the PS2 and it certainly made its presence felt when it released Okami, a Japanese-themed, cel-shaded game.

From the minds of Clover Studio (makers of the Viewtiful Joe series) comes an adventure wherein the main character is neither human or a funny-looking creature, but a white wolf, highly regarded as an important image of the Shinto sun deity Amaterasu.

The game is set sometime in 4th or 5th century feudal Nippon (the old name of Japan) when Shintoism was just about to spread its influence across the archipelago. The story goes that the evil eight-headed serpent Orochi was stalking a village and required that a maiden be sacrificed to him every year during a festival. During the 100th year, a brave villager found out that his beloved will be the next sacrifice. Intent on stopping her death and totally ending the gruesome annual ritual, the man, Nagi, sets out to hunt down Orochi. He finds the monster and tries to attack but is subdued. Suddenly a white wolf steps in and fights off Orochi but it too was unable to stop Orochi. Badly beaten, the wolf howls in the middle of the night and this had an effect on Nagi, who got up and attacked the creature again, this time killing it. Nagi took the white wolf back to his village where it was deemed a hero.

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AS the third force between the titanic clash of the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, the Wii’s ace in its sleeve is its unique control system. Hi-def visuals be damned, Nintendo is pinning the Wii’s fortunes on a library of innovative titles.

Although there’s also a GameCube version out, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a Wii launch title as well as the torchbearer for the much-beloved series.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ beginning is quite familiar to most RPG aficionados. In the sleepy village of Ordon, a good-natured elfin farmhand by the name of Link tries his best to cope with menial tasks assigned to him by the villagers. As the eldest boy in the village, the other children look up to Link as a big brother of sorts.

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