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First Impressions: Okami

OkamiNTSCcoverFinal

Released in 2006 by Capcom on the PlayStation 2, Okami is an action-adventure video game. It was later released in 2008 on the Wii and has also been released on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network, according to the Okami game website.

Okami centers around a wolf sun god named Amaterasu. One hundred years ago, Amaterasu defeated a legendary monster named Orochi. Orochi was responsible for plaguing Kamiki Village with a curse. Using the power of the thirteen Celestial Brushes, Amaterasu was able to defeat Orochi, but at the cost of her own life. The beginning of Okami takes place in the present, where Amaterasu runs into a fairy sprite named Issun and discovers that Orochi is still at large. Together, Amaterasu and Issun go on an adventure to collect the thirteen Celestial Brush powers and defeat Orochi.

I first started playing Okami in May when my boyfriend Zach gave it to me as a college graduation present. But I stopped playing because I was struggling to defeat Ninetails. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to pick it back up again. I had heard about Okami via word of mouth and Tumblr and was immediately interested in playing it.

When I started playing Okami, I fell in love. I found the graphics of the game itself to be absolutely stunning and had a hard time putting my controller down. I spent many hours playing because I found the storyline in the game to be completely immersing and couldn’t get enough of playing as Amaterasu.

Amaterasu right outside the Dragon Palace. I really enjoyed seeing the Dragon Palace underwater. It was one of my favorite places in Okami.
Amaterasu right outside the Dragon Palace. I really enjoyed seeing the Dragon Palace underwater. It was one of my favorite places in Okami.
Checking out the Sunken Ship.
Checking out the Sunken Ship.

I love this game not only because of the graphics and plot, but also because of the characters. I particularly enjoy Amaterasu’s interactions with Issun because both of them can be really comical with each other. I also love Waka’s character because he gives off the vibe of being a mysterious prophet and the player doesn’t really know why he keeps showing up everywhere Amaterasu and Issun go. Fighting is also enjoyable in Okami too. I love being able to have a variety of weapons to use as the game progresses and that you can use the Celestial Brush techniques to help take damage on enemies. I also enjoy playing Okami because the Celestial Brushes have more than one use. While each brush technique is unique, the game allows you to use each of the brushes to help you progress, making them extremely helpful to the player.

However, while there are a lot of things I love about Okami, there are also a few things about the game that I don’t enjoy. I’m not a fan of games that sexualize or have any form of misogyny. In Okami, one of the things I noticed was Issun acted misogynistic towards some of the female characters in the game, such as Sakuya. I also didn’t enjoy that with some of the female character’s, you could clearly see parts of their body that should’ve been covered.

Sakuya’s outfit. As you can see, her cleavage is visible and not hard to miss.
Sakuya’s outfit. As you can see, her cleavage is visible and not hard to miss.

While the way Issun acted towards these women was very small and insignificant in comparison to the way some men sexualize women, it was something I noticed and picked up on. Another issue I have with this game is the layout of the map because it is really small and can sometimes be very difficult to see where you are supposed to be going.

Another issue with Okami I have is the moments where the game leaves you hanging and you have to figure out what you’re supposed to do next. The journal is supposed to help, but I find that these hints the journal leaves the player can sometimes be more confusing than helpful. Whenever I get stuck, I end up looking at walkthroughs instead because they are more helpful. This is an issue for me because while I don’t mind playing games that are challenging and that make me think, I don’t enjoy having to constantly look up information to progress when I’d rather be playing.

Some of the mini games in Okami I also find I don’t enjoy. One of these mini games is the digging mini game. I don’t like this mini game in particular because it is really a pain to complete and I find myself having to do it multiple times before I am able to finish it. Along with fishing, it is one of the mini games the player has to do multiple times in order to progress further into the game.

However, despite these issues I have, I really love playing Okami. It is a game I fell immediately in love with and one I can see myself playing over and over again in the years to come. Okami is a game that holds a special place in my heart and I recommend it to anyone interested in playing it.

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Book Review: Seeker

Seeker Book Cover

Rating: 2 stars

The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor.

As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world.

And she’ll be with the boy she loves—who’s also her best friend.
But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought. And now it’s too late to walk away.

I read Seeker in May and posted my thoughts about it on Goodreads. However, I want to go more in-depth about why I didn’t enjoy reading this book as much as I was hoping. But before I go into all of that, I’d first like to talk about what I liked about Seeker.

I really enjoyed how the author switched the points of view between different characters. This gave the reader a unique experience that you don’t see very often when reading books. Especially fantasy books like this one. The different points of view gave the reader a better understanding of what was really going on in the story because not only did the reader hear the story from the perspective of the main character Quin, but also from other characters in their world who played a pivotal role in maintaining the balance between good and evil, such as Maud. I also enjoyed hearing the story from John’s perspective. Though John is one of the main antagonists of Seeker, I felt as if I could understand what he was doing. I also enjoyed learning more about the technology and the setting in the world surrounding the characters in this book, such as learning about their different weaponry for fighting.

However, I found that I was displeased reading Seeker more than anything else. While the plot of the book kept me interested in wanting to read more, the execution of the plot was overall disappointing and not very clearly organized. The reader discovers that Seekers are not the knights in shining armor that protect the good like Quin thought they were. But the reader never gets an explanation of what all exactly they do.

I also was disappointed in the character development of Quin and her cousin Shinobu. When they end up traveling to Hong Kong, I felt myself becoming disoriented at the sequence of events that happened while they were there. Both Quin and Shinobu almost seemed like different characters in Seeker, trying to escape their past instead of doing everything in their power to stop John from getting an athame. I also thought that the relationship between Quin and Shinobu came out of nowhere. The reader knew in the beginning of the book that Shinobu had strong feelings for Quin, but I felt as if Quin’s feelings for her cousin came out of thin air and that they weren’t real. While I’m not particularly a fan of incest in books I read, if the relationship of love between the two characters is clear to see and the writing is well-written, I don’t mind it as much. But Quin and Shinobu’s relationship just happens with no explanation.

The only reason I kept reading was out of the hope that Seeker would get better for me. Instead, this book fell flat and really left me disappointed. I don’t recommend Seeker as a book to read because it didn’t fulfill my hopes for what I thought it was going to be and the plot was under developed.

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First Impressions: Plants vs Zombies

Plants vs Zombies Title Screen

Plants vs Zombies is an action packed tower defense video game. Released in 2009 by PopCap, Plants vs Zombies is a game where the player has to protect their home from an invasion of zombies through the use of planting an assortment of zombie-zapping plants on their property. Each plant has their own abilities that allow you to defend yourself against zombies before they can enter your front door.

However, the game comes with its own sets of challenges. These challenges are seen throughout the game with each different game mode. For example, in one of the game modes, the player has to defend their backyard from zombies, which includes having to defend zombies from entering your house through your pool. In order to defend the pool, the player can place Lily Pads in the pool. Lily Pads allow the player to defend their pool with other plants, such as Peashooters, Repeaters, Chompers, etc. by letting the player plant these plants on the Lily Pads.

Plants vs Zombies 11
My backyard before the final invasion of zombies.

I first started playing Plants vs Zombies last year. However, I found myself getting back into the game with the goal of clearing it last week. While I have yet to beat Plants vs Zombies, I have discovered that there is a lot I enjoy about playing this game. For one, I enjoy watching all of my plants defend my home from an invasion of zombies. Part of my enjoyment of this game is because I love the strategic mindset the player has to get into to make sure they don’t get eaten. A big part of the strategy is choosing which plants to use to defend your home before the level even begins. The player is only allowed a certain amount of plants for each level so you have to choose very carefully which plants you want to use to defend your home.  In order to increase the amount of plants you can bring into each level, you have to buy a slot from Crazy Dave’s shop. I also enjoy playing Plants vs Zombies because I love the graphics of the game and the different game modes the player experiences. These game modes allow the player to be entertained without facing the same challenge over and over again and the graphics make Plants vs Zombies look pleasing to the gamer’s eye.

However, there are some drawbacks to Plants vs Zombies too. One of the drawbacks for me is choosing which plants to use to defend your home in each level. While I enjoy being challenged when playing video games, I think only being able to use a certain amount of plants each level stinks. While it does make the game more difficult, it also doesn’t allow the player to enjoy using the full arsenal of plants they have at their disposal. Another drawback to Plants vs Zombies for me is that playing it only appeals to me for a short amount of time. It is a game I find myself hooked to for a couple of days before I find myself interested in wanting to play something else.

However, I enjoy playing Plants vs Zombies. While it doesn’t appeal to me as a game to play for a long period of time, it appeals to my love of plants, nature and zombies. It is a game you can easily get hooked to, if you are looking for a game to spend a couple of days getting lost in. I definitely recommend playing Plants vs Zombies to the gamer interested in strategy based games involving plants and zombies.

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Book Review: Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World

Phenomenal Book

Rating: 4 stars

Heartfelt and awe inspiring, Leigh Ann Henion’s Phenomenal is a moving tale of physical grandeur and emotional transformation, a journey around the world that ultimately explores the depths of the human heart. A journalist and young mother, Henion combines her own conflicted but joyful experiences as a parent with a panoramic tour of the world’s most extraordinary natural wonders. Phenomenal begins in hardship: with Henion deeply shaken by the birth of her beloved son, shocked at the adversity a young mother faces with a newborn. The lack of sleep, the shrinking social circle, the health difficulties, all collide and force Henion to ask hard questions about our accepted wisdom on parenting and the lives of women. Convinced that the greatest key to happiness—both her own and that of her family—lies in periodically allowing herself to venture into the wider world beyond home, Henion sets out on a global trek to rekindle her sense of wonder.

Henion’s quest takes her far afield, but it swiftly teaches her that freedom is its own form of parenting, one that ultimately allows her to meet her son on his own terms: with a visceral understanding of the wonder he experiences every day at the fresh new world. Whether standing on the still-burning volcanoes of Hawai’i or in the fearsome lightning storms of Venezuela, in the vast animal movements of Tanzania or the elegant butterfly migrations of Mexico, Henion reveals in Phenomenal a world of sublimity and revelation.

Henion’s spiritual wanderlust puts her in the path of modern-day shamans, reindeer herders, and astrophysicists. She meets laypeople from all over the world, from all walks of life, each going to great lengths to chase migrations, auroras, eclipses, and other phenomena. These seekers trust their instincts, follow their passions, shape their days into the lives they most want to lead. And somewhere along the way, Leigh Ann Henion becomes one of them.

A breathtaking memoir, Phenomenal reveals unforgettable truths about motherhood, spirituality, and the beauty of nature.

Upon picking up this book, I discovered how much I really enjoyed reading it. I found this book to be a phenomenal read because it inspired in me a sense of wonder about the world around us. It brought to light how much of the world I have yet to see and how each of us in everyday life can find something to live in awe over. Hearing this incredible journey to see natural phenomena in our everyday world from the perspective of a journalist struggling to fit in her travels while still having time with her son really made me captivated to continue reading this memoir.

I found Phenomenal to be an enjoyable read for other reasons as well. I really enjoyed hearing about all of the different places Leigh Ann traveled to, from seeing the Northern Lights in Sweden to going to see a volcano eruption in Hawaii. I also enjoyed her conversations with people from different walks of life about their culture and their own beliefs and how she was able to reflect on all of those different conversations to try and make sense of the world we live in. I found Phenomenal to be a memoir that not only kept me thinking, but also inspired in me the need to travel and see the wonderful sights the world around us has to offer.

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