E3 2010: Hands on with Capcom's Okamiden

While Capcom's action adventure game Okami was impressive in terms of its hand drawn graphics and gameplay - enabling players to draw items onscreen using Japanese calligraphy - it wasn't a commercial success.

It's something of a surprise then that it's being remade for the DS in the shape of Okamiden, which sees Amaterasu, the celestial white wolf star of Okami, downsized to Chibiterasu, a baby version, and her daughter.

As before, one of game's main elements is the celestial brush, which is how the player draws on the screen. This works in certain situation as you use either the left or right shoulder button to switch the top gameplay screen to the DS's lower touchscreen so you can use your stylus. For example, you can use your brush to fill in the gaps in a broken bridge. Your abilities are limited by the amount of ink you have.

Combat still has a part to play in the game, with the Y button firing out an edged blade that travels in an arc around Chibiterasu.

An addition to the DS game is the secondary character Kuni, who rides on Chibiterasu's back.

Tapping X enables you to split the pair, with each having specific tasks only they can do alone, in a typical buddy gameplay style. For example, Kuni can travel across bridges that would collapse under Chibiterasu's weight.

What was nicest to see however was those little graphical touches that made Okami so refreshing, so wherever Chibiterasu moves, flowers and grass appear in her wake. There's also plenty of humour in game as was demonstrated by the arrival of the little, fat dancing birds called Michigami.

Still with a western release date of sometime in 2011, we'll be waiting for a while yet to get a complete view on whether Okamiden will be more successful on the DS than Okami was on consoles.