Oni was...not a very good game...

if I can put it mildly...

Ah, that's the Lariat. I always seem to be hit on my way to trying to do that, unless the enemy in question is otherwise occupied....
I respectfully disagree with your objectively incorrect opinion :)

that is a good question since I would like to get a new as well. since my sister lost the copy we had. I found a copy Menards of all places.

Oni was a brilliant game - it was just beset with a combination of internal strife, meddling from the marketing department at Take Two (Anyone remember the furor over them taking blood out of the game?), and a development schedule far too ambitious for both hardware of the day, and its release schedule. Using AutoCAD to design the levels made for some truly unforgettable in-game architecture...but it pretty much killed any possibility for the game living on through third-party mods.

And on top of that, there was the hype generated by the truly awesome trailers (anyone remember the GITS-esque Iron Giant?), and the fact that a lot of really compelling third-person action-adventure games like Rune and ST:DS9 - The Fallen were released around the same time.

Sure, it was far from perfect, but like other forgotten Bungie games like Myth: TFL and Marathon, no other game like it had come before, and it was just way too innovative for its time.

The Running Lariat was a devastating move, but it was almost impossible to pull off; every time I tried I ended up doing a basic running kick (or was it running punch?). It almost felt as if the game needed millimeter-level accuracy as to whether or not you were in the right orientation and place to pull it off.

The key is to run not directly toward the opponent, but slightly to the side as if you're planning to run right past him. I still get hit most of the time I attempt that though.
The architecture might have been fine, but the levels were, for the most part, rather bland and unimaginative.

I have this game for the ps2 but I could never get passed the lasers at the start of the prison level. I did enjoy the plot though and the game felt quite original to me.