Onimusha 2

Something has to be said about the ability of Capcom to occasionally come out with games that just rock your world. To name: Onimusha, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, Street Fighter... the list goes on. Let's face it, they make popular games. However, one series tends to be "Ignored" by games while similarly being heralded as awesome: the Onimusha series.



The Onimusha series is a very very niche series. For one thing, it plays a lot like a old Samurai movie, akin to anything that Akira Kurosawa ever directed. The storylines are typically very very based on Japanese culture, which means people who don't understand it (Or people who have more time on their hands than TO understand it), it comes across wierd. However, thankfully, the game's translators made most of it self explanatory, but I still must note upon the heritage of this game.

Now let's get to the d*** game. Onimusha plays a lot like Devil May Cry, except the main character, Jubei, plays more like a tank than a sportscar. For example, instead of quick actions by using the digital sticks, this game rather uses only the control pad, meaning full 360 degree movement is not possible. Frankly, this is annoying. Very annoying.



Just to be more specific on the controls, I have to say, they arent as good as they could have been. The lack of analog control on the PS2 is like making me play a gameboy game without ever using a button. However, I suppose there's not much they could have done, being as most Playstation owners still, even now, use the pad. But, it makes me wonder, because ALL PLAYSTATION TWO CONSOLES came with the Dualshock 2. Whatever...

Now, to the good parts about the game. First of all, the story is just outstanding. Every bit of the story is carried out quite well, and there's never a part in which I felt like the story needed a booster shot. Because this is an action-adventure with minimal RPG elements, this also helps fix those "Blank" parts in an RPG where it feels like the story dropped off.

The engine itself needs some praise, also. While being quite like Devil May Cry in the health-and-magic department, it also excels in making the engine quite fun. By collecting Red Orbs by killing enemies, you can upgrade you sword, armor, and other miscellaneous ameneties to make yourself more powerful, more resistant to damage, or the like. Another interesting addition was the ability to instantly kill enemies. While this sounds like a very easy way to blow through the game, the timing system for this is difficult, and there is really no easy way to determine when to hit the slash button just right, block the enemies attack, and slice him. However, when you do, the screen flashes and it just feels RIGHT. Keep in mind, the farther you get in the game, the seemingly more and more it expects you to be able to whip out chain combo instakills, and the more enemies gang up on you.



Another great thing about this game is that it doesnt feel like a game, at all. Beyond having great graphics (For the PS2, anyway) and excellent voice acting and sound, the game is good for just not feeling like a game. Seriously. The game has some music and the like, but the lack of extreme camera angles and the lack of stupid additions (Like the exclamation point appearing over enemy heads in Metal Gear Solid) make playing this game more and more of a movie.

Overall, this game is a masterpiece, both as a game and as a movie. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a tough game, a nice story, a Devil May Cry-like game, or just a decent game to have in your PS2 collection. If only it werent for the controls....

4 star(s) out of 5

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