Onimusha:warlords was probably the first great PS2 title and , Onimusha 2 is just as good.
Before we get started, may I say this is a game very much in Resident Evil's vein ,but after playing Onimusha 2 I don't think there'll be any complaining from survival horror lovers.
You are Jubei Yagyu, who comes home one day to find his family, friends...heck, his whole tribe slaughtered by Nobunaga Oda, notorious warlord. You swear bloody revenge, and set off to avenge the deaths of your clan members, meeting with a madge who gives you a tattoo on your palm that allows you to absorb the mysterious powers of the underworld. Still following me? Good. Now, Jubei's not one to go on a moody quest on his own as you might think...there are a total of four other playable characters, each with their own distinct fighting styles (like ninja, swordsman and...gunman).
The clever bit is though, that these friendships actually have to be preserved. As you can guess, fighting hordes of the undead is not an easy task to understake flying solo, and your mates will definitely come in handy - so when you find a shop, it's worth buying something like a pocket watch to keep your buddies happy. Not only does this bring a refreshing change from Jubei's blade, but it helps pack in hours of replay value with the extra plots. This whole RPG-like system is new to Onimusha...but the other strong point definitely isn't. Here is a combat system that is not just fun; it's brilliantly fantastic! Slam a sword into an enemy's chest and watch him sink to the ground, before stepping on his chest in order to pull out your weapon. The combos may be simple, but swirling around, slicing the heads off of lizardmen like you're in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon will never get boring.
As I said before, this is very much like Resident Evil in the design...but that's not a bad thing at all. In fact, it's a positively brilliant thing as it means pre-rendered backgrounds can harness the power of Sony's emotion engine and churn out phenomenal backdrops. Lush trees peppered around the forests, water crashes against the rocks at the sea's edge, and the lighting in the interior sections are amazing. Some may complain about the lack of interactivity, but you won't have time to think about it because you'll be cutting some bad guy to shreds before swallowing his orb. Another thing I must mention is the incredibly detailed character models. They demonstrate exactly what being a next gen game is all about, looking more like actors in a film than code in a PS2 disc. Capcom's stationary camera tricks also build up the atmosphere, not allowing any annoying gaps for your foes to just appear from.
Unfortunately, the game is not perfect. Puzzles which comprise largely of simple mathematics will insult your mind rather than test it, and there's still not been a much needed look at the control system which is still a little off...but these are just minor annoyances. You will get used to the configuration early on, and with the great boss battles and interesting plot twists, the pad will be pretty much glued to your hands anyway!
The original won the hearts of many, and so with Onimusha 2 Capcom look to have another smash hit on their hands...and a well deserved one at that. Fun, acessable, and with about 15 hours to go through the game first time and plenty of reasons to do it again, it's got the lifespan to boot.
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