Onimusha 2 Preview

Zombies, dinosaurs, and demons, oh my. With Onimusha 2, Capcom's betting once again that if you enjoy fighting the monsters from its Resident Evil or Dino Crisis series, you'll be interested in taking on the demonic foes found in the Onimusha line as well. Since those two lines are now exclusive to other systems, you almost better be. Fortunately the series has its own unique appeal that makes it worth a look.

A "Resident Evil-style game for those who don't like Resident Evil," Onimusha: Warlords was one of the first major releases for the PlayStation 2 when it arrived in the US last March. The game had a lot going for it thanks to its very high production values. The game featured sharp graphics, excellent combat, and a better control system than its Resident Evil forebears. However, one problem players universally had with the game was that it was over too quickly. For those left wanting more, Capcom is readying a PlayStation 2-specific sequel for the US right now. We recently spent some time with the Japanese version of the game and have returned with shots and impressions.

Don't expect to see Samanosuke; Onimusha's samurai protagonist is nowhere to be found in Onimusha 2. However, fans of the original game shouldn't despair--the main villain is a familiar face. Those who played the first game should at least vaguely remember Nobunaga Oda, the Japanese warlord who was killed during Onimusha's opening movie, resurrected by demonic forces, and then largely ignored throughout the rest of the game. Onimusha 2's CG introduction shows Nobunaga and his demonic forces riding into a small town, massacring the townspeople, and burning it to the ground. You now play as Jubei Yagyu, a samurai who is given the soul-absorbing powers of an onimusha (or demon lord) to avenge his townspeople.

The most noticeable improvement found in Onimusha 2 is its graphics. While the original Onimusha was a great-looking game for its time, Onimusha 2 clearly outdistances it in every way. The environments, for example, are much more spectacular. Fear Effect's use of full-motion video over rendered backgrounds has been perfected in Onimusha 2. Heavy sheets of rain fall over the burned-down village in some scenes, while a raging river runs under a bridge in another. These effects, combined with incredibly detailed rendered backgrounds, give the game an almost photo-realistic look. The character renders also look frighteningly lifelike, and motion-captured animations only reinforce their believability. It's worth noting just how incredible the game's CG movies are, too. The CG work seen in the original Onimusha set new standards last year, but the CG sequences in Onimusha 2 are much sharper and are bursting with incredible-looking special-effects displays. The game's soundtrack is even more vibrant and full, with epic tracks that are much more appropriate than before.

Good looks aside, the gameplay in Onimusha 2 is very similar to the original, save for a few exceptions. You'll still devour the souls of fallen enemies to replenish your health, charge your weapon's magical attack, and gain experience points to improve your weapons, armor, arrows, and health items.

In addition to the basic skills from the original game, you can now absorb a new kind of soul energy that will turn you into an onimusha when you collect enough of it. When you become an onimusha, your sword attacks are stronger, you're temporarily invulnerable, and you can fire homing lasers at your foes. Your weapons have a new ability now as well. You can now charge them using the R1 button and then unleash a special strike with the attack button. The enemies seem to be tuned to attack while you're charging, so it seems like a good way to get foes to advance into striking distance.

The game's cast has a much more important role to play in Onimusha 2. There are four main side characters, who play more of a part in your game the more you interact with them. In your adventuring you'll encounter a female warrior, a charismatic rifleman, a young ninja, and a world-weary, drunken fighter, each of whom can play a larger part in your game depending on your actions. For instance, if you give a character a special item, he or she might give you an item (arrows, an herb, and so forth) in return and then come to your aid during a battle. You'll also learn more about that character through real-time cutscenes and even be able to play as him or her at times. This aspect of Onimusha 2 will encourage you to play the game over again to learn about all of the characters.

Without a doubt, Onimusha 2 is a much easier game than Onimusha, which had you fighting for your life almost immediately. The learning curve here is much more forgiving. The combat within the first hour of the game is simple hack and slash, but you'll eventually find you need to learn how to be a little more strategically minded in your attacks. There are also many more different monster types in the game, and puzzles are more frequent, although more basic.

Onimusha 2 is full of many extra modes and options, some of which are open from the start and others of which need to be unlocked. These include a "making of" video that shows the elaborate motion-capture sessions filmed for the game, a series of character and environment sketches used to design the game, a sneak-peek video clip of Onimusha 3, and several mini game modes.

One of the most unexpected parts of the Japanese version of the game was its opening: a music video from the Japanese rock singer Hotei, which plays--inexplicably--before the game starts up. It's unlikely that this will appear in the US version of the game, but hopefully it'll show up hidden somewhere in the game's extras menu. It has nothing to do with the game or gaming in general, but the 90-pound rock star is a complete pimp (not something we say lightly), and the video is very entertaining.

With or without this odd little addition, Onimusha 2 is expected to arrive on US shores this fall. We're looking forward to it.