Onimusha 2 is the kind of game that isn't really much of a sequel. Why it even has a "2" after the name confuses me. While the game does have a select few references to the first game, you can pretty much figure out what they are talking about whether you played it or not.

That aside, Samurai's Destiny is a spectacular game. Like the original, it opens with an amazing movie with graphics up there with anything else I've ever seen. It shows a group of demons attack an unsuspecting town called Yagyu Village and burn it to the ground. During this scene you get a good idea of how graphics the rest of the game is going to be. Blood sprays everywhere, and people are pelted with arrows and decapitated. It is the kind of movie that makes you really want to start playing the game.

When you do start, you take the role of Jubei Yagyu. As he finds out, it was his village that was attacked, and all of his family and friends slaughtered. This of course leads to one thing: revenge.

Gameplay

When you begin your epic journey, you are armed with nothing but your average katana. You find quickly that this doesn't do much when fighting off swarms of demon warriors. Luckily, the game doesn't force you to do this long.

Jubei discovers a demon woman who claims to be his mother. She gives him information about how to complete his journey, and tells him to find and collect six magic orbs, the first of which she gives to you. Using this, you finally get another sword: the lighting blade from the first game. It is quick, light, and powerful.

Throughout the game you find more swords and weapons. Each time you slay a demon, they release floating souls into the air. By holding the O button, you can absorb the souls and up your health and magic. Once you collect enough souls, you can upgrade your swords and armor. Each has three different levels, and once you fully upgrade, the swords are extremely powerful.

The rest of the game follows this formula, except there is one more gameplay twist. In the main village, you meet four different people who have the potential to become your friends. The way to entice them is by giving each gifts. By talking with them, you can find what kind of item each wants. The fat guys wants liquor and food, the gun-slinger wants ancient artifacts, the skinny teenager wants pointless little things, and the girl wants anything you give her. If you continue to give them items each time you see them, they will eventually begin to show up in battles with you when you really need the help. Trust me, there are times that you wouldn't not have won had you not gotten the help.

Not only do these people come to help you, but you eventually get to play as them. None are quite as fun as Jubei, but each has their own qualities. The girl is just fun because she gets some cool swords and throwing daggers, and also she is pretty dang fast. Using the others, you get to use guns, giant hammers, and two swords at once. Each continues the story line along a little, and you get pretty involved.

Graphics

Because the camera is always still in this game, the backgrounds are painted. Don't get me wrong, they are absoluely goergeous, but just don't expect living 3d settings.

The character animations are brillaint. They move very fluidly when they walk or attack, and it makes the game seem much more real. Their faces are also very well done. During the many short cinemas, their mouths move, but it is obvious that they are supposed to be saying something in Japanese. Fo this, I cannot fault the animators, just the sound people.

Every once in a while, there is a beautifully rendered 3D movie that plays. These will completely astound you. The way they animators have made water looks to real is beyond me. Speaking of water, not only during those scenes is the water perfect. Several times throughout the actual game you encounter small ponds, or even an ocean. The water looks so real while it is lapping up against the shore. It splashes perfectly when you walk into it also. I had to just sit and watch it for a little bit at one point. I swaer it looks as though they took footage of water and put it in.

Basically, Onimusha 2 is a great looking game. The pre-rendered backgrounds may take a little while to get used to, but once you do the game will amaze you.

Control

If you've ever played a Resident Evil game or the original game, then this should be simple to pick up. On the other hand, for a newbie it may take a longer amount of time. Because the camera is always still, you control Jubei or the others around a still screen.

To attack, you tap the [ ] button repeatedly. This does get somewhat old, but you can mix magic and other weapons in to add some variety. If you hold the R1 button, Jubei automatically locks on to the nearest enemy. This comes in handy when you are in a battle with several demons and need to dispense them quickly. The L1 button is blocking, which obviously is also quite important.

Sound

This is hardly a game that revolves around the sound. There is always a quiet tune playing in the background, but it never really adds or detracts from the game. It obviously does follow the ancient Japan theme, but I never got into it

The effects are nice, but they are generic. The swords clang just like in every other sword game ever made, but they work. The demons make annoying swishing noises when they move and jump, and the magic is boring.

Since the story is told through several cinemas, there is a good deal of voice acting. Unfortunately, it sounds just like all of those old dubbed Japanese movies from the sixties. It is obvious that the game was originally done in Japanese, and fortunately you can select to have it in the original language with subtitles.

Overall

Onimusha 2 is an epic title that will give a player a good 10-15 hours of play. There are several modes you can play it in, and depending on how you treat the NPC's different things happen. There is also some other stuff to unlock by playing the game on different difficulties. This is the perfect game for anyone wanting insane violence and Samurai action… and who DOESN'T fit that description?