Onimusha 2
It's a sequel! A Capcom sequel!Know what that means? Yes, you get EXACTLY the same thing. Similar weapons, and even several of the same environments and backgrounds.
Crappy?
No, because it's WAY better than the original. I mean, WOW!
It's like they took a good long hard look at Onimusha 1, and then said "Okay, the idea is good, but we need to do it more like this and then they made Onimusha 2, which just makes a helluvalot more sense.
It's like with Resident Evil 2, you know? Basically, not much has changed gameplay-wise, but they get everything right this time, so it's basically the most perfect game in the series.
This time you play as Jubei Yagyu, who finds his native village destroyed by the Genma, and vows to take his revenge on Lord Nobunaga, because he's so damn good-looking.
All of this happens, by the way, in what has to be THE absolute most beautiful opening movie I have seen in my entire life. Make no mistake, this game is the bee's knees when it comes to CG cutscenes. Insanely beautiful is what comes closest as a description. Especially the bit where all the side characters are introduced is.....WOW! I love that kind of stuff.
Also, as in the prequel, motion capture is of the absolute highest quality possible. These are fucking REAL people walking about, you have NEVER seen animation as good as this, I can tell you. And, what do you know? Even the voice acting is really really good.
I should point out here that I own the Japanese version, because it seems the English version is rather atrocious, but the Japanese voice acting is very good. With the exception of Oyu, the obligatory whiney woman. Every game or anime has a character like this, and you know you hate them.
Other than that, voice acting is great, and what with the superb motion capturing, it makes the entire story very believable and the characters very likeable. It's like looking at a Japanese Jidaigeki, only one with more action and gore, obviously.
And this, I think is why this game hasn't received that great reviews on the Internet. Not bad in any way, mind you, just not really great either. The game makes absolute and total sense in a Japanese setting, with Japanese voices. Most elements are based on or derived of actual (in the real sense, or in the "existing as a myth" sense) places, people and events.
In every way of presentation, Onimusha 2 kicks its prequel's butt.
The only downside is that they didn't fix any of the small problems that the original had. You still get prerendered backgrounds, which look a LOT better this time though. I daresay these are the prettiest renders in any PS2 game to date, although they are no match for Capcom's Gamecube Resident Evils. Beautifully animated water and detailed colorful environments make this one pretty game to look at. The problem with renders though, is that you have to deal with the fact that the camera stays fixed at all times, so sometimes you can't see who are what you're dealing with, even when you're being attacked, which can be annoying.
Also, you still get 2D-type controls, like the ones that plagued the Resident Evil series. Meaning 'up' is forward etc. On the positive side, Jubei moves rather quickly, especially for this kind of control system, and you're pretty versatile when locked onto enemies as well, which comes in handy for those elusive Issen moves.
And, DAMN, pulling off an Issen feels so good! It makes a lot more sense now too, timing seems to be a bit more logical, and less random, which is a good thing, since they've included an entire unlockable Issen mode this time round, where the ONLY way to kill your enemies is to pull off that one-hit kills counter, otherwise they just keep getting back on their feet. Very hard and very challengeing, in a good way.
Don't get me started on the unlockables by the way, there's an entire SHITLOAD of them. DAMN, this has to be one of the most replayable games I've played in a long long time. And it's fun every single time. How can that be?
Because Capcom has provided some variation.
Through the course of the story, you will meet up with 4 different characters. Ekei, the Buddhist Priest/Boozing Womanizer, Magoichi the Gun-wielding Scholar (?), Kotarou the Ninja, and Oyu, the whiny Bitch. Capcom introduces a new trading mini-game, where you can find items in treasure chests, or buy them in shops, and then give them to any of these 4 characters in exchange for something else.
Sometimes you'll get another tradable item back, but if you give them something good, they will reward you with health items, ammo, extra skills, or those elusive extensions for your health and magic meters.
But that's not all! Give them something good, and they will start liking you. And if someone likes you enough he will start turning up more often in the course of the game, thusly altering the course of the story, and adding some events. The ending stays the same, but how you get there is different. When you finish the game, you'll get a Scenario Flow Chart, showing the timing of events for specific characters, so that you can try to get those other sides of the story as well. This is really great fun, and adds even more replayability to an already extremely enjoyable title.
So in short, what we have here, is a game that truely EXCELLS in presentation. I don't think these CG movies are EVER going to look outdated, they put most of present day movies to shame, even after 3 and a half years.
Not only that, but it offers great and rewarding gameplay, a shitload of unlockables, likeable characters with decent background stories, multiple routes through the game and well, lots of stuff to do basically.
This game is what Resident Evil 2 was for that series, ie the most perfect game in the series (until RE4 came along and changed EVERYTHING), the only gripes are the unnecessary 2D controls and fixed camera, which may irk some players.
I'll give it a 9.4, making it a must-play for just about everyone who is not an Oyu.
Do yourself a favor and go and get this NOW!
posted by Ingen! @ 10:59 AM
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