Onimusha Hands-On

Capcom has essentially created a genre and set the standard for survival-horror games with the Resident Evil series and its spin-off, the Dino Crisis series. And although the games have established a loyal fan base, the poor controls and slow gameplay leave a sour taste in the mouths of some gamers. Frustrations brought about from needless ammo conservation and a scarce amount of healing agents can be overwhelming, and there is always a chance that you could get stuck in one point of the game without enough ammo to continue. Capcom's latest survival-horror game, Onimusha for the PlayStation 2, brings new blood to the genre; simply calling it another Resident Evil game would be an injustice.

Onimusha does away with the firearms of Resident Evil and replaces them with a variety of swords. In addition to your sword skill, you'll also be able to cast magic elemental attacks through your demon gauntlet--a mysterious soul-sucking gauntlet fused to your arm. After you dispose of a monster, its soul will appear in the form of a colored light ball. The balls come in three flavors--yellow for healing; blue for recharging the gauntlet's magic points, which you use when casting the magic elemental attacks; and red for soul points, which increase the overall power of the gauntlet. The soul points can be spent on increasing the power of your weapons, the orbs that attach to your gauntlet and allow it to cast specific magic attacks, and the demon gauntlet itself. When your items level up, the weapons become more powerful and the orbs will let you open special doors and cast stronger elemental attacks. The game also features a limited number of ranged attacks for players who can't resist projectiles. You'll have a bow and a rifle with a small reserve of arrows and bullets.

The game doesn't make you mix herbs together and wait until the last second to heal yourself. With your trusty sword, you can take out all sorts of monsters, and absorbing a good number of yellow souls will keep you healthy throughout the game. If you're skilled enough, you'll probably be able to get through the game without saving. Onimusha isn't all about hack-and-slash gameplay, though, as you'll spend plenty of time looking for items or solving puzzles. Thankfully, you'll be able to store an unlimited number of items in your inventory, and the hassle of managing magical storage boxes, like those found in Resident Evil, is no more.

The controls are basically the same as those found in the Resident Evil series--controlling your character is analogous to controlling an RC car. But Capcom has added some new features to let you move more freely. By holding the R1 button, you can strafe, dash forward, or dash backward. It may take a while to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, dodging enemy attacks and counterslashing adds an enjoyable element to the game. Holding the R1 button also lets you lock on to a target just like in Resident Evil. This will allow for versatile sword attacks, such as an upper-swing slash, a front stab, and even a back stab (in the case of Kaede).

The game was originally designed for the PlayStation hardware, and its development was shifted to the PlayStation 2. There are some residues of the conversion process, but they are generally slight and barely noticeable. Onimsuha doesn't exist in a fully polygonal 3D environment like Resident Evil: Code Veronica, but the static camera angles keep you from noticing. The game uses a blend of 2D prerendered backgrounds and 3D polygons to make the backgrounds seem as real as possible. Obstacles such as boards, pots, and treasure chests are made out of 3D polygons, and you can interact with them. The environment is not just a still picture, as some of the scenery--such as waterfalls and flame torches--are actually moving. With the use of lighting effects, the still pictures and the moving scenes blend extremely well.

Onimusha uses in-game graphics in all of its cutscenes, except for the opening and ending sequences. Japanese "boy toy" Takeshi Kaneshiro plays the main character, Samanosuke, and Kaneshiro was extremely involved in the voice recording and motion-capturing for the character. Samanosuke closely resembles Kaneshiro, which was probably planned to encourage more female Japanese gamers to pick up the game. Unfortunately, the voice acting isn't up to par with that of other Capcom titles. The Japanese version is fairly decent, but the English voices, selectable in the Japanese version, are extremely fake and unconvincing. Poor voice work aside, the orchestral soundtrack matches the atmosphere and adds tension to the game.

Though Onimusha keeps your blood pumping for a few hours, the overall gameplay time is rather short. You can complete the game in less than five fours, even if you solve every puzzle. Additionally, Onimusha is relatively easy and the plot is weak, especially in the light of the overdramatic opening sequence. The game isn't a powerful samurai epic synonymous with Koei's Kessen series--it's more like your generic Resident Evil game. There are a few interesting secrets that you can unlock upon finishing the game, but not enough to make for a huge replay value.

Onimusha is probably the first next-generation game that will help the survival-horror genre break free from the Resident Evil stereotype. With more development time and tweaking, it would have been a step closer to being the killer PS2 app that people are expecting it to be. With a sequel already planned, perhaps the demons will get their revenge next time. We'll just have to see.