Onimusha 3: Demon Seige

Onimusha 3: Demon Seige, like its predecessors, is a samurai styled hack-and-slash action adventure game. I will skip the story behind this third installment since you can read about it on Capcom's web site. Plus, I do not want to spoil the fun of following the story when you play through the game.
The introduction movie that plays when you first insert the disc into the PS2 is simply amazing! You would think that you are watching the game movie on a XBox. The graphics for Onimusha continue to impress even during gameplay. Capcom has really pushed the limits of PS2 and at the same time demonstrated that the aging PS2 can still compete with XBox and GameCube.
The gameplay is very smooth. Capcom finally added analog stick movement control to the Onimusha series. That is just one of the many improvements over the previous installments. Another great thing Capcom did with this game is virtually eliminated the loading process that is required on so many PS2 games. For those of you who have played the Resident Evil series know exactly how frustrating it is to sit and wait for the next segment or movie to load. The long loading pauses killed many games for me. For Onimusha 3, you never sit and watch it load. The game moves from actually playing to movie cut scenes and back to playing seamlessly. A couple of times that it has to load such as from reading the saved file on the memory card only takes less than 2-3 seconds. I am impressed that Capcom was able to pull off such amazing graphics without loading.
You get to play three characters: Samanosuke, Jacques, and Michelle. Samanosuke and Jacques are the main characters while Michelle is a sub-character you get to play for about an hour. Samanosuke uses blade weapons. Jacques uses whip and chain weapons. Michelle uses shotsguns and grenades. While playing Michelle, you may get the feeling as if you were playing a fast Resident Evil game which was kind of cool. Jacques is by far my favorite choice of the three. His chain weapons can grab, whip, throw, hook, and swing. Samanosuke's blade weapons will certainly remind you of the previous Onimushas which resemble the typical dungeon and dragon hack-and-slash style.
As with previous Onimushas, the game is short. You can complete it within 12-15 hours. There are some easy puzzles to solve throughout the game but most of them are very straight forward. The switching between Jacques nd Samanosuke through Time Folds passing items to one and the other to solve a puzzle to move on to the next chapter was pretty cool at first. However, it did start to get repetitive and annoying after a while. But that's okay. You get over it really quickly and get back to hacking monsters.
Overall, this is certainly one of the best PS2 games. In terms of graphics, Onimusha 3 is the best PS2 game ever! Although the game is short and can be completed within 12-15 hours, it does have some replay value. The game gives you a scorecard at the end so that you can try to beat your previous performance by beating it again. In addition, finding secret items will unlock a ton of extra features such as mini-games, game modes, and movies. If you missed any secret items the first time through, you will most likely have to go back and beat it again to unlock the secrets. I recommend this game to all PS2 owners even those who have never played Onimusha. Rarely, I would sit and play a game for 9-10 hours straight these days. For all Onimushas, I have always ended up playing it straight through until I get to the end. If you are still unconvinced, at least just rent it and watch the 7 minute intro movie. I am certain that you will be impressed.

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Capcom Onimusha 3 Site