Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Import Impressions

The latest installment in Capcom's popular series of hack-and-slash action adventure games recently shipped in Japan. We got our hands on an import copy, which we hastily unwrapped and eagerly began playing. Onimusha 3 is the first game in the series to feature two different main characters--one of whom is the samurai protagonist from the original game in the series and the other of whom is a spitting image of actor Jean Reno (The Professional, Mission: Impossible, Ronin). What's a Moroccan-born actor doing in a game about demonic samurai? Well, one of the most obvious twists to Onimusha 3 is that it takes place in different places and time periods--not just in historic Japan like the previous games. In fact, early on in the game, you learn that the forces of evil aren't just harassing medieval Japan, but they've also invaded modern-day France. It'll be up to you, playing as both the samurai Samanosuke and as Reno's modern-day special agent character Jacques, to rid the world of the menace.

In addition to the unconventional premise and the two different main characters, Onimusha 3 bears still other noticeable differences from its predecessors. Actually, we can go ahead and call these improvements instead of differences. For one thing, Onimusha 3 features an overhauled control scheme that's much more intuitive than that of the previous games, which used Resident Evil-style "cement truck" controls that forced you to press "up" to move forward, while you had to press left or right on the directional pad to turn. Now, simply by moving the left analog stick in any direction, you'll cause Samanosuke or Jacques to run in that relative direction. This control scheme simply works better for the sort of fast-paced action that the Onimusha series has always delivered.

Furthermore, this is the first game in the series to feature fully 3D--as opposed to prerendered 2D--backgrounds. Much like Capcom's influential Devil May Cry, you have no control over the camera angle here, so the angle will switch from scene to scene as you run around. However, the camera will stay focused on your character within a given area, thus giving you a good vantage point for what's happening all around you.

The Onimusha games have always been visually stunning, and this third installment is no exception. The fully 3D backgrounds, as well as the character models, appear very impressive and really show off what the PlayStation 2 is capable of. Plus, all the action runs quickly and very smoothly. All in all, it looks like the move to full 3D was the right one for the Onimusha series because the resulting game is still a visual tour de force. Not to mention the fact that this game features some extremely impressive prerendered cutscenes that are filled with cinematic action and remarkable special effects. As you might expect, though, this game isn't for the faint of heart. When the demonic infestation invades France, none are spared, and some of the initial demon-on-human violence is graphically depicted in the game's early cutscenes.

Partly because of the new control scheme, Onimusha 3 is very easy to pick up and play. The action begins at a climactic moment, so you'll soon discover that Samanosuke has fought his way to Oda Nobunaga. Now it's time to put an end to the demonic threat once and for all, right? But that wouldn't make for much of a game. So sure enough, after some hacking and slashing through some undead henchman and a wuss of a right-hand man, Samanosuke is ready to take on Nobunaga. That's when he gets time-warped.

The game then cuts to France, which is being ransacked. The French military is offering up a decent resistance, what with its assault rifle-wielding forces, but things are looking bad. Here's where we first took control of Jacques, who shows up to save the day as a squad of French soldiers gets taken down. We got to blast through a pack of bad guys with Jacques' P-90 assault rifle, but then he runs out of ammo...so things turn sour. Fortunately, that's right about when Samanosuke shows up. As you might have expected, though, there's a bit of a language barrier. The French characters are actually speaking French, so they can't understand a word of Samanosuke's Japanese. The two heroes part ways for now, so you then regain control of Samanosuke.

In short, he ends up fighting his way into some hidden chambers of the Arc de Triomphe, finds a pair of magical swords, meets up with a female French soldier, and finally encounters a very strange opponent who looks more alien than demon. In fact, this cackling fiend seems almost like an extra from the movie Mars Attacks. This villain scoots off before Samanosuke can deal with him, but in typical villain style, he leaves behind a nasty surprise for Samanosuke in the form of a powerful assault robot that's bristling with weapons. This is the first serious boss fight in the game, but by moving around often and stepping in for the occasional blade combo, we were able to blow it to smithereens.

The action then cuts back to Jacques...who has been teleported to a strange, lush jungle of some sort. He is unarmed, save for a sidearm. We guided him into a clearing, only to find that Jacques' young son was under attack by a gargantuan brute. The panicked father opens fire but to little avail. It's then that, by some chance, he is blessed with a magical gauntlet, much like the one belonging to Samanosuke. Using it, Jacques too may absorb the souls of defeated demons. Additionally, he gets his hands on a fancy laser whip, just for good measure. The laser whip looks very cool in action and is quite different from Samanosuke's bladed weapons. It's obviously much more effective than Jacques' pistol, though in a cool touch, Jacques can finish off downed opponents by blowing them away with his gun. Anyway, using his new equipment, Jacques saves his son...but then the boy disappears, and instead, a spirit materializes to explain more to Jacques about what's in store for him. Here, too, he meets a strange little fairy girl with crow's wings who then tags along for the ride.

In the next sequence, Jacques and Samanosuke meet up and get to battle together for the first time. We were still in control of Jacques while his new comrade automatically fought alongside us through droves of samurai demons. And, thanks to their supernatural allies, the language barrier between these heroes was gone (Jacques knows Japanese!). This was about an hour in, all told, and that's about when we decided to pause to tell you about these first few sequences of the game.

Onimusha 3 looks like it's shaped up nicely. Like its predecessors, it combines some light puzzle-solving and adventure elements with plenty of pure hack-and-slash action. The controls are simple and intuitive, but the feel of the action is solid. The look of the game, as mentioned, is certainly impressive. The new storyline and the changes to the gameplay seem like they'll make this new Onimusha installment quite a treat for fans of the series, as well as for those who are just starting out with it. The game is scheduled for release in North America in May of this year, but for now, check out some new media of the game in action.