Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

"Too much like the first..."

This game isn't that much different from the 1st. Which isn't always good...

Graphics : 10+

WOW!!! This game has insane graphics. The CG movies look extremely realistic (you will love the introduction movie). The character models look superb, weapons and your special moves also look very cool. There isn't anything wrong with the graphics. It is one of the best of all PS2 games.

Story : 4

The story isn't all that good. Its like almost all games. Your hometown was destroyed and now you want revenge, blah, blah, blah. They could have done better but the story isn't all that important.

Audio : 3

Well... The music isn't all that good in this game. The voice acting is HORRIBLE. The sound effects are slightly above average. Nothing really special here.

Controls : 3

Ugh... When will these guys learn that people like to use the analog stick and not the D-pad. You cant use the joy sticks in this game, the movement controls are one of the worst ever. When you want to go right, you would think that if you press right you go right, right? Well not in this game. If you press right your character just looks to the right side. So basically the game forces you to press right and then press up to go right. Why they do this, I don't know. Everything else about the controls are fine though. Square for attacking, R1 to block. The controls are simple, and easy to learn. But that doesn't make them good.

Gameplay : 6

Gameplay is just like in the regular Onimusha. You fight monsters over and over and absorb their souls. It requires some skill, but its mainly just pressing square over and over, occasionally pressing triangle to do a special attack. The game is almost exactly like the 1st one. The enemies are smarter then the first game though. They actually block some of your attacks! The game is pretty hard. And if you are not familiar with the first game then it can be frustrating at times. Also another thing that annoys me is the return of the damn puzzle boxes. You have to solve the puzzle, which can be very hard if you are not reading a FAQ. The game is also so confusing at times that without a strategy guide this game can take you 10 times longer to beat.

Replay : 3

The game does come with different difficulty settings. But once you beat the game, why would you want to play it again? All you are going to do is press square, triangle, and occasionally R1 like 99.9% of the time. Combine this with an uninteresting story line and it really kills the replay value.

Buy or Rent? : RENT

Renting is a good idea. There really isn't a reason to go back and play this game. And you should be able to beat the game in 1 rental. Don't waste your money (or your parent's money) on this game.

The first bad review for this game...

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 09/13/02, Updated 09/13/02