Not merely a port, a reworking if you will, of a slight departure withing the genre.
Onimusha Warlords was the survival horror title for those gameplayers who hated survival horror titles. Taking place in the Sixties (that's the 1560s for those of you keeping score), the game set a new standard for its genre. The game featured less puzzles then the Resident Evil series but still offered a few instances where cranial matter was needed, but for the most part, soul sucking and sword swinging was the tune of the day. Fast-forward almost a year later and Capcom is taking Xbox gamers back to Japan and the world of Onimusha.
Genma Onimusha is the Xbox port of the PS2 title Onimusha Warlords. The original title sold well over 2 million units worldwide. Instead of just amping up the already considerable graphics, Capcom show its love for you by serving you a healthy heaping helping of hot steamy samurai sword swinging love (try saying that 3 times fast) and improved the game play in various ways. Besides the eye candy Capcom has added new attacks, new areas, new visuals, new costumes and a very cool looking soul rope-pulling fighting system. Yes, the theme here is new. Genma Onimusha will have so much new stuff added; it's almost like a new experience.
Take the soul rope-pulling for instance. It adds a completely new dimension to game play. New to the Xbox version this fighting system allows players to battle with their opponent over souls that are released during battle. This will make strategy and quick reflexes even more important to game play.
The Xbox powerful sound processor allows Capcom the ability to support 5.1 Dolby Surround in Genma Onimusha. Now the Zombie Warriors never sounded better or closer then they will on the Xbox.
The game receives its inspiration from film god and Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa. This means the games scope is epic, as well as visually "cool". During the course of the game the story is revealed in cinematic cut scenes using the games engine. You can be sure that since nothing is ever easy in the videogame world, an entire legion of demon warriors stands between him and his goal.
During a huge battle in the opening minutes of the game, Nobunga Oda is slain by a arrow which pierces his throat. Not just content to let a little thing like death to get in his way Nobunga (being the persistent person he is) made a little side deal with the demon Fortrinbras to be resurrected. His aim is to take over Yoshitatsu Saito's famous Inabayama Castle in the Mino Prefecture. To do that, he must enact a dark ceremony involving the princess to increase his evil demonic power tenfold.
Like the PS2 version your goal is to save Princess Yuki who was kidnapped by Nobunga Oda (commanding the legion of undead warriors). With the help of a female ninja named Kaede who you will also be able to control for a little bit during the game your aim is to save the princess and to stop Nobunga Oda.
The hero Samanosuke was given a magical gauntlet that enables him to gain strength from the souls of slain demons. Samanosuke has three main weapons that he can use during the game. Of course they can later be upgraded, giving you the ability to use powerful magical spells. You will need them because you can expect the challenge to be greatly improved with Capcom adding more enemies to be shown on the screen simultaneously than the PS2 version. One of the most impressive features about Genma Onimusha is the fact that each character features 10,000 polygons per character. The visuals of Genma Onimusha will be much better that those of the PS2 counterpart.
Capcom has also added new attacks for Samanosuke to help take out the zombie warriors. Genma Onimush now boasts a burst attack, which allows players to execute a visually stunning super attack that is devastating to the undead soldiers of old-world Japan. This attack allows players to capture the souls of their opponent through charging the character's burst attack power.
Genma Onimusha offers motion picture quality production values with the script written by Flagship, the same company behind the story lines for the Resident Evil series. Another of the many impressive aspects about Onimusha is the soundtrack. Capcom enlisted the help of a 200-piece orchestra who performs the original musical score. The music inspires and portrays the epic story Onimusha and really takes you back to 16th century Japan. Capcom also hired the famed Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro as the lead character. Takeshi Kaneshiro is the Bruce Willis in Japanese cinema.
Onimusha was the first AAA title for the PS2 released in 2001 and it is going to be interesting to see the response Genma Onimusha will receive once it's released on the Xbox in 2002. Since the title is rated "M", we know that the game won't be appropriate for the Pokemon loving set. This game has adult written all over it, from the storyline to the demonic visuals.
Mike Regan
No longer allowed to carry objects longer than 2' around the office.
