Review: Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for PS2

I have to admit to being new to the Onimusha series. This one picks up 15 years after Nobunaga's annihilation, as his successor Hideyoshi aligns himself to the dark side. But you don't need to have played the earlier instalments to have a terrific game. Especially as this time it's played out in three dimensions, with incredibly detailed graphics over a huge environment - which is of course mainly down to the evolution of the silicon chip.

Gameplay is wonderful - you get to know the characters and learn their moves while actually playing, and you get a lot of excitement while moving the story along. You play the part of Soki, a young and powerful warrior, along with several others, each with their own field of expertise, that he meets along the way. There is one rather annoying little upside down creature who should have been left in Pokemon or wherever he was found, but you can't have everything.

The baddies - the Genma demons - are highly skeletal, not very nice, and the bosses are even more nasty, but you just have to move those fingers quicker.

The field of play is non-linear, so there is plenty of scope for exploration of the environment. Graphics are fantastic and incorporate real Japanese drawings, architecture and costumes, which all add to the authentic flavour of the game. With a variety of mini-games and challenges on the way, this is a highly entertaining addition to the Onimusha series and the PS2 stable.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams is published by Capcom. Bytes: Rebooted score: 8/10