When Capcom released “Resident Evil” for the original Playstation in 1996, it sold over a million copies and made the Playstation a hot commodity. The game that started the “survival-horror” genre was a huge success because of its gruesome gameplay, movie-like story line and spine-tingling terror. Five years later, Capcom has delivered the same formula of “Resident Evil” to the Playstation 2, in the shape of “Omnimusha Warlords.”
In “Omnimusha,” survival-horror finds a new face. Gamers are now placed in 16th-Century Japan facing evil demons. As the legendary Samanosuke, gamers must use a powerful sword, magic and the mind in order to free the Princess Yuke from the clutches of the demons.
In the quest to save Princess Yuke, the gameplay of “Omnismusha” is outstanding. While the controls are similar to Resident Evil, the fighting style of “Omnimusha” seems to share more in common with Capcom”s arcade classic, “Final Fight.” Instead of running frantically from zombies with little ammo to spare, “Omnimusha” allows gamers to bust out the can of whoop ass on the enemy with a samurai sword, which has many combo moves and magic spells. In addition, “Omnimusha” adds new RPG elements to the survival-horror genre.
While the gameplay in “Omnimusha” is a blast, the presentation of the game is what makes it most memorable. Boasting the most impressive visuals yet on the Playstation 2, “Omnimusha” looks more like a summer blockbuster than a game. Not only are the CG movies in the game breathtaking, they really do an outstanding job in immersing gamers into the plot of the story. The sound effects and music within the game are also top-notch.
Although most of the elements of “Omnimusha” are remarkable, there are some downsides. First, the voice acting of the characters is not the best ever. This flaw can be corrected, however, if gamers switch the language to Japanese. Since the game takes place in Japan, this makes sense. After all, nobody wants to see “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” with cheesy American voice-overs.
The second and most significant flaw of “Omnimusha” is the game”s length. Only gamers without hands will fail to beat the game in less than five hours. Nevertheless, the quality of “Omnimusha” makes the quantity seem unimportant, as Capcom has once again succeeded with the survival-horror genre.