Onimusha 2 looks just gorgeous, and the classic formula of 3D characters and pre-rendered backgrounds is still able to generate a visually impressive creation like this one. The pre-rendered backgrounds are more refined, sharper, more realistic than the ones of the original Onimusha, and while they don't show the animations of the ones featured in "Resident Evil" for the GameCube, they attract the eyes and the mind of the player. Onimusha 2 offers more varied environments than the first instalment, and overall it conveys a less claustrophobic experience, showing a wealth of beautiful outdoor scenarios.

The greatest advantage of using static pre-rendered background is that much more power can be used to render the characters and the other polygonal objects. As a result, the character models are the most detailed ever to grace a Playstation 2 game, boasting facial animations, smooth body movements, and high-quality textures. The demons look all marvellous, but the bosses you'll encounter during the game are simply jaw-dropping: built with a terrifying number of polygons, animated with extraordinary care, they really show something of the console's power. Locked at 60fps, Onimusha 2 shows just a few occasional slowdowns when a consistent number of enemies is displayed on screen.

The in-game engine does a great work also in the frequent cutscenes, while the many pre-rendered CG movies featured in the game are breathtaking, to the point that sometimes it's difficult to believe that those images aren't real.

Capcom knows how to put together a solid soundtrack, but this time they have done an even more polished job. Unlike what happens in greatest part of adventure games, the themes of Onimusha 2 are never redundant, obtrusive or simply epic - they are refined, well written, and even more carefully orchestrated. The music succeeds in giving strength, atmosphere and depth to the beautiful scenarios of the game. All this doesn't mean that when it's needed - for example, during battles - the pace doesn't become more intense and dramatic. Overall, the soundtrack alone would be worth a perfect score.

But a developer should never forget to use exactly the same care for voice acting. With games like Silent Hill 2, Soul Reaver 2, and Metal Gear Solid 2 - just to mention a few - that are gifted with beautiful, perfect English dialogues and voice acting, Capcom seems to come back to the dreadful period (voice acting wise) of the first Resident Evil for Psx. Wrong accents and even irritating voice tones - the main character sounds occasionally like a sick kraken, just to quote Monkey Island - Onimusha 2 is a perfect manual of how voice acting shouldn't be done in a video game.

Thankfully, a whole different job has been done with the sound effects. They are absolutely realistic, believable, even when it's a demon producing them. They are the perfect complement to the hyper-realistic visual feast of the game.

But the terrifying voice acting is still there, and since there are even more dialogues to hear than in the first Onimusha, it's impossible to ignore it. It's a shame and somewhat irritating that the quality assurance team of one of the richest companies in the industry has accepted to release a primary title like Onimusha 2 with one of the worst voice acting ever heard in a video game, without including, at least, the possibility to switch to the Japanese dialogues. This is one of those games where I'd like to have a separate score for each aspect of the sounds - Soundtrack: 9.5, Sound Effects: 9.5, Voice Acting: - 9.5.

Onimusha 2 is a bit longer than the original Onimusha, with about ten hours needed to complete the game the first time. In order to see all the scenarios in the game and to control all the four sub-characters, you'll have to complete the game at least four times, even if the experience might get repetitive enough to prevent you from playing the game more than a couple of times. Many extras are unlockable, including little mini-games and new game modes. Nothing to wonder about, but it's some additional reason to have this game in your collection.