Zombie stomping Samurai-style

Starring Samanosuke, the medieval Samurai warrior from the original game, and a new character, Jacques, who is a dead ringer for Jean Reno (the anti-hero from Ronin), the game starts with an all-out assault on bad guy Nobunaga's ancient castle.

Just when it seems Samanosuke has finally got his man, a vortex appears in the fabric of time itself and transports Nobunaga into the future. Not only that, but the rift in space also deposits thousands of undead zombies onto the streets of Paris in 2004 (not that anyone would notice, judging by the standard of French tourist the last time I was there).

Although the French government sends in the military, it seems as though nothing can stand in the way of Nobunaga and his undead hordes.

Through a typically convoluted plot device, Jacques, a French commando with an annoying son, ends up back in ancient Japan and Samanosuke is catapulted forward to present day Paris. Luckily for you - and the plot - the two protagonists are linked via a fairy called Ako as they set off to defeat the bad guys and return to their own time.

As you'd expect with two stories running parallel, there's plenty of chopping and changing. Later in the game you have to use the time portal to transfer items across the millennia if you are to solve some of Demon Siege's more involving puzzles.

Another neat device is the way the game deposits Jacques and Samanosuke in the same place - hundreds of years apart - and asks you to use them to help each other escape certain death. This also acts to disguise the amount of time the game asks you to cover old ground.

This is the first game in the series to make the jump into full three dimensions. Previously, the game layered 3-D characters on top of 2-D backgrounds. This cop out prevents true interaction with the scenery but it cuts down on processor power and always looks terrific (remember how the Resident Evil games always looked great on the PSOne? That's because they used 2-D pre-rendered backdrops).

The 3-D environments in Demon Siege lend a new element to the game but the PS2 simply isn't man enough to reproduce those gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds in all their glory. Equally, the extra horsepower being required of your console leads to unavoidable slowdown problems when a lot is happening on screen - the PS2 just can't draw the screen fast enough.

Furthermore, some of the drawbacks of the 2-D prequels are still here. Samanosuke still keeps on running even when he's facing a locked door, for instance, instead of smacking into the wooden frame and landing on his backside. At least you can control your characters with the analogue thumbstick; a feature that makes them far more manoeuvrable than in the previous two adventures (Resident Evil, take note).

You can train in the way of the Samurai or just plunge straight into the mayhem. The game gives extra points for fighting style - turning an attack into defence, for instance, robs an enemy of far more energy than a simple block.

Interestingly, Onimusha 3 gets easier if you don't happen to be much good. If your characters get killed too often a trip back to the menu will find an easy setting unlocked for all you wimps.

Players of a nervous disposition will probably fiddle with the blood and violence settings that allow the action to be toned down for a younger audience or ramped right up for a bit of post-pub fun.

End of an era for an old favourite

THIS month marked the end of a gaming era. Ten years after its worldwide debut, it seems the final full price game release for the original Sony PlayStation has finally hit the shelves.

Owners can console themselves with the knowledge that the system still has the most extensive gaming back catalogue of games and the odd cut-price one is still due for release.

The PlayStation's success has been phenomenal. Even when it was launched, the system wasn't the most powerful (that honour fell to the Nintendo 64) but it did have some of the best games and undoubtedly the best marketing.

Interestingly, Sony is still selling more PSOnes in Japan than Microsoft is managing to shift Xboxes - an incredible achievement for one so old.

Maybe that's because more than 7,000 games were released on the system, so there's something for all tastes.

Nor should you consign that old grey box to the loft just yet. It's still on sale in 120 countries worldwide and, with 100 million owners, gaming companies reckon the old soldier still has one last Christmas left in it.

Published: 23/07/2004