Nobunaga Oda has ordered the Genma to create a hole in time and invade the modern world but the instability of the hole transports Samanosuke, the Onimusha, to modern day Paris, just in time to save Jacques Blanc from some Genma. Right after the battle, the time hole opens again and takes Jacques to ancient Japan, 10 days before Samanosuke is to battle Nobunaga.
Now we've got two heroes in timelines they're not accustomed with, having to stop the forces of evil and find their way back home to their own time period.

In short, that's the storyline of Onimusha 3: Demon Siege and I won't tell you any more of it as the game has a very compelling storyline and it would be a shame to give you any more spoilers.

Graphically, Onimusha 3 may not be of the likes of ICO, but it's one of the best games I've seen yet on a PS2. The way the characters are portrayed is magnificent and both Samanosuke and Jacques are very well modelled. Especially the figure of Jean Reno has been re-created terrificly. If we would have one negative comment on the graphics, it would be that the Genma look at bit square and could use a bit more detail.

During the game you'll get varied battle scenes and cut-scenes that lay out the storyline. The way this is set up in Onimusha 3 is perfect and urges you to continue playing. You won't get bored nor want to skip the movie scenes as they're well-done and fit perfectly.

The controls are extremely easy and you'll get used to them very quickly. In fact, next to real fight games like Tekken, Onimusha has the easiest controls I've ever seen on a PS2.

The soundtrack fits in nicely with the game and although it never becomes remarkable, it doesn't start to bore.

The RPG-elements are nicely worked out. Throughout the game you can collect different items like herbs and salves to increase your health but also new weapons and armor to help you fight the Genma.
Also, every Genma that you kill will give energy that you can use to increase your health or skills.

A minor downpoint is the fact that you can't save whenever you want but only at specific points where there is some kind of magic "mirror". Next to saving you can also train your character or enhance it in different ways at these points. You can upgrade your armor or weapons, increase your ability to defend, etc etc.

Freedom is not an option in Onimusha 3. You'll have to follow a pre-set path to progress in the game. Luckily, if you go back to a place where you've been before, new Genma will appear to keep you occupied so it won't become boring. The fact that you can't wander around freely doesn't really both either as the game's setup is in such a way that you'll feel the urge to continue in the storyline to find out what exactly is happening and won't have the need to explore much.

It's been a while since I've played a console game that could really dive me into a storyline and have me coming back for more but Onimusha 3 succeeds very well in this part. There's a big difference with the previous Onimusha games with the complete 3D world but it works out extremely well and I completely adore it !

Onimusha 3 is the best Action-RPG on a console I've seen in a long time. Get it. Now !