Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

Navigating the original Onimusha, a sinewy samurai slasher game, was like playing an early Kurosawa film (albeit one with marauding demons). This sequel feels like his epic masterpiece Ran -- with the kind of atrocious overdubbing usually heard on TNT. Visually near-perfect (the opening gave us goose bumps), the game's sprawling story line offers five new characters -- including taciturn hero Jubei Yagyu -- and crackerjack RPG-lite gameplay. Ignore the overcooked English-only audio track and you'll have a slashing good time.