VIDEO GAME REVIEW A battle through time, space

A time-traveling fairy helps the heroes fight a demon horde in 'Onimusha 3.'
By BILL HUTCHENS
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
This is going to get a little confusing.
In the late 1500s, Samanosuke Akechi fights demons, or "genma," that are trying to take over the world, starting with Japan.
In 2004, French soldier Jacques Blanc watches as mysterious monsters invade Paris.
Just as Samanosuke is about to face off against the genma leader, Nobunaga, he is mysteriously transported through time and space to Jacques' side. Soon after, Jacques is sent to the side of Samanosuke in ancient Japan, nine days before Samanosuke jumped to the future.
That's how "Onimusha 3: Demon Siege," the third and supposedly final installment in the popular "Onimusha" series, begins. A simple story line ("good guys fight bad monsters") takes some fascinating twists and turns and continues to twist and turn all the way through an intriguing adventure.
Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro lends his image and voice to Samanosuke. And French actor Jean Reno lends his image and voice to Blanc, although another voice actor takes over soon after the game begins, adding confusion.
Fighting tools
"Onimusha 3" is mostly a "hack-and-slash" game.
Samanosuke wields a variety of blades infused with magic power. And when Jacques is zapped to the past, he loses his French firearms but gains the first of several whiplike weapons he'll find throughout the game.
Both heroes wear powerful armored gloves that help them capture the essences of vanquished monsters. These essences are the main currency of the game and can be spent on improving weapons and armor for better attack moves and better defense.
The big catch to the game is that Jacques and the Samanosuke of the future have to help each other despite the hundreds of years and miles that separate them. Cooperation is the only way they can undo the temporal chaos Nobunaga and his henchmen have created.
Time-traveling helper
That's where Ako, the heroes' fairy helper, comes in. She can zap herself from one time to another and transfer helpful items between the two men. One great scene in Japan shows a ship pulling away from a dock as Jacques looks on. Jacques, who needs to get on the ship, notices that his motorcycle has (conveniently) been zapped to the past -- without the ignition key. Ako zaps herself to Jacques' apartment in future Paris, grabs the key from Jacques' son, Henri, and zaps back to the past to give the key to Jacques. You can figure out the rest.
Eventually, Jacques and future Samanosuke find themselves in many of the same locations. Although separated by a few hundred years, Jacques can manipulate levers or activate machines in the past that will affect Samanosuke's environment in the future. And using Ako, the heroes can send door keys, puzzle pieces and healing agents back and forth through time.
In yet another twist that I won't fully divulge here, players occasionally control characters other than Jacques or Samanosuke.
The fighting in "Onimusha 3" can be as basic or as complex as you want it to be. Most of the time you can survive by just pressing the attack buttons and watching for the right moments to block enemy attacks. But the main characters both have special moves and counterattacks. These make battles much more impressive, as players can link combinations of moves that will destroy rooms full of monsters.
With intricate puzzles, hectic fighting and a thrilling conclusion, "Onimusha 3" is delightfully confusing and devilishly fun.
X"Onimusha 3: Demon Siege" by Capcom is for PlayStation 2. It's rated M for mature.