When it comes to rating ancient Japanese fighting orders, there's only ever one winner - Ninjas, with their silent attacking skills, fancy weapons and black slippers. The second-placed samurai has bulky armour and a girl's ponytail, but he does have a sword. A mighty one, with which to wreak mayhem.

Genma Onimusha casts you in the role of Samanosuke Akechi, a stern-faced samurai charged with the task of rescuing Princess Yuki from the clutches of some nasty demons. Like the plot, the game isn't new - it's an updated version of PlayStation 2's Onimusha Warlords.

Think of Capcom's survival horror classic Resident Evil with a topping of 16th century Japan, and you've got Onimusha. The plot paves the way for much slaying of demonic monsters and solving of puzzles.

Like Resi, you move a 3D hero around flat, pre-rendered backgrounds. The directional-pad is used to rotate the main character and make him walk forward.

It's a slightly awkward system - there's a button to make him quickly turn 180 degrees and a button to lock the direction he's facing in, but overall it's clunky.

Still, plenty of gamers have lapped up Capcom's other adventures, all of which have this ungainly control method. But it's especially annoying in Genma Onimusha - the intense sword battles that are the game's trademark would benefit from a much more immediate control system.

Another control-related irk concerns the acquisition of souls, an additional feature to the PlayStation 2 version. Killing enemies releases their souls which can then be captured by pressing and holding the A button. They need snaffling in order to progress.

It's a nice idea, but in practice it doesn't work as well as it might - fighting over a soul with one enemy leaves you open to attack from others, and it can make the combat frustrating.

Even without the soul-collecting, the combat is very difficult at times, and with death meaning a potentially long trip back to a save point, progression can be slow.

The awkward control system is compounded by a laborious menu system that needs to be accessed in order to use inventory items and equip different weapons.

It's not a massive problem, but it's hardly the most user-friendly interface ever devised. Using the menu screen to equip the fire orb in order to walk through a door with a fire motif on it isn't a puzzle, it's a pain.

But the game is still quite enjoyable, albeit in a completely seen-it-all before kind of way. If you've played any of the Resident Evil games, either Dino Crisis or Devil May Cry, then you'll know what to expect here.

And if that familiar mix of action and puzzles is something you want to experience again, it's worth knowing that Genma Onimusha does it as well as any of its predecessors.

Graphically, things are pretty good. Some of the rendered backgrounds are beautifully drawn and there are some excellent enemies - the razor-gloved doll is particularly memorable. But most impressive is Samanosuke himself, whose non-smiling face is admirably detailed.

Even if you haven't played a Capcom adventure before, this is worth a look. The tried-and-tested mix does deliver a solid game experience, and there are some interesting locations to explore, epic sword fights with hordes of enemies and involving puzzles.

In short, Genma Onimusha is a decent game. It's also old-fashioned and unambitious, but with more than 18m sales of this type of game, Capcom isn't going to change a successful format very soon.

At the risk of sounding like a teacher, they should stop resting on their laurels and try harder next time.

1. Slice through legions of demons
2. Solve tricky puzzles

1. Dated, clumsy controls
2. Too difficult at times
3. Creatively lifeless

Power
The pre-rendered backdrops are detailed, but they wouldn't stretch a PSone. Characters look good.

Style
Okay, but it's just an ancient Japanese skin for Capcom's adventure game format.

Immersion
The dodgy controls and tricky combat can make extended sessions frustrating.

Lifespan
The tough battles and puzzles mean this takes a while to crack.

Summary
Worth a look if you fancy a no-frills hack 'n' slash 'n' think-a-bit adventure. Fun, but flawed.