Sega's Otogi: Myth of Demons befell a horrible fate at retail, debuting the same week that Soul Calibur 2 and F-Zero hit store shelves. It was noticed by the "in the know" players, but failed to make much of an impact among more main stream gamers. However, lukewarm sales didn't stop developer From Software from creating a sequel. Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors is just as good as the prequel, if not better, and is a must buy for gamers who love beautiful graphics as well as tons of action.

After vanquishing the demons in the previous game, the undead warrior Raikoh went into a hibernation of sorts to rest until he'd be needed again. Well that time has come! The world is in chaos, as tons of demonic creatures are running amok. Several noble warriors approach Raikoh's resting place and spill their blood in order to resurrect him, and thus begins Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors, an adventure in which Raikoh (and the other five warriors), travel to various locations, purifying them of the evil that's taken hold.

Immortal Warriors lets you select from six characters, each with his or her (and sometimes its) own set of special moves, weapons, and abilities. Raikoh is the most balanced of the six, and can be used for any level, but you will want to experiment with the other characters. Kintoki is a huge warrior that can do heavy damage but he's not particularly quick, Tsuna is a bad ass wolf man thing who slices and dices his foes with twin blades, Sadamitsu is super fast but a weak attacker, Suetake can jump indefinitely but he's slow, and Seimei can use unique spells the other characters don't have access to, and she can chuck demons into next Tuesday. All of the characters have a select set of weapons (which is somewhat disappointing, given the wealth of items you could purchase in the last Otogi), and they can also level-up and become enhanced by purchasing upgrades.

Otogi 2's gameplay is all about beating the crap out of everything that moves (as well as objects that don't). The missions are varied, but the goal remains the same: to unleash hell upon all demons and purify a certain area. You'll eliminate giant exploding spiders, slice through hundreds of tiny demons, and splinter large boats, and as you can clearly see, the mission objective remains the same. The gameplay never gets boring, especially since the controls are simple to use. A jumps, X unleashes a spell attack, B triggers light attacks, and Y is your heavy attack, so all you have to do is press a button or two (even if you don't know what you're doing), and you'll cause all sorts of destruction. However, that's not to say that Otogi 2's easy. The first couple of missions are a breeze, but as you progress, you'll find dying to be something that happens quite often. At times the enemies can overwhelm you and the bosses are very intimidating. If you don't have some skills, you'll be quickly pushing up daisies.

The first Otogi's graphics are still among the best seen on the Xbox, and the sequel takes those luscious visuals to a whole new level. Simply put, this is the greatest use of particle effects that I've ever seen in a game. Battling with enemies causes this enormous explosion of color and sparks that truly has to be seen to be believed. Also, the character models are extremely well-detailed, and most of the objects in the environments can be obliterated. It's awesome to walk into a room with statues knowing full well that by the time you're finished purifying, the entire room's going to be a complete mess. However, the most satisfying feeling is hitting a monster so hard it actually flies through things, causing tons of rubble to fall on top of it.

In addition to the excellent graphics, the game features a gorgeous soundtrack that's worth buying if it's ever released. The familiar Otogi theme has been enhanced just a bit and the rest of the music is top notch.

To be honest, it's difficult to find flaws in Otogi 2. The game's just that damn good, but it does in fact suffer from some slow down that somewhat mars the otherwise awesome visual presentation, but that's about it. The only reason someone could dislike this game is if they're not a fan of hack-and-slash games, and/or they don't like Japanese-themed adventures. Otherwise, what's here is golden.

That sums up my complaints about Otogi 2. Seriously, there's no reason why, if you have an Xbox, you shouldn't buy this game. If you love pretty graphics, bad ass main characters, and levels you can absolutely decimate, it'd be ill advised to pass it up. Shockingly gorgeous and a showpiece for the Xbox hardware, Otogi 2 is one of the very few games that can be described as poetry in motion.