Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
# of Players: 1 player
Memory: 1 block
ERSB: Mature
Released On: December 3rd, 2002
Also On: Playstation 2, Xbox
Features: Dolby Pro Logic II
Website: www.LegacyOfKain.com
Introduction:
The Legacy of Kain series all began on the PSX with a game called Blood Omen. Blood Omen was created by a promising upcoming developer by the name of Silicon Knights, and its game, Blood Omen became a hit with Action RPG gamers across the country. Now, Blood Omen 2 has finally arrived on the Nintendo GameCube, and unfortunately for fans of the original, without Silicon Knights, Blood Omen 2 may not be the sequel they would have liked.
Presentation:
Darkness consumes everything, well not everything but that’s the type of atmosphere Blood Omen 2 presents. For the most part it’s executed quite well, with both the visuals and the audio bringing Kain’s world of Nosgoth to life. Now for the technical mumbo-jumbo. Well, the worlds of Nosgoth are pretty large, so unless your console is cartridge based, expect multiple yet short load times. Most of these load times though, are done while traveling in and out of doors, so there’s a slight stutter in gameplay as if there was a framerate problem, yet there isn’t. Luckily, that stutter is a bit annoying but easily ignorable. The quality of the FMV in Blood Omen 2 is acceptable, it’s non on par with its PS2 and Xbox counterparts but it’s good enough to be superior to most of the other 3rd party GameCube offerings.
Visuals:
The world of a Vampire is never a pretty one, it’s dark, gothic, and at times just plain scary, and for the most part Blood Omen 2 gets the job done. It’s not the best looking of games, and it’s not the worst, but Blood Omen 2 manages to hold a solid framerate 98 percent of the time, and on top of that, the game features a clean look that I really appreciate. Characters models are a bit archaic though, and with average texture work, this game could pass as a first gen Dreamcast title, but if you look at games like Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast then you might think I’m giving this game too much credit. Level design is commendable and is probably the only visual aspect of the game that really shines; it gets the whole atmosphere down perfectly. If I could ask for anything that could be done to this game visually, it would be to include more cool little effects, like for instance volumetric fog consuming the streets, now that would just look spectacular.
Audio:
Blood Omen 2 has an extremely dark atmosphere, something that I really like about the game, and its soundtrack further enhances the mood. It’s dark, gloomy, and sometimes quiet…at first you don’t even realize that the game features background music but the further you get in the game the more it intensifies, but, for instance, just like in Resident Evil, times of silence do the job fine. Voice acting in Blood Omen 2, for the most part, is spectacular…it features good dialogue and great British voice actors that make you wish that LucasFilm’s Attack of the Clones was actually a good movie.
As far as complaints go, I have just one big one. Where are the sound effects? When I walk down an empty sewer tunnel I expect to hear my footsteps on the wet surface, or hear the dripping of water from the pipes above, even worse when swinging my weapon at a solid wall I expect to hear some sort of a clanging noise.
Sure, at times the music is pretty good, but the near lack of audio effects takes down the score a few points. Gamers today are spoiled with near flawless audio packages, and I have to admit that I’m one of those spoiled gamers.
Gameplay:
Evil is everywhere, it’s unavoidable, and like I said before, it may consume us all.
The game’s protagonist Kain is one bad ass character. It’s never been this fun to be the bad guy, murdering civilians in cold blood and then drinking the essence of their life is one of the most satisfying and coolest things that you could ever do in a videogame. Of course, you could just feast on your enemies, but it’s much more satisfying to prey upon a civilian roaming the streets of Nosgoth and feasting upon them, giving Kain more strength.
The game’s story is what really makes the game shine; Blood Omen 2 takes place 400 years after its predecessor with Kain finally awakening from his coma-like sleep. At first his memory is a bit shady; those many years ago Kain practically ruled over Nosgoth, but an enemy arose out of men, ones with extraordinary powers who call themselves the Sarafan. The Sarafan Lord defeated Kain in battle, nearly killing him, but Kain survived and now he’s on a quest to get revenge, to end the life of the Sarafan Lord as well as leading the Vampire Resistance on their quest to defeat the Sarafan and to ultimately avoid extinction. The story really reveals itself nicely as you progress further in the game, and with tales of betrayal and mystery it’s a very interesting one.
Blood Omen 2 is one of the most linear games I’ve ever laid my hands on, sure the shear size of the levels Kain explores are huge, but that hardly makes up for what’s lacking, and that is substance. When walking down the streets of Nosgoth you’ll notice there are a multitude of buildings, taverns, etc… and just like they should, they feature doors, but unfortunately they’re always lock. Why? Because the game forces you to basically travel a straight path, from point A to point B, avoiding any possible exploration of Kain’s world, thus giving the game a dull feeling. Basically the only obstacles that can be found in Kain’s path are some easily disposable enemies, and puzzles that are so simple, so dull, that even a toddler could solve without any frustration.
When in battle, Kain has the ability to wield a number of weapons, but if you choose, you can just attack your foes with Kain’s sharp claws. Weapons are acquired by defeating an enemy, but these weapons don’t last for too long, after using them for a decent amount of time they shatter. So, it would be wise to consistently change the weapon Kain has in hand, just to avoid confrontations of encountering a strong foe with just your claws. Speaking of strong foes, the boss the battles in Blood Omen 2 don’t happen as often as I would like, and when they do, they end up being an utter disappointment. Like most games, boss battles are all about coming up with an effective strategy and using it to slay your enemy, oddly, in Blood Omen 2, how to defeat a boss is apparent from the get go. Most of the time all you have to do is block his attacks and then strike at him, or just pull that switch to give you an opening to attack; this might prove interesting for a casual gamer but for hardcore gamers, like myself, there has to be some difficulty involved.
One of the cooler things in Blood Omen 2 is the ability for Kain to use his Vampire powers, he can float, jump great distances, become invisible, and even control the minds of weak men. When using these powers, the situation where they are needed is very apparent. I have to say, using these Vampire powers are pretty damn cool, jumping from roof top to roof top is just cool to watch, and using the mind control powers to direct weak minded men to a switch, etc… is just as cool, but the situations in which they are needed to be used are too obvious for their own good.
Controlling Kain in Blood Omen 2 can be described as playing a Resident Evil game, except with the addition of a jump button. It’s just that bulky, and turning your character around is such a hassle that you will be wishing that the game had a 180 degree, quick turn, button. When fighting, things are just as dull. When engaged in battle Kain locks onto an enemy with a simple targeting system, from there, depending on the weapon he wields, Kain can perfom 3 different attacks, all of which are dull, repetitive, and unrewarding. But holding your victim by the throat and then impaling him with your blade is always fun to perform, though, for some reason that doesn’t even kill them.
Lasting Appeal:
Blood Omen 2 is one of the games that isn’t hampered by a short length, but in actuality the game feels to be too long for its own good. No, by no means is it of RPG lengths, but there’s something about the game that makes you just wish that it would end half through playing it. This could be blamed to the mediocrity of the game, half way through it feels as if you’ve have seen and done everything there it to do in the title, and as levels become larger, it feels like a burden to finish them. There’s just no way that I’ve could of forced myself to sit there for an hour playing one of the later levels in the game, there’s just so little variety in a simple hack ‘n slash game to keep a person entertained.
Final Thoughts:
Crystal Dynamics’ Blood Omen 2 is not the worst of titles, but then again it’s not the best. Honestly, I enjoyed the game despite all my harsh criticism, it might be dull, it might be repetitive, but there’s something about being an evil blood sucking vampire that just appeals to me. Most likely, many of you will ignore this game like the plague, probably due to the fact that it is a late port of an Xbox and PS2 game, but those looking for a good Mature rated GameCube rental should consider trying Blood Omen 2.
