Blood Omen 2

"Soul Reaver 3: Even more linear than before!"

This game is, for all intents and purposes, another Soul Reaver game. The only difference is that it has fruity controls, and levels rather than the Metroid style structure of the first Soul Reaver. This game feels very much like Soul Reaver 2 split into levels. Anyway, now to let my feelings be known on all aspects of this game. We'll start with....

Graphics
The graphics are quite nice. The environments are much better looking than the characters are, unfortunately. They aren't bad looking, but they're not what I'd call good either. The only real complaint I have in the graphics department is the all to frequent slowdown. It unrelentingly plagues this game, though thankfully it has never reared it's ugly head while I was doing something important. Lastly, no complaints whatsoever about the camera. It says firmly behind Kain at all times, kinda like in MDK.

Sound
The sound is fantastic. There are great sound effects to accompany all of the actions in the game. For instance, there's a wonderful little crackle when you pick people up by their necks and toss them about, and hacking people with the variety of weaponry that you find always sounds good. There's not a whole lot of music, but what's there is great stuff that sets the mood perfectly. The only complaint I have here is the occasional pop or skip in the background. An annoyance to match the framerate problems, but it hasn't been nearly as bad.

Controls
This is where things start to hurt. Whereas Soul Reaver has always had the Mario style controls that worked oh so beautifully, this game decided to use the incredibly clumsy Tomb Raider style of controls. Granted, these controls are much more well executed than Tomb Raider's, but this style of control just doesn't work well in a game that's so combat heavy. Another beef with the controls is that you have to hold down the lock-on button for the entire duration of a fight, there is no option to just turn it on/off at the press of a button. This really starts to suck during the boss battles, which would have been awesome, if not hampered by the controls.

Gameplay
This is yet another place where the game hurts. For starters Kain has 1 combo at his disposal. 1. 1!. Just press the attack button 3 times, and there you have it, the most complicated combo in the game. Anyway, the game consists of you running around beating people to a pulp and then sucking their blood out of their bodies from a couple of yards away. It's funny to watch, but it gets kinda old. The blood is the replacement for Soul Reaver's souls, by the way. The only difference is that the blood doesn't eventually float away:) The weapon sytem is also straight out of Soul Reaver. You pick up what the enemies drop, or what may be arbitrarily lying around, and use it. The new addition is that the weapon will eventually break, and you'll have to find a new one. Don't worry though, because it is beyond easy to get another weapon because 90% of the people are armed. The lock on system is also ripped out of Soul Reaver. You lock on to someone and slowly plod around them. You attack with square, and you can dodge to the left and right (but not backward, nor can you lunge) with X. The new addition here is that you can grab people by the neck and do a variety of humorous things to them, depending on what weapon Kain is currently carrying. You can stab them, hit them in the unmentionables, throw them, and strangle them, among many other things. The best thing about the game is easily Kain's dark gifts. Guess how they are obtained? Soul Reaver style, by defeating bosses! The mist allows you to do a variety of different Tenchu style stealth kills depending yet again on what weapon Kain is carrying. There are also abilities that let you jump very far, control people's minds, and use telekenisis. The dark gifts are great fun, but there aren't enough of them, and the game is so linear that you can't get creative with them. It's a shame really. The Boss battles are clever affairs (just like Soul Reaver!), that are more like solving a puzzle rather than just beating down a super strong monster (althought there are elements of that). The boss battles could have been fantastic, but they are hurt more than any single apect of the game by the controls. It's a shame.

To finish up, I'll just say that this is a pretty decent game that could have been great. If not for the incredible linearity, wonky controls, and plethora of bugs, this game could have been a real classic. It's too bad really, but it IS the Legacy of Kain.... A legacy of games with great potential that always fall short because they where released way too soon.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/02, Updated 03/24/02