Blood Omen 2

"Not a Legacy I'd want to leave behind"

Intro:
Blargh. I had high hopes for this game. The Legacy of Kain is an intensely cinematic game series that started on the PSX with the original Blood Omen. If you haven't played it, you might as well. Not only is it the beginning of the series but it's also leagues ahead of this sequel. Blood Omen 2 is a 3D action/adventure game with RPG elements along with a heavy dose of story. This game, while not dismal, leaves only a legacy of mediocrity.

Story:
This takes place a long time after the original Blood Omen, but before the Soul Reaver games. Kain begins his conquest and takes on the world with his vampire hordes. Unfortunately he gets his ass handed to him in a climatic battle with the leader of the Sarafan Knights, the Sarafan Lord. The Soul Reaver (a mighty sword) is lost in the process and it looks like the vampire horde has taken a blow from which they will never recover. With their leader downed, the vampires break up and fall under the might of the Sarafan.
Kain isn't dead of course, but is in a coma. Years and years later, Kain recovers, nursed back to health from the brink of death. He's weak, thirsty, sore, cramped, pissed in general, and has a lot off questions. Enter the vampiress, Umah.

Good Heavens.

Was there ever a video game character that tried as hard to come off as sexy than Umah? Every time she speaks, her body (tastefully draped with a purple bikini thing of course) must make at least 20 gyrating motions. OKAY, OKAY, we get it. She's ''sexy''. Or supposed to be anyway.
Ahem, it appears Kain was revived by some vampire resistance group called the Cabal. They need help in overthrowing Sarafan rule. Normal everyday humans are pissed at the Sarafan as well, so there are some working for the group. Kain figures he'll go along for now and meet up with them. But whether he'll commit to anything depends on how much it will be worth to him.

Analysis: Ok, no problem with the story. It's pretty cool. I like the ''protagonist gets his ass kicked by a superior enemy'' angle. The story flows very nicely, the voice acting and mood are excellent, etc, etc. This is a hallmark of the Legacy of Kain series. And for those die hard Kain fans, they brought this game a long time ago just for the story. Storywise, I think most people will like it, perhaps even love it. Vampire fans in general will probably eat this up.

Graphics:
ARRRRRRRRRGHH!! Well, not really. The graphics in general are fine. Character models are above average, especially those Sarafan warriors with their Tron - like glowing armor. It's just that...well, most of the early game is really underwhelming. Narrow alleyways, narrow streets, narrow buildings, narrow vague passages, all layered with a heavy dose of grime and goth. And it's DARK. Yeah, it's a vampire, set a creepy mood, etc, but it's TOO DARK. Lighten up on the murkiness a little, or at least add some more light sources. Wood, and stone, and dirt. That's pretty much Legacy of Kain graphics wise. The monotony is mind dulling. It improves in the later levels, like when you finally get out of the damn starting city.

There's some nice death animations, mostly from stealth kills. Gets kinda gory later on. Run a dagger straight into a guy's brain, punch out his heart, etc.

There are some slowdown problem, like say, when you're turning. Yeah, most people can live with it. It's not necessarily a game killer, but it can be annoying when it pops up, which is not all that often. Just often enough for me to note it. The Xbox and PC (well if you have a hefty PC) versions have eliminated this.

Analysis: Very little ''wow'' factor here. I suppose moody goths would like it, and anyone else that just likes dark, run down, medieval environments. I would like to emphasize the word ''dark'' here. Stealth kills are pretty cool though.

Sound/Music:
No analysis necessary here. They have a great ambiance and are appropriate. Nothing special, but it more than does the job of conveying the mood for this game.

Gameplay:
Well, you run around and hit switches. Or perhaps move blocks. Sometimes you need to move blocks to hit switches. Hell, you'll probably hit switches in order to hit OTHER switches. And you'll need a box of course.
For a lot of the game, you are going to be hitting switches. There's just no way around this. I told you that the Legacy of Kain series was renown for it's storytelling. It is also infamous for its box 'n' switch puzzles.

Ah, but fear not. There is another aspect to the gameplay. The Lore system. This is basically ''experience''. Kill stuff, suck blood, and your Lore is raised. When your Lore meter is full, Kain spazzes out and you effectively gain a ''level'' You become stronger with each Lore ''level'' you reach. You get skills like disappearing into mist and crap. They are pretty fun to play with. Lore itself is a nice play on the nature of a vampire. Lore decreases as time passes, so you gotta keep sucking blood at a steady pace if you wanna get stronger. And that means killing people, innocent or otherwise. In a sense, it simulates the ''thirst'' of a vampire. Nothing too original but adds a thin layer of desperately needed depth.

Speaking of killing stuff, the combat in Blood Omen 2 can be frustrating. The camera sucks to put it bluntly. It follows you too tightly and there's no way to reverse direction except by spinning all the way around. There's a crude lock-on of sorts to stay in view of enemies though. If nothing else, the camera really ruined it for me. Can't they just be happy with a Mario 64/Devil May Cry camera style? Anyway, there are a lot of weapons to fight with, adding variety to combat. A little variety. Most of the time you'll just deliver a generic three hit combo, pray it hits the guy, then block an attack, repeat ad nauseam. fighting becomes a chore.

Stealth kills are always cool. Nothing quite like turning into mist, sneaking up behind some punk and slicing their torso in half.

Analysis:
Well, it's nothing revolutionary. I was expecting more from the combat as the developers had promised stuff like dynamic blocking and whatnot. It's merely ok, or would be if it weren't for that annoying camera. Hell, not even ''ok''. Not in this day and age. It's just to trite and boring.

Overall Analysis:
It's a mediocre game for the most part and dull. After the promising beginning screens, it just never delivers. If you're a Legacy of Kain fanatic, you've already brought this game and are preparing to send an annoying e-mail to me.
Now, this...is a perfect game to rent. Just try it out if you're curious or just desperate for another action/adventure game. Otherwise, skip it. You're not missing out on anything. When you have games like Onimusha, Devil May Cry, Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, etc, mediocrity just doesn't cut it anymore.

Final Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/02, Updated 08/08/02