BloodRayne 2

"The worlds most sexy vampire hacking up a storm!"

Ever since Blood Rayne one, I've been hankering for a BR2 to come out. Finally when it did I jumped on the pre order bandwagon. The game is more expansive than the original with things like finishing moves known as fatalities, and different attacks with the harpoon weapon she carries. They've done an excellent job over it's predecessor, it's unfortunate the game is rather short though.


GRAPHICS
Very good. The cut scenes are well drawn, they character models and cinematics are well defined and smooth with a good amount of detail. The in game graphics are very good too. The character models and enemy models are drawn nicely, and the environmental graphics like walls, furniture, hazards, are also done nicely. The game is much bloodier than the first. You can impale enemies on poles and other objects, throw them off buildings or dump them into a roaring fire, among other things too. You can sever limbs or decapitate people, and the fatalities are way cool. You can lop someone's head off, or cut them to pieces, or smash them into a wall among other things.

SOUND & MUSIC
Very good for both. The music is perfect for the game, great rhythm and variety. The sound effects are great too, from the destruction of environment objects, to the flesh piercing sound of her blades cutting into enemies. The enemies will sometimes scream and run away if you beat them badly, and if you cut off an arm or leg they scream and try to run away bleeding all over the place. Rayne also lets you know how well you're fighting as she makes comments if you get you butt whipped.

PLAYABILITY & CONTENT
Very good. The only beef I had was the length, it's a short game and should be a lot longer for such a cool genre. You can probably beat it in a few hours of consecutive play. One of the best things about it is the amount of blood and gore. They didn't hold back anything on this. Blood splashes and sprays and covers the flood leaving behind evidence of mass carnage. You can chop people to pieces even if they are already dead. It's too bad though the bodies vanish after a few seconds but at least the blood stays.

You only get three weapons in the game, your arm blades, the harpoon, and guns called Dragon Guns which use blood for ammunition. The DG has different modes similar to a shotgun, Uzi, RPG, etc. All packed into one unit. Personally I didn't use the gun much I enjoyed spearing and slicing, but the gun was needed for a few boss battles. You can do more with the harpoon such as direct enemies into hazards or impale them on objects after you spear them, or just toss them out of your way.

There are things called Killing Puzzles, which should have been aptly named Puzzkills. These usually require you tom mercilessly toss enemies into a machine to make it break down or toss them into a fire or something else. Not incredibly difficult and a lot of fun actually as the enemies will keep respawning until you complete it, giving you plenty of food and ammo and bloodshed.

The boss battles however at times were a bit annoying. Clues on how to actually beat the boss were vague and required experimenting until you find out what works. Fortunately you don't fight bosses every minute so it's not so bad.

There are also combo moves that you can use during fights and feeding, as well as different fatalities. Combos are learned as you progress, and different ways to finish off your victims become available too. Combos do more damage and can take out a number of opponents quickly and without prejudice. Fatalities vary based on whether you feed from the front or behind an enemy. You also do spectacrobatics, jumping over enemies or swinging from poles, real cool stuff once you get the hang of it.

When you beat the game, the ending is an obvious statement to another Blood Rayne. Hopefully they're already working on a part III. Also it unlocks extras like movie scene selections (only a few) and you can change Raynes costume to dresses, dark Rayne, a suit of armor, school girl, or cow girl. There is also a trailer for the actual movie, although the women playing Blood Rayne doesn't look much like her at all, at least in the trailer maybe they'll jazz her up some.

Despite the very few downsides of the game, it can be rated no lower than 10!

CONTROLS
Presets.

SAVING FEATURES
Checkpoints and end of level.

THE GOOD
Blood Rayne
Gore gore gore!
Graphics and cut scenes.
Combos and fatalities.

THE BAD
Short.

THE UGLY
Nothing notable.

OVERALL RATING 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/18/04