Legacy of Kain: Defiance

"Eidos are at it again (and that's a good thing)"

Introduction
I first found the Legacy of Kain series when I played a demo of Soul Reaver for the Playstation. Although I never actually finished the full game (couldn't even complete the demo), I still thought it was a great game. As I've only played the two Soul Reavers and Defiance, I'm slightly biased towards Raziel in terms of character and abilities.

Background
Since this game has a very large prologue, I'll try to shorten it. The first game in the series, Blood Omen, saw the first appearance of the vampire Kain. Next came Soul Reaver, introducing the "devourer of souls" Raziel, who seeks vengeance on the one that turned in from elite vampire to only a spectral being of his former self: Kain. Blood Omen and Soul Reaver, both had sequels. Defiance, however, is the first game of the series that lets the gamer take control of both Kain and Raziel, alternating between the two each level. Now that I've got that outta the way, onto the scores.

Story 10/10
The story has a fair amount of depth, plot twists (which I won't ruin). If you haven't played any of the previous games and haven't got the manual for the game for some reason (i.e. renting it, pre-owned copy), your gonna have a bit of trouble understanding the full story. However, you shouldn't be completely lost, as the narrative gives you the main gist of what's happening.

Gameplay 8/10
The game is challenging, yet not so frustrating that you throw down the controller in anger (believe me, controllers can take a lot of punishment, but throwing can really screw them up for good). The controls are fairly easy, even if your new to the series and the camera has no real serious faults. One of the problems is the slight problem with enemy AI. This only really noticed when you drink/devour a victims blood/soul in the middle of a fight against multiple enemies. The victims "allies" just stand there and watch until your done. The other is that, while you don't want the game to exactly hold your hand all the way, but some of the puzzles can get annoying when you think you've tried everything and nothing works.

Graphics/Audio 9/10
The graphics in this game are the best in the series so far, and can probably be compared with DMC (Devil May Cry, released in 2001 by Capcom, for those of you who didn't know). The characters are all well designed and the use of Gothic backgrounds suits the game well. The only problem is, and for all I know it could just be my own copy, but the pause menu has trouble going from screen to screen. The audio in this game is some of the best your gonna find in any recent game. As this game relies heavily on narrative, the voice acting is done well, never sounding fake.

Replayability 6/10
Unfortunately, this is where the game falls short, as you can finish this game in a week, give or take a day. To add to the loss is that when you finish the game, that's basically it. Over. No real reason to play again. There are "collectables" through out the game, such as talismans to increase your maximum health, TK runes to increase you maximum telekinesis amount (a very nice ability to have, even if doesn't do much to any real boss) and production art for both Kain and Raziel. If you didn't collect them all, you could always go back and look for them. You can also learn new techniques by fighting, but the game kinda requires you do that anyway.

Worth Buying?
I would personally recommend you borrow it if you have never played one of the previous games. If, however, you are a fan of the series, you would be stupid to not to add this to your collection, as it really is a great game, even if it is short.

Final Score (not average) 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/04