Legacy of Kain: Defiance

"The best installment in the Legacy of Kain series yet!"

Legacy of Kain: Defiance is the latest game in the Legacy of Kain series, which started way back in 1996 with Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain for the PlayStation. It continues the rich and elaborate storyline that the series is known for, as well as making some big gameplay improvements over its predecessors.

While Defiance would be a fun game for just about anyone to play, you really need to have a little experience with the Legacy of Kain series (particularly the Soul Reaver games) in order to fully appreciate this game. Defiance, like the other games in the series, has a very complex storyline, and it picks up right where Soul Reaver 2 left off. So be warned that if you haven't played any of the previous games, you're going to be very confused about what's going on.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics in Defiance are an improvement over the last Legacy of Kain games on PS2. While not the best I've ever seen, the graphics are very detailed and they look great. The environments are very impressive – from the towering Pillars of Nosgoth extending upwards into the heavens to the great Avernus Cathedral, you'll travel through a wide variety of locations. If you've played Soul Reaver 2, you'll recognize a lot of the environments, but the levels themselves are quite different. The characters have been given a bit of a facelift from Soul Reaver 2, and the graphics have been smoothed out quite a bit. You can also see more detail in the graphics because of the new camera angle, which usually gives a more close-up view of your character and his surroundings. The frame rate is pretty steady, too; I've hardly had any slowdown problems.

Sound: 10/10
One of the main reasons I love this series so much is the outstanding voice acting. All of the characters will keep their same voice actors from the previous games. Michael Bell and Simon Templeman will reprise their roles as Raziel and Kain, respectively. The actors truly do an excellent job of bringing their characters to life throughout the many cinematic cut-scenes in the game.

The music in Defiance is nothing new, mostly consisting of music reused from past Legacy of Kain games. This is not a bad thing, though, as the music from the previous games has been very good, and add to the overall atmosphere of the game. The sound effects are good, too - from the high-pitched screeching of Raziel's Spectral Reaver to the sickening smack of an enemy being impaled by your sword.

Gameplay: 9/10
Gameplay is where it's important, and Defiance does not disappoint. One of the big changes from previous Legacy of Kain games is the fighting system, which has been greatly improved. The fighting system is actually pretty simple, but you can eventually create huge combos against an enemy to send them flying to their deaths. There are three basic attacks. There's a standard sword slash, which can be chained into a three-hit combo. Then there's an upward sword slash, which lifts your enemy into the air, where you can continue attacking them. You'll also have a telekinetic attack, where you can push your enemy back with a blast of telekinesis. You can also grab the enemy and hold him with telekinesis, then throw him backwards onto a spike or off a cliff. In addition to the standard attacks, you'll gain combos as you defeat more enemies. These combos are easily performed by pressing the control stick and a button at the same time to unleash a devastating flurry of sword slashes and other effects. Although you'll probably stick to a couple of the better combos, each character will get five combos that you can use in countless ways to defeat your enemies. After you defeat an enemy, you'll need to either devour their soul or drink their blood in order to restore your health. Your health will gradually drain over time, so you'll need to fight every once in a while to keep your health up.

The puzzles in Defiance may or may not disappoint you, depending on how much of a challenge you want. They're not nearly as complex as in previous games (mainly Soul Reaver 2). The puzzles will mostly consist of activating various elemental forges to power up your sword, like you did in Soul Reaver 2. However, they are not nearly as innovative as before. All of the forges look almost exactly the same, with slight differences, such as a pile of rubble blocking a door, to make each one unique. You'll need to activate all the switches and sometimes fight a boss, and then you'll be able to activate the forge. Then you'll need to activate the portal that will lead you out of the forge. This can get quite repetitive, and you'll probably be sick of it by the time you get to the end of the game. The difficulty of the puzzles has been toned down, too. In Soul Reaver 2, you had to find an elemental forge every time you wanted to change your weapon's element, which was necessary in puzzles. In Defiance, you can change between all the elements available just be pressing the D-pad. While this is convenient, it takes a lot of the difficulty out of the puzzles.

Aside from the puzzles, the rest of the game is great. You'll get to play as both Kain and Raziel, each in his own scenario. Each one plays slightly different – Raziel can glide, whereas Kain can slowly float to the ground, but can't glide horizontally. For most of the game, Kain will have better telekinetic abilities than Raziel, being able to pick up enemies and throw them around with telekinesis, but Raziel will acquire these abilities later on. Also, as in the Soul Reaver games, Raziel will be able to switch between the Spectral and Material realms, which will sometimes be necessary in order to progress in a level. Raziel is equipped with the spectral version of the Soul Reaver, and Kain is equipped with the physical Soul Reaver. Each has elemental power-ups for the sword that have different effects in battle, as well as being required to solve puzzles.

The controls in Defiance are pretty solid. They're easy to learn and well-configured. Much of the controls are the same as in previous Legacy of Kain games, with the exception of battles. The camera is also controlled differently in Defiance. The camera will follow your character, and you can only control its direction by moving the right analog stick; you can't rotate the camera completely around your character. The camera is usually right where you need it to be, but sometimes your view will be blocked by something on the screen, and you won't be able to do much about it. You can look around in first-person to get a look at your surroundings, but that won't do you much good in the middle of a fight. Other than the occasional bad camera angle, the controls are great.

Story: 10/10
The Legacy of Kain games have been known for their elaborate, twisting storylines, and Defiance is no exception. Without spoiling any of the previous games, I'll just say that Defiance picks up right after the ending of Soul Reaver 2. From there, you'll play as Kain and Raziel, who are separated, but their stories will run together and eventually meet. Most of the characters from previous games will return in Defiance, too. Both the storyline and the characters are very deep, and you'll probably have to think for a while in order to understand everything that's going on. In short, the storyline will live up to everyone's expectations.

Length/Replay: 8/10
Defiance is not a particularly long game, but your first playthrough should last long enough. You'll probably want to go back and play it once or twice, just because it's such a fun game to play. You won't need to replay the game in order to watch the cut-scenes though, since there is an option on the main menu that allows you to view all the cut-scenes you've seen so far.

Buy or Rent?
Defiance will appeal to almost everyone – it has a spectacular fighting system, a deep and complex story, and excellent characters and voice acting. If you're a fan of the Legacy of Kain series, this game is a must-buy. If you're not a fan of the series, you can still enjoy this game, but you'll have trouble understanding the storyline. If you like action/adventure games, Legacy of Kain: Defiance will make a great addition to your collection. Buy it.

Final Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/04