Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

"The reign of Kain starts here."

The story of Kain and his rise to power in what you find in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, starts here, in this over looked game. It is a slow moving game, but has the elements of any good epic tale. Involving a medieval time, and a land filled with strife, this game is one of those special games that you come across on accident, and end up keeping, just for the story alone.

-Graphics {8/10}-

The lighting of this game, much like Soul Reaver, is moody and fits the game almost to a tee. You will probably re-adjust your television set to get the game to be brighter on the screen so you can see. It does get that dark sometimes, to the point that you can't see where the path is when you traverse the overworld.

Each area of the game is well designed, and is a treat to look at, even though it is view at an overhead perspective. The weapon usage animation is different for each one, and you can tell what is doing what, just by watching what it does when you use it.

Bloody messes, and feeding show you what being one of the Kindred could possibly be like. The game can be pretty gory depending on what weapon you use, and who you use it on. Not really for the faint of heart, especially with the Flay device...ick.

-Sound {9/10}-

Nicely done. Voice overs, and a story that immerses you with filled emotion of a narrative style, and the music follows the mood of the game. Dark, evil, and full of sorrow, anger, and revenge.

The sound effects sound awesome in this game, explosions, the sound of bloody heaps hitting the floor, and the screams of your victims, or would be victims, all ring clear. It's a wonderful feeling to have the person ask you to help them, just before you feed and kill them off.

-Gameplay {9/10}-

Giant worlds filled with alot of adventure. You're in search of a man turned insane by the death of his love, while trying to get rid of a curse that has been bestowed on you so that you could get your revenge.

It is a giant quest, with alot of walking back and forth. The landscape can hurt you...crossing water makes your skin burn, and the sunlight makes you weaker. All great elements that make you have to think about your next move before you actually make it.

There is a bit of strategy that needs to be used in this game...at certain cycles of the moon, things open up..you have to wait, or do other side quests in order to go onto the next portion of the game.

Weapon combinations are a key, making your armor and weapon create fear in your enemies, and be able to get through the normal townspeople...certain weapons have different effects, while the armor can cause game changes.

Again, this is one of those overlooked games that has all the makings of one of the classic RPG-style titles. It is very very time consuming, and can be on the long side. It's not something that can be finished in a couple of days.

-Control {8/10}-

A little daunting as everything is not right at your disposal. It can get a little hectic if you need to suddenly change something up, or reselect an item or spell.

Movement is easy enough over the landscape, nothing really to say here outside of your thumbs can, and will get sore after awhile...there is alot of traveling to be done.

-Overall {9/10}-

Once again, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen, was one of the game for the PSX that was overlooked for other titles such as Final Fantasy and Resident Evil. If you can still find this title, it's worth the money to shell out on it.

An involving story, awesome narrative, moody music and lighting, and in-game strategy, all combine themselves to make one hell of a title. You'll play it until it's finished, and then may go back to find the secrets that you may have missed through-out the game.

If you have the time, and patience, then you'll find much enjoyment in this title. But I will forewarn you, this game is long, and it can be difficult, and yes, even a bit frustrating..just keep a level head, and plenty of pop handy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/19/00, Updated 03/19/00