Blood Omen 2

Being one of the few fans of the somewhat "niche" original "Legacy of Kain" from waaaaay back in '96, I have been eagerly awaiting a sequel on a next-generation console. The "Soul Reaver" spin-offs were beautifully done, but a bit of a letdown in terms of gameplay. Enter Blood Omen 2, and all is once again right with the world.

One of the first things that hits you with this title is the absolutely gorgeous graphics. The visuals do an excellent job of conveying the grim, gothic world of Kain, which blends the medieval with a sort of mystical analog to modern technology. The atmosphere is further helped by a haunting musical score (though not quite as good as the crashing symphonies of the "Soul Reaver" games) and appropriate sound effects. Simon Templeman delivers a great performance as he once again lends his sinister voice to Kain, putting to shame all those games out there with cheap, laughable voice acting.

Gameplay is considerably better than in the "Soul Reaver" series. While the combat can be at times tedious and opponents can land some fairly cheap hits, overall it's less stilted than in Blood Omen's sister series. Kain blocks attacks realistically, and has a number of weapons to use on his enemies. These swords, axes and clubs can also be used on the peasants and townsfolk you will encounter, which leads to a key aspect of gameplay - blood drinking. Being a vampire, Kain needs to feed constantly, and there is a darkly satisfying pleasure in preying on the townspeople.

The only real drawbacks come from the price we have to pay for such excellent visuals; the game chugs and skips when things get hectic; three enemies and a peasant all on the screen at once can slow things down quite a bit. The puzzles are fairly simplistic - "pull a lever here, which powers another lever over there" kind of thing. Combat, as I said before, can get tedious; however, this can be offset by Kain's ability to sneak up on enemies by hiding in mist and "stealth killing" them.

Overall, drawbacks aside, this is one you want to add to your collection, especially if you're like me and actually own and still enjoy the original Blood Omen. Pass over the "Soul Reaver" games as rental-only - this is the true sequel we've been waiting for.