Fun while it lasts....a good game.
After a bit of frustration with some of the control issues I became pretty adept at working around them and enjoying the game. I was actually quite surprised; since the old days of FPS games, I haven't enjoyed a game in such a fast-paced way. The interface actually has a little learning to it, and I didn't pick it up immediately. But when I did, I found the game to be pretty addictive and fun, just as FPS games haven't been for me lately.
Rayne's good looks also helped keep the game addictive, as she is the hottest and best crafted avatar I have seen in any 3d game. Completely unreal how good-looking she is. Apparently Majesto games modeled their characters on real motion, and the results are rather impressive, (and by the way, won't make you go out and buy a new vid card. A 128 meg card should have no trouble. ) and much to their credit imho they didn't shy away from the issue of depicting the female body in a realistic fashion. Nearly all 3d games portray the soft parts of the female body as being made of wood, for fear of arousing, well, arousing reprisal from the pro-censorship community, I think. Rayne bounces and jiggles where she is supposed to, much to my appreciation. I don't know of any other 3d action game where they do that, otherwise. A few of the models in Unreal Tournament 2000 did, but they put a stop to that in Unreal Tournament 2003. And now, the female models in UTK4 are absurdly well-endowed, but they might as well be made of concrete.
And the glorious bounce, as well as the ridiculously bloody gore and the vulgar characters, all come together to make this a game that Number one: you wouldn't want your mother, girlfriend, or most reasonable, mature people to ever see you playing. Number two: It also makes it a game that I put up there with Doom, Quake, and others; that indulge my juvenile, impulsive, rude side, without harm to others in any fashion -- but which I don't mention at family events. The action, dark plot, and attractiveness of the protagonist combine some of the pleasure of playing Doom with that of looking at old Playboy magazines. No wonder the other reviewer here spoke so poorly of it.
I can hardly believe that there's only one review and in fact such a scathing one here at this site. The game is really not so bad to play, and is lots of fun. The dialogue is hilarous, the music is good, and my gameplay went without a hitch. It is, however, not recommended for minors. Incidentally, there has just been a movie based on the game, and the music group, Evanescence, used the various avatars from this game in a video. So contrary to the reception they have had here at Gamespot, this game is a runaway success. I can't wait for Bloodrayne III.
I can speak poorly of a few things, I suppose. The hitches in the play action, such as the problem of getting Rayne stuck in a tight spot and not being able to manoevre the camera around her to see what she's supposed to be doing, these are among them. If I had any one biggest complaint, it would be that interface; it's a little tough for me to get used to. I said in my scoring that the "learning curve" is 1 to 2 hours, but that is an oversimplification. The learning curve for me, a "veteran" FPS player is very, very long. In fact, I have not finished learning it yet. But I am in fact still mastering the interface, and I continue to improve, unfortunately after I have played it through. But for me, most games that have any real staying power of enjoyment require some learning or practice. Otherwise they would get boring too fast. Overall, I think the engine rocks, and I wish you could play one on one, just like in Mortal Combat. It might could use some improvement, but it is very nice and smooth, and not terribly demanding of your computer.