Blood Omen 2 Updated Preview
We take a new look at the Xbox version of Blood Omen 2.
While both versions of Blood Omen 2 have basically been in simultaneous development, we've seen significantly less of the Xbox incarnation than its PlayStation 2 counterpart. We recently had a chance to spend some time with a fully playable version of Kain's Xbox excursion, though. While it's essentially the same game, everything looks a whole lot cleaner and runs a good deal more smoothly than what we've seen of the PS2 version. We've yet to come across any Xbox-exclusive art or features, but we're hoping that some will be added. That said, the gameplay seems to adhere to a number of 3D adventure conventions. The game is very combat-heavy, though, which makes it feel pretty compelling. The aesthetics of the game's combat system are especially vivid, and this certainly helps it--as you hack and gore your way through the clouded, dismal city of Meridian, you'll find plenty of opportunities to make use of Kain's bestial prowess, and you'll enjoy leaving a bloodbath in your wake quite a bit.
For those who are unfamiliar with the series, Blood Omen 2 is the continuation of the narrative of the original Legacy of Kain game, which was released for the PlayStation in 1996. The second game in the series appeared in 1998, in the form of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, which took place quite further down the series' timeline and featured Raziel as its primary protagonist. This is where the game's lineage begins to get a little messy--the sequel to Soul Reaver came before Blood Omen 2, so, if you're counting, this would make Blood Omen 2 the fourth Legacy of Kain game. But as Eidos has dropped the Legacy of Kain series moniker, you'll not have to waste headspace on such complex calculations.
So the story that Blood Omen 2 continues is that of Kain's original Blood Omen's exploits, and it takes place some 400 years after the events of the original. If the opening cinema is any indication (and we seriously suspect that Crystal Dynamics is keeping the whole story under wraps), Kain's efforts in the intervening centuries were fairly successful, yet somewhat abbreviated. After choosing the "dark path" at the end of the original Blood Omen, Kain went on to assemble a modest army of vampires, one that he used to wreak havoc upon the human world. The decisive battle of his dark campaign took place at the gates of Meridian, a city ruled by a grim group of vampire-hunting knights named the Sarafan. Though his legion was indeed mighty, Kain himself fell at the hands of the Sarafan lord, who then took possession of his magical blade, the Soul Reaver. This is where our insight into the story ends--after the cutscene depicting these events is over, we're thrown abruptly into the game. We do know from previous info released by Crystal Dynamics, however, that Kain was magically revived by a group of vampires called The Cabal, one of whom leads us through the slums of Meridian--where the game's first chapter is set--an engages us in a lengthy tutorial.
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- Eidos Interactive
- Crystal Dynamics
- Horror Action Adventure
- Release: Mar 21, 2002
- ESRB: Mature
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