Glitchy and ultimately unrewarding, Blood Omen 2 is worthwhile for fans of vampire games and the Kain series only.
Of course, that's not to say the game is all flaws. There is some sick pleasure to be found in slaughtering helpless villagers on your way to go kill the Sarafan Lord. There's fun to be had in sucking the blood out of all his minions, and all creatures that stand in your way. But the game's combat system (consisting almost purely of the block then 3-strike combo variety) gets old, especially when Kain gets cornered in a narrow space against more than one opponent. Your dodging capabilities do little to help you in such situations, and it can be frustrating. Kain is by no means agile, and there is no way to attack while running or while not in your slow-moving combat stance.
The Dark Gifts that Kain acquires by defeating bosses make the game more interesting, but are almost more a burden than anything else. Try and count how many times the game requires you to use the JUMP ability, and you will be stunned at how boring and tedious it gets to leap long distances.
Puzzles are generally really simple, but there are a few scattered throughout that really bring the game to a screeching, frustrating halt. Playing with switches and levers is not very interesting, and in this game you do it a lot. Pushing blocks gets really boring as well, and none of these puzzles match those in the Soul Reaver games, which are actually fun while being challenging.
The enemies you face lack variety, and later in the game, it almost feels like you're playing though a science-fiction alien game. The types of enemies you face toward the end of the game are simply lame, as are the levels. The Eternal Prison stage is an exception, and is the shining part of the game that would make me recommend it the most. Going from the Eternal Prison, a truly inspired, gothic masterpiece of a level, to what looks like an alien lair, is a serious letdown for a game starring a vampire. It all seems out-of-place.
The graphics in the game are generally good, but there are issues with polygonal clipping, which actually spill over into the gameplay itself. For instance, if you kill an opponent near a wall, often times part of the opponent will be through the wall. If this happens to be the opponent's right arm, good luck retrieving that weapon that he/she dropped. Things like this make the game more of a chore than it should be.
The somewhat slow combat in the game doesn't help matters. You rarely (if ever) face more than 4 opponents at one time in the game. It takes time to attack through your opponents' blocks and defenses, so expect to spend at least a minute diffusing most of your opponents. After awhile, the combat wears thin and you'll find yourself blocking just long enough to charge up your IMMOLATE ability to light your opponent on fire with one shot. The controls feel somewhat unresponsive while dodging attacks, particularly those that cannot be blocked. That adds to the frustration of the game.
Furthermore, some of Kain's abilities simply don't make sense. Kain gets the ability to charm any character that is not an enemy, thus taking control of the character and having the peasant/worker/whatever do his bidding. Yet there are some inexplicable instances where you cannot charm characters controlling gates, and things like that. Why not? It's illogical that Kain would not be able to do so.
The other gripe I have is with the stealth kill system, which sounds really cool but is rather awkward, in that you can only perform stealth kills while in mist form. Why is this? Does Kain get stage fright when sneaking up to an unsuspecting victim while not in the fog? It doesn't make sense, and frankly, it's irritating.
The boss battles are generally pretty lame once you find out what to do. That could take awhile with most the opponents though, seeing as these are multi-stage fights and it can be hard to keep track of what the opponent is doing, or even the enemy's location during the battles.
The save system is based on reaching checkpoints which are spread out unevenly throughout the long levels. The last level in particular has a ridiculous number of tasks required before reaching a checkpoint.
Additionally, the ending of the game is wholly unsatisfying, and you unlock nothing. There is absolutely no redeeming value in playing the game again. And even with all of those flaws, it's hard not to give the game some kind of recommendation to those who can deal with such flaws, and are fans of the Legacy of Kain series. Kain is an interesting character, and it's fun playing as someone who isn't quite a villain, but certainly isn't good. He is nowhere near as fun to control as Raziel in Soul Reaver, but his character's personality and the story keep things lively, even when things get monotonous.
This game was a disappointment to me, particularly since it had so many flaws and frustrating/slow spots. Additionally, there is really no reward to beating it. Maybe a flicker of pride, but afterwards, you might as well erase the game from your memory card and try and hawk the game to a friend. A stage select would be nice for those who completed the game. Even the ability to play through with the Soul Reaver would have been better. But you are awarded nothing in the end besides a brief cut-scene. That's not satisfying enough for a franchise with such a rich and deep story as this one has.