BloodRayne 2
This one starts out with the title character in the midst of wreaking vengeance upon the entire family tree of the enemy who killed her family. We've also jumped ahead seventy years, but Bloodrayne, being a "dhampir," half-vampire and half-human, doesn't seem to have aged a day. In the intervening years however, the powerful family she's pledged to destroy has made plans of their own, and it takes a page right out of the Blade playbook--vampires will take over the world and kill all humans by blocking out the sun, and it's up to her to put a stop to it.
As before, there are no health packs or magic balls littered through the map. Rayne gets her health back by feeding on the enemy, and she can refill her Rage points (or mana, in other words) by executing a brutal attack once she's initiated the feeding. There are four different fatalities, two each depending on if she hits the enemy from the back or the front. Unlike the first installment, though, she won't be picking up weapons and ammunition. Instead, she gets a pair of modular guns that she refills by starting to feed, then hitting the trigger button. The more damage the enemy has taken, the less of a refill she'll get, and that goes for health and Rage. As the game progresses, these guns will get upgrades so they can also perform as a fully automatic submachine gun, shotgun, or even a grenade launcher. It's a clever and innovative system, and a refreshing break from the games that ask you to run around and bust crates open. On the other hand, that means there's little reward to exploring the nooks and crannies, and the maps are very linear anyway.
Rayne's famous blades have changed as well. Instead of being hinged and allowing the player to swing them around for a dismemberment attack, they're fixed and noticeably shorter. They're still quite cool, and you'll gradually unlock a move list that can, in theory, make for some pretty flashy combat.
Camera control is an acquired taste, with one stick dedicated to manual, 360-degree control while the other one moves Rayne around. Giving the player so much freedom can actually be a bit frustrating, since the camera won't auto-adjust when you get stuck in a tight spot (although you can click a button to reset it). I personally prefer the hybrid--a game-controlled camera that you can nudge around a little bit. Let me just fight, and have the game help me see what's going on.
Sound fares better, with a variety of weapon sounds, impacts, explosions, and effective ambient music, although you might not like the heavy metal that cuts in for the big fights. Music can muted independently, though, so it's an aspect that can be completely ignored.
In fact, BloodRayne 2 has pretty extensive customization. You can adjust dialogue volume separately, change to "airplane" controls for both camera and character movement, tweak camera speed, remap the buttons, and toggle auto-lock and dialogue text.
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IGN » Games » PlayStation 2 » Reviews
BloodRayne 2 (PS2)
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BloodRayne 2
by Tom McNamara
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Sadly, the game is still generally s