The second installment in the Legacy of Kain series is an action adventure game in the style of Tomb Raider that takes place over a millenium after the events in the first game, in which you played Kain, a nobleman turned vampire, and damned the land of Nosgoth. In Soul Reaver, you play Raziel, the first of Kain's vampire lieutenants. Raziel is brought back to life and is out for revenge after Kain ordered his execution. Raziel starts off with a couple of unique powers, including the ability to glide, and more importantly, the ability to switch between the spectral and material realms. In the spectral realm, time is frozen and he is unable to manipulate objects, but some paths open up that Raziel needs in order to proceed. Many puzzles will require you to be in the spectral world to solve them. Along the way, you'll encounter enemies, but the combat is frustrating since with only his bare claws, Raziel can only stun his enemies, not kill them outright. Instead, he has to knock his enemies senseless and then impale them or burn them to a crisp. Raziel can use a few weapons, too. There are spears lying around, and if you wish, you can also use torches. Problem is, there aren't always weapons nearby. Later in the game, Raziel acquires the Soul Reaver, a blade that's permanently attached to his arm, but only manifests itself when his health is completely full. The problem with the Soul Reaver is that if you lose it, you'll have to find some other way of killing your enemies. A nice thing about the game is that Raziel can't actually die. If you health runs in the material world while in combat, you'll get sent to the same spot in the spectral world, where you can replenish your health by consuming the souls of the dead, and get back to the exact same spot, potentially saving a lot of time and frustration. There are a few boss encounters in the game. Each of the boss fights (with the exception of Kain) has a trick to it, and upon defeating them, you'll acquire a new skill that allows you to proceed to a previously inaccessible area of the game. One of these acquired abilities is a projectile attack that stuns enemies and move blocks, one is the ability to scale certain walls, although only in the material world, and another is the ability to phase through bars in the spectral world only. Graphics are nicely done, but there are more than a few parts of the game that are simply too dark! There are many places where you'll be walking or swimming blindly down a tunnel with no visual cues to where to proceed. Although you can hold torches, they don't seem to illuminate anything. But generally, Nosgoth is a beautiful place. There are only a few music tracks, but they are memorable, especially the theme song at the Pillars of Nosgoth. Like in Tomb Raider, there are plenty of puzzles, and are a mixed bag. For one, there are too many block puzzles. Some of these puzzles are simple, like merely pushing blocks in holes or stacking them high. Others are in the form of moving blocks into a certain position to complete pictures, or aligning blocks with holes so that they connect, say a pipe and allow water or air to flow. Other puzzles in the game consist of the kind you'll expect in an action adventure, such as turning knobs and hitting switches. The unique puzzles are the ones that require you to switch between the spectral and material plane. To get around Nosgoth quickly, there are warp gates that you encounter. Although you can save your game at any time, you'll revert back to the very beginning of the game once you restore, so the warp gates allow you to get back the point you were at quickly. Control isn't as good as it could be. At times, controlling Raziel will outright frustrate you, such as when swimming, or lining up critical jumps that set you back quite a ways if you fail. And fail you will, quite often. The swimming controls are simply atrocious, and you'll be glad once you reach dry ground. The best part of the Legacy of Kain series, and the main incentive for one to keep playing, is the excellent storyline. You may not care at all about the puzzles, but the characters come to life with the excellent voice acting and memorable cutscenes. Dialog is well written, and the sinisterism of Kain and Raziel will capture your attention. Long after you've finished the game, you'll remember the characters more than the puzzles that you solved. Soul Reaver will manage to get your attention for the duration of the game. It's of moderate length, and not especially difficult, so you'll be able to complete it in ten to fifteen hours. Overall, it's a good game, and worth taking a look at. For Legacy of Kain fans, while Soul Reaver isn't as good as Blood Omen, the story is more than enough for you to play this games.
Other Helpful Reviews for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
This game may have the most tantalizing introduction ever. I loved it and I hadn't even played the original game. This is still one of my favorite games of all time. Why? There's very little to complain about. When ... Read Full Review
Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen was a good but somewhat obscure Playstation game that had an even more obscure PC conversion. It told the story of a man turned into a vampire and having to fight for his survival, only to be m... Read Full Review
