sieg6529's Review of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

This game resurrected the Legacy of Kain series, and how!

User Rating: 9 | Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver DC

By sieg6529 | Review Date: May 6, 2006

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 it was released, Soul Reaver agonized millions with the lack of a conclusive ending. For the elaborate web of a story that was revealed throughout SR, there was an anti-climactic ending. This story has become the thing that keeps the Legacy of Kain series going. You play as Raziel, Kain's former right-hand man. Kain was apparently so upset with Raziel evolving a new vampire gift before him that Kain had him tossed into a swirling lake to burn for eternity. That might piss you off, eh? Raziel sprouts wings, and then gets them ripped out and hurled by his supposed brothers-in-arms into liquid perdition. Raziel regains lucidity after what seems like an aeon in the presence of a self-declared cephalopod god. The god claims to have given Raziel new (jawless) unlife in order to destroy Kain and save the health of the land which has gone stagnant because souls are trapped in vampiric bodies. So Raziel sets out to get his revenge. He can glide with the shreds of his wings and pick up nearly everything to use as a weapon (rocks, torches, pipes, spears, halberds). Eventually, Raziel gets a very nice weapon that is integral to the entire LoK series.

Raziel must destroy his brothers to gain new abilities and insight, and to do so he must traverse complex dungeons, hives, catacombs, citadels, abbeys...very diverse environments with multiple opportunities for "goodies". These goodies include new spells (glyphs) and more lifeforce.

Raziel cannot "die". Raziel is able to inhabit both the material and spectral realm (living world and dead world). So whenever his "life" runs out in the material world, Raziel just shifts into the spectral realm. Here, he must deal with underworld monstrosities and try to get enough souls to re-enter the material realm. If Raziel runs out of life in the spectral realm, he is immediately sent back to the squid room where he first met his putative God. So deaths are merely inconvenient, not a cause for major frustration.

Everything is well-rendered, basically a smoother, clearer version of the playstation version. The environments are fabulously designed. The Necropolis and the Drowned Abbey are particularly fun to play. The character animations are a little less than what the Dreamcast could have done, but still above average. The sound effects are good, resounding right on time and realistic. All conversations are vocalized, with above-average voice acting; the guys who do Kain and Raziel are especially great. The music is also great. All of it lends the game a tense, dreary atmosphere. The track changes depending on Raziel's location and situation. In the same room, the music can change between 3 different tracks for normal, danger, and combat situations. There are well over 40 tracks for Soul Reaver.

The gameplay and controls are as good as Tomb Raider wishes it were (by the way, I hate those games). Raziel's jumping responsiveness is the best I have ever found, including Mario Bros. games. I seriously would just hop along because it was such a sweet way to traverse the levels. There are multiple puzzles in each main area, some of which are tedious but most of which are devilishly clever, leaving one with a strong sense of accomplishment (and relief) upon completion.

Whether or not you are a Legacy of Kain fan, one must enjoy this game. Sadly, once you do, you will be a Legacy of Kain fan for life.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

This game resurrected the Legacy of Kain series, and how!

Kain refused the sacrifice now you must make him pay!

One major flaw that completely ruined the game for me.