[i]"...Just how many bad guys or "gray" characters really stand out? Kefka from Final Fantasy? Or how about Revolver Ocelot? There are good examples and great characters in what may be an underdeveloped aspect of games--characters who aren't good guys but still have depth. But even they lack one thing: player control! This is one of many aspects that make Kain such a great character. He's powerful, arrogant, calculating, and ruthless, not to mention a megalomaniac. And we, the players, get to play as him!"[/i] - [url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blood-omen-2-designer-diary-2/1100-2854456/]2002 - Designer Diary #2 [/url]
Playing as villain is always interesting aside from the traditional good-guy main characters upholding all that is morally just and virtuous. Kain by comparison is quite the opposite. As Ellis said earlier he’s basically an unrepentant A-hole to the nine yards, and so we're back in the saddle once in his evil dastardly point of view right after Blood Omen 1 started our origins. But first let's setup why he’s back.
As far as the premise goes, the game is exceptionally weird to place on a timeline. Bear with me as I try to explain, Blood Omen 2 takes place 400 years after the events of the first game(BO1) and before what would occur in Soul Reaver 1(SR1). However, for some weird reason Blood Omen 2(BO2) takes place in an alternate timeline due to spoiler reasons connected to another entry. To make things easier just think of this as a sequel to the first installment and we'll go from there. Kain awakens from a coma, and he has lost much of his power and recent memories. He is helped by a fellow vampire by the name of Umah, here she reports Kain in the past before slumbering was defeated in battle when he tried to conquer Nosgoth(the setting where the series takes place which is a mix of science fiction, steam punk, and dark fantasy steeped in gothic architecture) by the Sarafan lord. Sarafan are basically vampire hunters, and they've ruled Nosgoth slapping harsh laws on the inhabitants and hunted the remaining vampires to extinction. In retaliation, the blood-suckers banded together as rebels called the Cabal, a resistance movement to undermine the Sarafan. And Umah is part of the resistance hoping to recruit Kain in their war against their enemies.
With what we know already of Kain, I heavily doubt he would willingly join a resistance movement just for revenge. He’s smart and I love that about Kain, he’s always suspecting an ulterior motive lying behind everyone who tries to help him or give advice. No surprise there considering what he had undergone back in the 1st game, so perfectly understandable my guy would be wary to be under a thumb of yet another faction/ally out of pure aid to their race. Like cmon, Kain handles looking underneath the underneath like a seasoned pro with a healthy amount of arrogance, which is well deserved because no one has beaten him so utterly he’s dead. And yet he’s still alive! Ok well technically still dead, by undead means, but you get the picture.
What I love about these levels is the sheer variety. Back in Soul Reaver 1, we mostly visited old gothic architecture, think medieval churches, old run down castles/forts and the occasional cavern with steampunk machines littering the walls. Here we have the above again, but given a greater amount of visually pleasing zones. From old towns, fishing wharfs, factories, small city districts, expensive mansions, canyons, cliffs, dimensional realms, a prison island, fortresses, etc. man I could go on. Enemy variety will be plentiful as well, sure there are some reused enemies, but for the most part each new chapter in the plot will present new enemies to fight against, no simple recolors and be done. New animations, new attacks and offering different amounts of health restored once defeated.
Additionally, there is a sufficient amount of puzzle solving. Back in SR1 we mostly dealt with box puzzles, to an extent I had gotten tired of them, but here? Oh baby we have the box puzzles but the team decided we should expand not just the classic square solving. We have switches, lever, railroads, crane operation, and my favorite using powers to solve our obstacles. The last point is quite ingenious since we can go beyond the 1st, 2nd, 3rd layer of puzzle solving when we have to use several powers to find the proper solution. One had me mind control an enemy to start a lever or operating wheel, then I had to run and use telekinesis to activate a switch on the wall, which raises a platform, and for the last bit I have to use a bit of platforming using a high & long jump combined. I kid you not, I was floored these puzzles came at me not in a spammy way to be tired of willy nilly, rather the developers tried to their best effort implementing unique obstacles for every level.
Might be the best combat so far in the series, in addition to the various powers of the above we also have 3 combat powers to choose from. Sadly we have to wait until our rage meter fills up, which can be filled by blocking enemy attacks. I didn’t use much of the active combat powers and instead found enjoyment from picking up weapons from my enemies to use against them. Sure they have limited durability, but only if we use them to block constantly. Attacking with the weapon incurs no loss in weapon integrity(unless the enemy keeps blocking then after a decent amount of time your equipment will break), so I was spamming a greatsword whenever I can. Other solid armaments are offered as we delve deeper into the game from axes, short swords, scimitars, cutlass, huge axe, twin blades, and the classic normal sword.
Sadly I must confess to having some mixed feelings: Story pacing and overall narrative I wish was faster paced and executed better. I wish subtitles were innately in the game. My biggest hurdle so far are the controls take so much getting used to. I did have some crashes(3-5) sadly and sound bugging out even with patches and mods. And finally a major dilemma I have with the games blood drinking system is it reminds me too much of [i]Final Fantasy 8[/i] Draw system, where the process is slow as a snail.
Interesting how much BO2 takes inspiration from Soul Reaver and adds their own unique twist. Why if I didn’t have any mixed feelings, the game would rank equally as my time with Soul Reaver 1, sadly that’s not the case in the current timeline, the drawbacks impacted my playthrough enough to let me down, though thankfully not entirely. I still greatly enjoyed playing as Kain being an evil mofo in a harsh world of Nosgoth once again, much of his combat kit was surprisingly fun and compared to BO1 which is more of a top-down isometric view, the 3D level design entirely made me appreciate the new locales and eye-candy Kain’s brutal moves. His sneak attacks while invisible legitimately made me think he was an assassin from [i]Assassin’s Creed[/i] series. Seriously, [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/legacyofkain/images/d/d6/BO2-Costume-Kain-RedHood.png/revision/latest?cb=20200806221650]check him out![/url], anyway I don’t think we have a bad game at all, simply overlooked when we have stronger narrative pulls from SR2 and the impeccable fusion back in SR1, BO2 sadly suffers along with their predecessor in BO1 in glaring flaws, taking away from the brilliance Nosgoth offers, yet the potential is still worth a look for those interested to see where to place this odd entry in the series. If nothing else, one can see how Kain operates when unchained from his time as a top-down character in his first title! 3D Kain to play as is fun as a baddie!
6.3/10
