Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Legacy Continues, November 25, 2003
My jaw nearly dropped the first time I saw an ad for this game in a gaming magazine (forget which). Ever since the cliffhanger (again) at the end of Soul Reaver 2, I have been eagerly awaiting the next installment of the franchise. Now that it's finally here, I can proudly say that it doesn't disappoint. This is now the 5th game in the series, but is also by far the superior one of them all. The best news is that what the LOK fans truly love about the games, that being the excellent voice acting and intriguing story, is as good as ever. The story truly unfolds like an epic tale of deceit, manipulation, destiny, and vengeance. This is also the first game in the series where both Kain and Raziel are playable characters within the same game.In terms of the game itself, it plays very easily. The new combat system works great, giving you the ability to take on multiple enemies at once. The mid-air combos work well and and that extra bit of flair. The characters also are granted special new abilities as their combat experience increases, giving the player incentive to stand and fight instead of running away. The reaver also gets many new enhancements in the game, both as the physical and wraith blade, and even includes an energy meter that when full, can be used to unleash a powerful wave attack on multiple enemies. Also, both Kain and Raziel now posess telekinetic abilites that, when used in a fight, can hurl enemies onto sharp objects, or push them off a ledge to their death. The bonus features on the disc are great. During the game, both Kain and Raziel can collect tomes to unlock bonus features from the main menu, which generally include concept artwork and storyboards from previous LOK games. The Dark Chronicle is also far superior, for this time, you can watch the cinematics from the game as you progress, instead of just written transcripts of the action. When the game is beaten, you get access to video recordings of the voice sessions, 3D renderings of the characters and environments, and more concept artwork. I have to say though that one change made is both a blessing and a curse. The new camera system, which uses a fixed position instead of previous games where it followed the character, simultaneously gives you both a wider view of the action, but also can be a pain in the rear when in combat. There are times where you could be facing an enemy and if they move behind a pillar or staircase, the camera doesn't rotate and the obstruction keeps you from seeing the fight, not to mention you can't see your enemy! It also makes jumping onto platforms more challenging because it doesn't center behind the character, as in previous games. I really can't say anything bad about this game. It has much more of an action feel to it, but with the added bonus of superb voice acting and the most intriguing and complex storyline of any franchise to date. Do yourself a favor and pick up this game. If you're a hardcore LOK fan like me, you should already own a copy. For you newbies who buy it, get the other games as well. It will make for a fantastic experience, not to mention it'll be a lot less confusing.
|
|
|
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect game!! Worth my money!!, November 14, 2003
I rushed to the store in no time to get this game the night before the release date. Usually I'll never buy a game before reading some editor reviews. But this time, forget it! this game is just too amazing to wait. I played both Kain and Raziel, and I was just very amazed by the everything about this game.Gameplay:
Now unlike the previous installments, this game features Devil May Cry style fighting system. One can execute unlimited-hit combos, throw them and slash them in mid-air. It also features learning special moves along the game, weapon enhancement, and telekinesis. with telekinesis, you can hurl enemies and throw them down a bridge, to a wall, to sharp objects, and columns. it's very cool that sometimes they will stick on a wall or after they hit a wall they slowly slide down with a blood track on it. your enemies will also be bounced back from the ceiling when u use lift attack. Kain's unique moves feature blood-drinking(of course), you can either suck their blood from a distant or simply bite on them. Also he can dissolve into mist form to pass thru gates or bars, or when dodging in combat. Finally, in some areas, he can leap across wide gap or fly between distant locations by transforming into a swarm of bats. While Kain has to drink blood, Raziel requires souls devouring. Raziel's unique abilities are shifting between spectral and material realms. when switching to material world, Raziel transforms a dead body into his own image and will require souls to keep him alive. in material world he can swim, open doors, move and pick up objects, and break stuff. In spectrual world, he can dematerialize to pass thru gates and sometimes be able to see hidden paths. Another thing is, he can no longer fly but can glide in mid-air. Graphics and Sound:
Excellent! You now no longer have the view always behind their back, instead, it automatically adjusts the camera view just like Devil May Cry. The statues, walls, characters, background, floor,....just everything you see in the game is highly detailed. From the ancient stronghold to the twisted creepy underworld, everything just blends together so well. The cut-scenes also help player to follow the story. The background music suits the stages very well. you can also hear voices. Like when Kain is discovered by human, they'll shout "A vampire!". In Underworld, you can always hear human souls crying and whispering, saying stuff like "No..please..No" and "Raziel...Raziel"! Now since i just started playing I don't know how long this game will last. but for all the stuff i've seen so far, i'm 100% satisfied. This is the best installment yet and I hope you'll enjoy it too.
|
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Defied My Expectations, November 28, 2003
When I first loaded up Legacy of Kain: Defiance the first thing that struck me was how good everything looked, in fact, I have never seen a PS2 game that looked better. More detail, more objects with more polys and better textures than either Soul Reaver 2 or Blood Omen 2. Soul Reaver 2 I consider the best game I have ever played on the Playstation- and I was hoping that Defiance would carry the quality of story and unforgettable voice acting to the next level, and while Michael Bell and Simon Templeton (Raziel and Kain's voice actors), are clearly at the top of their form, Crystal Dynamics decided to scale back the story in favor of more action. I had mixed feelings about that because it sounded as though they were dumbing down the franchise in favor of more glitz. They haven't- the revamped combat system includes several new maneuvers and special abilities that really go a long way to making Defiance is a more exciting experience and I'm betting many fans of the older games might like the fact that the 10 minute cut scenes with all their flowery dialog are gone. To be sure the story is deep as it carries on after the events in SR2- 500 years after and begins with Kain infiltrating the Sarafan stronghold to confront Moebius while Raziel has spent the past five centuries in the underworld. Raziel has discovered that his destiny is to be the spirit that will inhabit the Soul Reaver blade and this understandably has him a little upset. The core theme of Defiance is simply that- the exertion of free will over fate. Kain believes that no one except perhaps Raziel has free will and is moving through events to find him as well as his own answers. Raziel is in the unique position of being outside the rules in some instances to the point of being able to avoid the scrutiny of the Time Streamer, Moebius. This enables Raziel to journey about Nosgoth with some freedom- exploring the world and learning more and more about his past and perhaps find a clue as to how to avoid his terrible fate. One of the interesting aspects of the game, aside from switching between Kain and Raziel from chapter to chapter, is they are visiting the same places and essentially looking for the same answers, separated by 500 years and together they assemble the story for the player. The downside to this is you essentially are doing the same things twice in some cases, even to the point where Raziel must reforge the Reaver as he did in SR2. Fortunately, these missions seem secondary and are quite a bit easier than they were in SR2, taking little time to accomplish. In the reforging of the blade they made each new enhancement permanent and Raziel can switch between the elemental enhancements as the player sees fit rather than having to find the correct elemental font to reimbue the blade with the energy type needed. Kain also enhances that physical Reaver- new powers abound for both characters such as invisibility, a dimensional attack that allows Kain to execute attacks on several targets at once, and the awesome improvement they made to each characters telekinesis- allowing either Kain or Raziel to fling opponents into walls or off cliffs with a quick snap of a O button. Multiple successive attacks on foes also charges each Reaver allowing Kain or Raziel to crack off additional spells. Both characters are much tougher than their previous incarnations. Raziel perhaps goes through the most changes- he no longer re-enters the physical world using the swirling dimensional gates, instead he must find an area in the spectral realm where a body is buried. Raziel shifts, inhabiting the corps which he then discards, assuming his normal blue bad-ass form. Additionally, he no longer seems to regenerate slowly in the Spectral Realm, plus his ability to devour souls is no longer at odds with the Reaver's hunger. He can feed and thereby sustain himself much easier than he could in SR2. He can feed the Reaver, but instead of just absorbing the soul, the Reaver is charged faster enabling him to cast spells. Both Kain and Raziel can also dodge foes like never before- executing tumbles, leaps, somersaults and quick shifts to mist form to avoid attacks. Graphically, Defiance is one big piece of eye candy- areas are huge and very well detailed- colors and textures are very lavish- things like fog, smoke and light effects are used sparingly and to great effect with the `less is more' philosophy. As I said, graphics are very much improved over the older games and the PS2 handles most of them quite well and I only noticed one segment (Kain's battle with Sarafan on the draw bridges), where there was a noticeable drop in frame rate. Music is also first rate and is best described as `funky gothic'- lots of drums and low buzzing synthesizer tunes, whispers and metallic clanks that combine to give the music a very original and unusual feel. Sound effects are unusual and often creepy, especially during Raziel's stints in the Spectral Realm- disembodied voices, screams, crying- very well used in all instances. If I have any complaints, it would be choice of camera positions. In SR2, in fact most of the Legacy of Kain games, the camera was squarely over the character's shoulder, in Defiance the camera is unbound, and positioning seems to be based on where the character is in the level. While this adds a neat cinematic feel to the action, it makes certain leaps and jumps difficult because often you can't see where you're jumping to. I noticed this especially in Raziel's first mission when he has to escape from the Elder God in the Spectral Realm- I must have attempted two of the last jumps 20 times each before I got it just right. Second, Kain's objectives seem a little more vague than Raziel's, at least to me. It's balanced out by the fact that the player spends more time as Raziel.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
