|
|
             |
|
|
|
|
Platform: PS2, XB Genre: Action Publisher: Eidos Developer: Crystal Dynamics ETA: November 2003
Related Links: Review: Blood Omen 2 (Playstation 2)
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: |
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
The Legacy of Kain series is a testament to how a compelling plot and good voice acting can truly enrich action games. That's not to say that the games haven't had their problems. They've been critically drubbed for issues such as their "kung-fu movie" style fighting -- no matter how many thugs, thieves or creatures of the night our protagonist encounters in an alley, they all wait patiently for their turn to fight. Puzzles of the block-moving and lever-finding persuasion occasionally slow the pace of the games to a crawl, and even animations of Kain's patented telekinetic blood sucking can become a real pain in the ass after hours of gameplay. But, unlike games in which increasingly bad-ass weaponry and increasingly bigger and uglier monsters drive the action forward, the backbone of this series is a great story.
Due
out in November 2003, Legacy of Kain: Defiance will continue that story
where Soul Reaver 2 left off. Kain and Raziel, although this almost
certainly won't be your standard vampire buddy-cop situation, are forced
to put aside their differences to fight a common enemy. For the first
time, both characters will be playable in the same game. Overview: Judging from both the official PR from EIDOS and the buzz surrounding the game's release, a lot of those issues that have bogged down previous Legacy titles have been resolved in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. - A new fighting engine, which has been likened to that of Capcom's Devil May Cry series, is evident in the new title's E3 trailers, and EIDOS is promising a more combat-oriented experience -- complete with combo attacks. Puzzles will be more environmentally based. - New features, such as the ability to use telekinesis to throw enemies into obstacles or off of ledges promise to further deepen the game's combat - Simon Templeman and Michael Bell have returned to perform the voices of Kain and Raziel, who, for the first time, will be playable characters at different points in the same game. -
The artwork and environments in Defiance look like they will once again
raise the bar for the series, and will reportedly be helped by a new,
more cinematic camera system.
The literary critic W.C. Booth once wrote that "granting to the hero the right to reflect his own story can insure the reader's sympathy." It is to Crystal Dynamic's great credit that, since 1996's Blood Omen (developed with Silicon Knights), they have managed to insure their players' sympathy for arguably some of the meanest, most evil bastards to ever grace a console. Unlike many other titles in the horror/action genre, the Legacy of Kain series has not attempted to skirt moral questions by making all of your opponents purely evil themselves -- such as the over-the-top occultist Nazis in Majesco's BloodRayne. Kain and Raziel, are simply complex, well-developed characters in a complex, well-developed world. This makes their choices, for evil or for good, cohesive and understandable. Don't get me wrong -- I still enjoy a good thrill ride, but when interactivity is clearly the direction in which entertainment is headed, it continually surprises me how many developers are willing to skimp on plot and acting, often for the sake of expediency. The gaming industry needs more visionaries like Denis Dyack, who was the creator of Kain and the mythology of Nosgoth, and has since developed other outstanding, intelligent games such as Silicon Knights' Eternal Darkness (2002). With Amy Hennig -- developer of the Soul Reaver series -- once again taking the helm for the franchise's fifth installment, Legacy of Kain: Defiance could very well be the series' best title yet. Now,
will someone please explain to me how these guys always get away without
using load screens? -M. Enis August 24, 2003 |
|
|
