Blood Omen 2
Crystal Dynamics breathes life into their cult classic anti-hero. Hands on impressions and details inside.
Published: March 4, 2002
It's been a while since the vampire Kain had a chance to shine on his own. For the past couple years, he's served as a villainous foil for his former lieutenant turned arch-enemy, Raziel. In fact, the last time the spotlight was shone on Kain was when he'd first been converted to vampirism in 1997's Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain for the PlayStation. The 128-bit sequel, Blood Omen 2, jumps forward in time 400 years after the events that ushered in the beginnings of Nosgoth's slow decline into a withered husk of a world, and hundreds of years before Raziel would serve and then be struck down by a twisted and jealous Kain.
The introductory world of Nosgoth is it exists in Blood Omen 2 is an breathtaking mix of gothic archetypes and industrial revolution-era machines, with elements of magic thrown in as dashes to flavor the visual brew. It's hard to nail as a look, if you can imagine an alternate reality where a city is on the cusp of the automotive age, but still hangs onto fantasy-driven magical elements, you'll know what to expect. Despite being largely sparse on crowds, I felt myself drawn into the city's coalescing back alleys and dimly lit streets. I was so engaged, in fact, that I had to actually put down the controller and stop playing for fear of abandoning the four other games I had to check out with the limited time I had at Eidos. There's something about the Nosgoth that Crystal Dynamics has created that has an intangible pull. It'll be a blast to finally sacrifice a weekend to really delve into what the designers were able to flesh out.
Part of that attraction may come from the fact that the environments, when meant to, feel entirely real. It's not so much the environments themselves, but rather the way they're constructed. Alleyways feature smatterings of litter and bums huddled in corners. Boards are propped up haphazardly against walls, debris clogs the walkways, and everything just feels organic. I get the impression that very little in the construction of Blood Omen 2's world is left unintentionally perpendicular. There are right angles where there needs to be, but just as often there things are set slightly askew or curved to add personality. It's not quite on the same level as something that was pre-rendered, but it almost reaches that scope. It's fantastic that we're seeing hardware used for more than just special effects; the worlds that are being created in games are starting to finally be fleshed out a little more, and in real-time.
But I digress. To catch you up to speed, it's necessary to shed light on the events that led up to Kain's citywalk and beyond. Kain rose to power among the vampire hordes, eventually coming to command massive armies, though the newly emerging Sarafan armies would soon clash with Kain's quest to rule all of Nosgoth. Their leader, the Sarafan Lord, fought against Kain in a massive battle, and won, striking him down and sending him hurtling into an abyss. Kain lived, of course, but was weakened, and it's in this fragile state that you take control of him, after slumbering for more than 200 years. As you're nursed back to health (relatively speaking, Kain is dead, after all) but the mysterous Umah, you'll learn to control Kain's Dark Gifts, which range from taking the form of mist as a cloak to controlling the minds and bodies of the peasants that troll the streets below you.
When it's finally time to come to blows, Crystal Dynamics has made considerable effort to help the combat live up to the rest of the story. Featuring hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat with plenty of variety in instruments of pain, you'll learn to use physical objects in tandem with Kain's vampiric boosts like strength and speed. Targeting and blocking are just a button press away, but mastering different combos and chains will require plenty of practice.
Blood Omen 2 is a very different game from the others in the Legacy of Kain series, but in style and in execution, but once the game ships later this month, there should be plenty to keep fans and newcomers alike plenty of opportunity to explore the intricacies of Nosgoth for a sizeable chunk of time. We'll have a full review in the next coming weeks, so check back often.
The introductory world of Nosgoth is it exists in Blood Omen 2 is an breathtaking mix of gothic archetypes and industrial revolution-era machines, with elements of magic thrown in as dashes to flavor the visual brew. It's hard to nail as a look, if you can imagine an alternate reality where a city is on the cusp of the automotive age, but still hangs onto fantasy-driven magical elements, you'll know what to expect. Despite being largely sparse on crowds, I felt myself drawn into the city's coalescing back alleys and dimly lit streets. I was so engaged, in fact, that I had to actually put down the controller and stop playing for fear of abandoning the four other games I had to check out with the limited time I had at Eidos. There's something about the Nosgoth that Crystal Dynamics has created that has an intangible pull. It'll be a blast to finally sacrifice a weekend to really delve into what the designers were able to flesh out.
Part of that attraction may come from the fact that the environments, when meant to, feel entirely real. It's not so much the environments themselves, but rather the way they're constructed. Alleyways feature smatterings of litter and bums huddled in corners. Boards are propped up haphazardly against walls, debris clogs the walkways, and everything just feels organic. I get the impression that very little in the construction of Blood Omen 2's world is left unintentionally perpendicular. There are right angles where there needs to be, but just as often there things are set slightly askew or curved to add personality. It's not quite on the same level as something that was pre-rendered, but it almost reaches that scope. It's fantastic that we're seeing hardware used for more than just special effects; the worlds that are being created in games are starting to finally be fleshed out a little more, and in real-time.
But I digress. To catch you up to speed, it's necessary to shed light on the events that led up to Kain's citywalk and beyond. Kain rose to power among the vampire hordes, eventually coming to command massive armies, though the newly emerging Sarafan armies would soon clash with Kain's quest to rule all of Nosgoth. Their leader, the Sarafan Lord, fought against Kain in a massive battle, and won, striking him down and sending him hurtling into an abyss. Kain lived, of course, but was weakened, and it's in this fragile state that you take control of him, after slumbering for more than 200 years. As you're nursed back to health (relatively speaking, Kain is dead, after all) but the mysterous Umah, you'll learn to control Kain's Dark Gifts, which range from taking the form of mist as a cloak to controlling the minds and bodies of the peasants that troll the streets below you.
When it's finally time to come to blows, Crystal Dynamics has made considerable effort to help the combat live up to the rest of the story. Featuring hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat with plenty of variety in instruments of pain, you'll learn to use physical objects in tandem with Kain's vampiric boosts like strength and speed. Targeting and blocking are just a button press away, but mastering different combos and chains will require plenty of practice.
Blood Omen 2 is a very different game from the others in the Legacy of Kain series, but in style and in execution, but once the game ships later this month, there should be plenty to keep fans and newcomers alike plenty of opportunity to explore the intricacies of Nosgoth for a sizeable chunk of time. We'll have a full review in the next coming weeks, so check back often.
