[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/bloodrayne2/cover.jpg[/floatleft]The wait is finally over. The time has come to rid the earth of the Dampier offspring of one of the most evil creatures in history. He also happens to be your father who was a vampire working for the Nazi, raping women who then gave birth to half-vampire, half-human children-all with the powers of a vampire, but few of the weaknesses. Your character, Rayne, is one of these vampires and the best-looking one as far as I have found. Your quest is to exterminate all of your half-brothers and sisters. You can use hand-to-hand combat if you wish, but with four-foot retractable blades at your disposal, why would you want to? If you find yourself low on energy, you can find some poor helpless victim, jump on their back, and feed on them. And for all of their help, you can rid them of their head and kick them across the room.
[floatright]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/bloodrayne2/ss02_thumb.jpg[/floatright]This sequel has far better graphics. The character motion is crisper, and clothing movement is much more realistic. There are cut scenes throughout the game that are amazing. The blood in this game far exceeds the amount in the last game. As you finish feeding on a victim, you have a choice of finishing moves. One of them is to use one of your blades, run him through, and raise him over your head. You then experience a blood shower as pint after pint of blood comes pouring out of the now-dead body. The bodies eventually disappear, but the blood always seems to remain. This game is very graphic and is labeled accordingly. I can’t imagine why.
The sound isn’t nearly as impressive as the sound effects. As Rayne runs across different surfaces, you can hear the difference. And the horrifying screams coming from your victims as you chop off an arm or leg are most amusing. Even the squishing sound when you throw an enemy and impale them on a rhino head is so very sweet.
The controls are similar to the first game. You have control over your character as well as the camera. This gives you the ability to view your surroundings without forcing your character to be facing a particular direction. Designers expanded on the abilities of the voluptuous Rayne. Not only can you still climb poles and perform acrobatic moves, but now you can hang upside down and shoot at enemies. You can also slice up people while sliding down wires and railing. There are bosses now and then that you must beat, but you are rewarded with more elaborate kill moves. It’s similar to the original Mortal Kombat where you have to press X,X,X,L,R to perform the move. I especially like the one where you stab them, raise them over your head, and spin them as you use your other blade to chop them into bite size pieces.
The game is not overly difficult. Some the bosses are more difficult than the regular runarounds. At the beginning of a level, the game will do a sort of fly-around showing you where you are supposed to go. If you miss it, you are at a disadvantage and must figure out where to go. There are also some puzzles you must figure out before you can exit a level. Some of them involve you throwing your enemies into or onto certain objects in order to make something else happen. There is not a lot of thought needed to play this game. It is mostly just mindless killing…and what’s wrong with that?
[floatleft]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/reviews/bloodrayne2/ss05_thumb.jpg[/floatleft]It’s always fun to beat and chop up all enemies while running around as a vampire hottie. There are more interesting characters in the sequel. There is a particular boss that you encounter down in the sewers. It’s a two-story, topless, Jabba the Hut-looking female creature that shoots acid out of her nipples. It’s quite the spectacle. You’ll eventually see one evil girl who has tattoos that change regularly-she also happens to have the biggest chest in the game so far.
[i]BloodRayne 2[/i] is full of gore and full of girls. If you like blood and love chopping up everyone, then this game is a must. If you have a weak stomach…then this game is a must. If you like little fluffy creatures that walk around, talk, and sing little songs…you may not want to buy this game. Just rent it and enjoy.
