Soul Reaver 2 (PS2)

As an avid Legacy of Kain fan, I will try my best not to should biased in this review. I have loved this series since it started back in 1996 with Blood Omen on the first PlayStation. In 1999 the Soul Reaver was welcomed with open arms and then shunned for its very anticlimactic ending.

Now the story continues in SR2, and I mean story in the broadest of terms. Again you assume the role of Raziel, the first lieutenant son of the vampire Kain. Still more than angry at having his wings torn off before being flung into the Abyss. The game picks up right where its predecessor left off. Raziel chases Kain through a time portal and is transported back into Nosgoth's past where vampires are no longer the rulers of the land.

The graphics are a leap over the previous game. We now see the much needed facial expressions while two characters speak to each other. The level design is awesome. The Eidos/Crystal Dynamics team made sure to use what variety of colors they had at their disposal. The Nosgoth of the past is as lush as the future version is a barren wasteland. The areas you explore are noticeably larger than before, so much in fact that I often became lost because I was looking at the scenery and not the trail I was on. Finally, some of the best parts to watch are the forges for Reaver upgrades.

The game's sound effects are average and the background music is but a step up from before, but as anyone knows it is the voice acting that carries this series. All of the original cast were brought back to play the same characters that they did in the first. There is at least three times the amount of dialog in this game than the first two. As one would expect, through the speech of the characters several questions are answered only to open up new ones.

The control in SR2 has improved for the better. This helps greatly with the stronger combat system. A block option has been added as well as a more useful dodge maneuver. Plus the Soul Reaver can be summoned at will no longer leaving you defenseless after taking one hit. New weapons have been added to Raziel's arsenal. Spears, swords halberds, and axes can be employed for hand to hand combat, each with its own form of attack. Combat is also made easier by a more forgiving camera, though sometimes a nearby wall will blind you to your adversary.

At the end you are rewarded by a being able to view DVD selectable segments of voice sessions, outtakes, and other goodies that went into making the game. This is good news indeed, because the game might have been bogged down by its flaws...

First off, the game is way to short! I was able to beat it in under eight hours, and now that I know haw to go through each puzzle, I could beat it again in half that time.

Next we are faced with the glitches, slews of them. Sometimes by stepping out of a room at the wrong time, you will not be able to complete a certain piece of the puzzle that would allow for you to continue. Twice was I forced to go back to a previous save point because of this backtracking glitch. Other rumors tell of the game skipping over dialog and moving on to the next scene. At least twice I activated the Soul Reaver only for the blade to be invisible so I couldn't see how close I had to be to an enemy to hit them.

I remember being told there were to be other Reaver incarnations in this version. In SR2 we see the forges of Dark, Light, Air, and Fire. Though we never see the promised Water, Earth, and Spirit. These were obviously omitted to save time and reach their deadline which had already moved several times in the past. Also missing were the powers you gain form the first game. All glyph spells are gone but it is just as well, they were useless and were only used as eye candy.

The question that all this boils down to is; "Should I buy the game?" For me the answer was always yes. Glitches and length aside, it is still great fun to play. The story is deeper than any game out there. (Xenogears was the only other game that offered such a well tempered mind job.) If you don't buy it, at least rent it to marvel at the grand scale production that it is intended to be.

7 out of 10 - AC

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