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lagacy of kain rocks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: September 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

this game is not out yet but I bet it will be great. the first legacy of kain game I played was the first soul reaver Iv been hooked every since. the games are very well put together the grapics are incredable and the game play is great. I recomend that every check out soul reaver and soul reaver 2 and also blood omen 2. I will for sure be getting the new game

this game will own your soul

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: September 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

you get to play as both raziel and kain. action will seem to influence this game much more than the others. you will switch characters after each level. kain has all of his old powers. kain's levels start in the sarafan stronghold as he seeks either to kill moby or find raziel. raziel's levels start in the underworld where the elder god has trapped him. janos will be back. i got all of this from someone who was lucky enough to play a demo of the game in germany. the game will also seem to cover the deleted material that was supposed to appear in soul reaver 2.

Ah, The Children Of The Night....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Latest in the long-running vampire series, Legacy of Kain: Defiance chronicles the return of everybody's two favourite anti-heroes to the blood soaked world of Nosgoth.

To bring the newbies up to speed, Legacy of Kain follows Vampire tyrant Kain and his vengeful prodigy Raziel as they battle for supremacy across time and space in a mythical world of supernatural mystery. Both protagonists wield an ancient sword, the Soul Reaver - Kain's is the physical body of the sword, while Raziel is fused to the spectral essence of the mighty blade. The time sorceror Mobius has cast both vampires back into the past, to the roots of Nosgoth's history, and it is here that we pick up the latest chapter.

Soul Reaver is a 3D action adventure in which players alternately assume the roles of Raziel and Kain. Each character is unique in that Kain requires blood to keep his health up, while Raziel, a spectral vampire, requires souls. To this end each vampire has a unique repetoir of combat and finishing moves to dish out on enemies, such as Kain sinking his fangs in his dizzied victim's throat. In addition, both characters are able deploy complex sword combos, as well as magical powers in combat - one that looks particularly satisfying is the ability to telekenetically pick up and hurl opponents off of cliffs, or into nearby spikes, impaling them. Indeed, much of the focus for this game is an overhauled combat system, and the player will often find themselves attacked by multiple foes.

In keeping with the traditions of the series, there will also be plenty of mind-bending puzzles to deal with. Raziel is capable of shifting between the living and spectral worlds, and in each environment is able to achieve different things to solve a puzzle. For example, while Raziel cannot pick up objects in the spirit world, he can warp through gates and other thin obstacles, or jump to otherwise inaccessable areas. This gives the game a fantastic degree of scope and depth to 3D problem solving.

The graphics for the series are top notch, and its one of the first series of games to do away with loading screens - clever coding allows the game to load upcoming environments before you reach them, allowing a seamless transition through the vast land of Nosgoth. The world is realised in beautiful, lovingly crafted architecture, spooky, mist filled forests and flickering caves. The spectral world, which Raziel is tied to is rendered in eerie blues and greens, and there's a lot of excellent lighting throughout. Its one of the most atmospheric games you'll play this year.

One of the chief critisisms levelled at the last game, Soul Reaver 2, is that it was too wordy and complex a plot, with not enough action and exploring. This latest title seems to have addressed those concerns by upping the action in spades, while staying true to the devious twists and turns of the series. This should be on every fan's wish list, and I'd recommend it to anyone in search of an offbeat and spooky adventure game.

First impressions after release

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've played it for a total of 6 (in-game) hours and here's my thoughts.

It's a VERY beautiful game. I broke down and got the Xbox version ( personally don't like the system) because I had to have the system give the game's graphics justice. The combat system is so much more fun than it has ever been. It's more involved, but it's moves come off pretty smoothly. You get to earn new combos (just a few, and I'm not sure what prompts you learning the combo) - they're also fun, but it seems people are having a difficult time pulling them off consistantly.

They had mentioned that there would be more combat, a little less story and the puzzles would be more game related. There is much more combat (but it's just the right amount), I am loving the story (it doesn't feel less at all) and the puzzles feel about the same as they were in SR2, and sometimes just as obtuse. IMPORTANT - they don't tell you this, but ulike the other SR games, Raziel can actually climb walls in the spectral realm - I got stuck for about an hour just because I didn't know this. It was annoying, but I'm over it. You also have to re-forge Raziel's reaver to the elements, but you don't need to embue them on fonts like before, you can select them at will. Each reaver for both characters also casts spells when charged. The camera is both very cinematic, and very annoying at points. You can't free-roam view like the previous games and sometimes you really want to look around the room - but they do a good job of not putting anything important out of your view. Also slightly annoying are some invisible walls they have in certain areas - it looks like you should be able to go to certain platforms but they force you to go around. Like I said, slightly annoying, but nothing has taken away from the fact that this so far is the best installment in the series (and force powers are SO much fun). They also finally make it so you can re-view any cut scenes that focus on the story. SR2 gave us the Dark Legacy that let you read transcripts of scenes, bur that's not enough for me when they have such great cinematics and voice-acting.

The enemy action is more fun too. I'm a roleplayer, and my friend and I noticed the human enemies act more like a well rounded D&D group - they have spell-casters that suplement the fighters, forcing you to modify your order of attack and techniques.

This is still a preliminary review because I'm not done with the game, but I highly recommend this as a solid game that's fun and intelligent - LOTS of style. They do a pretty good job summerizing the previous games as well. But like the other Legacy of Kain games, I'd recommend having a strategy guide/walkthrough near you for those times when you get hung up on a puzzle (other than the rule changing on the wall climbing - I haven't been completely stumped by any yet, but they can be a bit obtuse at times and I'd hate to miss out on the story just because one puzzle tripped me up).

Great game - excellent story - wonderful characters - 5 stars!

Perfect game!! Worth my money!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: November 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

Slaughter Mercilessly

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Being the Legacy of Kain fan that I am, I went out and bought this game the day it came out. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. This game has some of the best graphics ever and the music and sound effects are supreme. Of course, this is not enough to make a great game. Luckily, the fighting system has been revamped and resembles that of Devil May Cry. You can literally keep a combo chain going until an enemy dies if you wanted to. However, you don't necessarily have to be to skilled at combos to enjoy this new fighting style. If you are one of those people that has a hard time doing combos you can always do the typical hack and slash type fighting from the first Legacy of Kain game (Blood Omen). The storyline in this game is vintage Legacy of Kain genious. How the writers came up with some of the stuff in this game is beyond me, but I'm glad they did! Plus, this game ties up a lot of the loose ends from Soul Reaver 2 and has one of the most climactic endings ever. Plus, the ending doesn't leave you going "so what happens next?" Don't worry though, it still has been left open for, I hope, another sequel. The only problems with this game are the camera can be a little problamatic, and it is a little to short. I beat it in under six hours. Other than that the game is pure genious and makes up for the "glitchtacular" Blood Omen 2.

Defying the Mediocrity of Games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First off I want to state that I am a LoK fanatic. It's probably my favorite series of games period. So with that information, you could make a good argument to take my review with a grain of salt. Though I will try to be objective, I just love the series so much that I sometimes put on rose-colored glasses when it comes to flaws in the series. Heck, I found a way to enjoy Blood Omen 2, and it was far from spectacular.

I also want to thank Crystal Dynamics for not "dumbing down" this latest installment. I can admit that the LoK series has always been a bit of a nitch series. It's not an easy series to just jump into without having some knowledge of previous games. Sure, they do give you some of the background in the instruction manual, but that hardly keeps you up to date with what is going on. And with that, CD and Eidos could have just made this an action/adventure game in the LoK world, with familiar characters and locations. Thankfully, they did not. They kept the driving force behind the LoK series going, and that my friends is the storyline. The best voice acting I have ever witnessed in games, combined with an incredible sweeping storyline that spans 5 games is what makes us fans of the series go nuts when a new one is on the way.

And that's why I find it upsetting to see when people either complain that the story is either too difficult to understand, or they give you the totally wrong idea of what the storyline is. I am not one to give away storyline in a review, because 1: you'll find it out in the game once you play it, and 2: you are reading a review to find out a game's strengths and weaknesses, not what it's story is. But I am so tired of people saying in reviews about Kain and Raziel being at odds. Did these people even play Soul Reaver 2? Didn't they notice that Kain was different? Didn't they get the idea that he had a purpose behind what seems like cruelty? (Sorry, pent up frustration.) I will admit though, the storyline would be difficult to understand if this is your first endeavor into the LoK universe. You would be scratching your head wondering what is going on. But don't let anyone tell you that it's too difficult to understand, it's just that you really need to play the pervious 2 Soul Reaver games to have a good grasp of it, and the original Blood Omen would help too. At the very least Soul Reaver 2, cause that game has a lot of the storyline on the disc itself in written form.

Okay, now with non-storyline aspects of the game. As other reviewers and mags have stated, Defiance looks fantastic. One of the prettiest games I've played in a while. Very nice gothic look and feel. The combat is also very nice as compared to previous installments. It felt to me that they took about the best aspects of the previous games and combined them into Defiance, which I must say works great. I won't go into the combat being like DMC, cause you probably have seen that 50 times by now. It is a lot more fluid and fun now and there are some very nice moves that both Raziel and Kain can do. And while the camera can be a bother at times, for the most part I found it quite enjoyable. I also like when you can flip into a first person view to look around, gives you an opportunity to appreciate the surroundings and also figure stuff out.

So in finishing with my ramblings, I would say this is the best LoK installment yet. Would I recommend this game however to people who have never played a LoK game? That I'm not so sure about. While I think if you enjoy action/adventure games you will find this game very enjoyable. I think you would be missing out on what makes this series so great, the story. I know I've harped on the story a lot in this review, but I just want to convey that this series is more story driven than any I have played in the past. Best way I could describe it would be like a 5-part movie. Is it possible to just watch movie 5 and still enjoy it? Yes, definitely, but wouldn't you be missing out on some of the story since you missed the previous 4 movies?

A wonderful game in every aspect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Before, in the Legacy of Kain games, there was always something to complain about. In Blood Omen, the controls were stocky and the graphics weren't exactly the best. In Soul Reaver, half of the game's quests(Glyphs) were pointless, and the battle system was a little blocky. In Soul Reaver 2, there were no boss fights and it was much too short a game. In Blood Omen 2, the battle system was awkward and the enjoyment of the story and puzzles was diminished. Now, in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Crystal Dynamics has finally put everything together for what is quite possibly the best game of the year. The battle system has been totally revamped to resemble an improved, yes improved, version of Devil May Cry. If you thought you could do some sick juggles in DMC, Defiance will blow your mind. The graphics, as always, are excellent, and the voice acting and music is top tier in the business. Two major criticisms of the game are the lack of a map and camera problems. First of all, I think it was silly for game websites to complain about this, since Devil May Cry had the same problems, and they managed to see past them. The fact is that if you are used to controlling Raziel, then the camera will have no effect at all on your skills. I never had the situation arise where I was put at a disadvantage in battle due to the camera, and if you have any skill at all in action games it won't bother you either. The lack of a map is purely opinion. I personally think it adds to the atmosphere, and truthfully the puzzles would be way too easy if you had everything laid out for you instead of figuring it out for yourself. That being said, the puzzles have been considerably toned down since SR2, which had the best puzzles in any game in my opinion. They are still fairly enjoyable, but for an action-oriented game they tend to be a hinderance instead of a joy to solve.
Overall, so much happens in the story of this game that any LoK fan NEEDS to play it. I'm serious. SR, SR2, and BO2 all set up major questions that Defiance has answered, and answered stunningly. When it is all said and done, this is one of the best games I've played in a while.

Legacy of Kain:Defiance.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Nothing much has changed in the land of Nosgoth as of late. But, one thing is evident, this ain't your same ol' Legacy of Kain game. Defiance redefines the series with its' new combat system and 'Devil May Cry/Castlevania:Lament of Innocence' camera-style. Those two things, alone, add so much more depth to things that I hope they keep them for future installments. Admittedly, the camera could use a lil more polish in areas where the environment stands in your way but, for the most part, it works. Working in chapters and following them alternately through their quest, the story begins with Kain hunting down Moebius for answers and, then, with Raziel trying to find his way out of the Spectral Realm. Those expecting another game filled with more questions than answers will be genuinely surprised. This game answers every question you've had since Soul Reaver 1. So, you definitely know who's friend or foe in this installment. Sadly, though, with that apparent-it would seem as though the series is drawing to a close. Rest assured, though, it's not. It's just bringing this saga to a close and readying us for the next. One thing most LOK fans know is the storyline of Kain, Raziel, and Nosgoth is Epic.
I'll have to agree with the majority on this one. This is the best Legacy of Kain installment yet. One not to be missed by the masses.

Defying my fears for the game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When I first looked into this game, I heard that it had an awesome fighting engine --which it does-- and feared instantly that it'd be a repeat of the atrocity that is Blood Omen II, which I felt lacked the story and dialogue that's become the defining element of the Legacy of Kain series.

This one returns to the brilliant surreal dialogue of older days, every word catching in your mind like poetry. Some of the lines even repeat in your head -- like the flipping coin analogy of Soul Reaver II.

The gaming elements are right on par. The puzzle part of the game is there ,yet in a smaller way than before; not nearly as annoying or as difficult, so for those of you who enjoyed completing these things and patting yourself on the back with a congratulatory "I'm so damned smart", you might not be so very pleased with this one.

As I mentioned earlier, and others have mentioned too, the fighting engine is simply awesome. Think about the others, great ~vampire~ games, right? Well take the pleasantries of the story and add the ability to levitate for moments, juggling your opponent around using telekenesis to suspend them in mid air or bounce them down into the ground and then back up to you to continue your assault. There is also the niftiness of floating above your enemies, telekeneticly guzzling their blood while you declare yourself dark god of these pathetic mortals. -insert maniacal laughter-

Aside from that, the camera isn't the good ol' "follows you around right behind you" anymore-- which has its ups an downs to it. In what remains of the puzzles in Defiance the camera tends to focus towards the areas of interest. Othertimes it makes for great views and fight scenes. The downside is that you sometimes get lost just because you missed a passage that the camera was facing away from.

The sounds are okay. It's missing a few things, but I'm very pleased to hear Kain yelling "Woe to the defeated" in Latin again (( it happens to have been added back into a pleasant dialogue between Kain and Raziel )), and the new eerie sounds that haunt Raziel while existing in the spectral realm.

The extras are nice as well, including the openings of Soul Reaver and its sequel and various outtakes and videos of the voice actors doing their jobs. There's also a subtitle option for the hearing impaired... or those who just love listening to blaring rock music (for me it was Beethoven's Ninth) while kicking hordes of men around as if they were toddlers.

All around, it's a bloody (pun intended) awesome game.

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