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Better Than Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love this game. It should definatly(sorry spelling isn't my strong point) be owned by Legacy of Kain fans. The camera has dramatically changed from traditional 3rd person to Devil May Cry position.The fighting has been redone for the better.You can play as both Raziel and Kain in this one.The story takes place after Soul Reaver 2. You start off as Kain searching for Moebius the Time Teller to figure out Raziel's true destiny.You then play as Raziel in the Underworld.
PROS:
-Fighting is more fun and easier.
-When you hit a guy on a wall they slide down slowly leaving a trail of blood.
-Story comes to a climactic end.
-Play as Kain and Raziel.
-Get Soul Reaver enhancements,Telekenisis enhancements, and health enhancements.
-Puzzles are difficult but fun.
-Unlockable bonuses such as concept art from the Legacy of Kain series.
-Auto-Face target.
CONS:
-Camera sometimes makes it hard to fight because you can't see.
-When it's over

This is a great finish to my favorite series of games.I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Great game!! If you like the previous versions of the saga you will definitely enjoy this one.

Best one Of all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've played legacy of cain series since 1998 yup PS1 and I can say that this is the best installment on all the cain series the plot was wonderful, but I advice player to play from legacy of cain blood omen 1,2 and legacy of cain soul reaver 1,2 before playing this one to get the full story line on the game. :)

spoiler "can't wait for the next installment/ending?"

A worthy conclusion to the Legacy of Kain series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As a long-time fan of the Legacy of Kain series, I have played every game in the series to date. As of right now, the series has been shelved by Eidos in favor of Tomb Raider, making Defiance the last entry in what is truly an epic story.

Going into this fifth LoK game, I had rather high expectations. Blood Omen 2 was a letdown in several respects, having been developed by a new team inexperienced in with the series. Based on the previews and assurances from the team, this game promised to make up for its predecessor. After playing through the game numerous times, I firmly believe it succeeds in that goal.

The game returns to the story of Raziel and the future Kain. After the events of Soul Reaver 2, Raziel is trapped in the Spectral Realm by his former benefactor-turned-adversary, the mysterious Elder God. After escaping from his master's grip, he seeks to uncover the mystery behind the terrible destiny charted for him in Nosgoth's ancient past. Meanwhile, Kain is also seeking the truth behind his own destiny, which is inescapably tied into Raziel's.

The LoK series is famous for its complex storylines, and this entry into the series is no exception. Nosgoth's mythology is once again finely explored as Kain and Raziel make several startling discoveries not only about their fates, but also the true enemies that seek to destroy them and conquer Nosgoth. Locations such as the Pillars and the Sarafan Stronghold make their return, along with a few surprise areas which should please those familiar with the first LoK game, Blood Omen.

All the central characters are here too. Kain, Raziel, Moebius,
Ariel, Vorador, and the Elder God return once again, along with a few surprises I won't spoil for you. I will say one of them solves a long standing mystery from Soul Reaver 1, and another gives further insight into a plot thread from Blood Omen.

As with Soul Reaver 2, the story is told through interactions between the characters and through murals that tell the history of Nosgoth's ancient past. The voice acting is as good as ever. LoK has always been known for excellent voice acting and Defiance doesn't disappoint.

But what about the gameplay itself? Well, I'd say it's a definite improvement over the previous games. The puzzles are less elaborate than in Soul Reaver 2, but the combat more than makes up for this. In the vein of games like Devil May Cry, the characters can now perform devastating combos. Kain wields the physical version of the Reaver, while Raziel has the wraith blade. Both characters have the ability of telekinesis, which they can use in conjunction with hack-n-slash attacks and a multitude of Reaver spells. The only downside is that the open-ended nature of Blood Omen and Soul Reaver 1 is still missing. Hopefully Crystal Dynamics will address that next time if another game is put into production.

Boss battles also make their return to the series, albeit with mixed results. On many occasions, Raziel will have to face the spirits of former Pillar guardians, which can get tedious after the first two. However, the three major boss battles are better executed, especially the final battle that you'll never see coming.

Graphically, the game is slightly more refined than Soul Reaver 2. The characters all look great and have even greater detail to them. Admittedly, the architecture isn't quite as compelling this time around. There are a few notable exceptions, especially a certain mansion you explore later on as Raziel.

Overall, Defiance is a great game that is a worthy entry into the Legacy of Kain series. There are a few flaws that could use improvement, but its strengths are definitely greater than its weaknesses. The gameplay is fast paced and exciting, and the story sheds light on many questions left over from the previous games, including the true enemy at the heart of Nosgoth's bloody history.

Incidentally, it's a well known fact that the first game in the series, Blood Omen, was largely developed by another company called Silicon Knights. There are some hardcore fans of that game who will seek to convince everyone that the sequels by Crystal Dynamics are completely worthless. That Blood Omen is an unparalleled masterpiece and that the sequels somehow shame its status. They're entitled to their opinions, of course. But for those who are undecided, perhaps you should look at Silicon Knights' intentions for Legacy of Kain after Blood Omen. In a word: NONE. SK had no intentions whatsoever of making a sequel. It's true they introduced us to a fascinating world, but they had no intention of ever exploring that world any further, or settling the numerous plot lines left open by the writers. Things such as the next phase of the Dark Entity's plan (he admitted to Kain that there was one), the origins of the Circle and the vampires themselves, what the Dark Entity truly was, and the true nature of the Pillars. It's one thing to leave a couple things a mystery, like the series Silent Hill does frequently. But so many unresolved plot threads were just screaming for a sequel, yet they were completely ignored in favor of projects that proceeded to languish in development hell.

I understand how some fans may feel cheated that Crystal Dynamics' games do not fall into the same genre of Blood Omen. But that's precisely the point. CD was not trying to create more carbon copies of Blood Omen. Because SK themselves held very little interest in LoK anymore, CD did not owe it to them to create sequels that were exactly like Blood Omen. What they owed SK was to treat the story with respect, which they did. Even Blood Omen 2, the worst of the series, still makes the effort to expand on Nosgoth's history and terrain.

What CD accomplished was to create a fascinating story from the plot threads left unresolved in that game, and in the process, expand greatly on the world of Nosgoth. Nosgoth is now one of the most remarkable worlds in gaming, with a history that is intruiging and complex, yet still holds an air of mystery to it.
The series isn't perfect; several things could be much better. But in the end, doesn't that apply to every other series as well?
Ultimately games are about having fun, and for gamers who like a well thought story set in a fascinating world, LoK will provide many hours of enjoyment.

very much underrated game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

man i just beat this game today, and it ROCKS!. i'm not a hardcore fan of this series but i'll give this game its due. i only played blood omen2(which was very excellent) and soul reaver1(which was o.k). i didn't even play SR2 but i understood defiance totally. i highly recommend playing blood omen2 and SR1(both of which are under 8 dollars) before you hop on this game.

story: i'll give it a 8/10 becuase sometimes the story can get a still sidetrack.

grahics: i'll give it a 9/10. the voice acting is awesome, the character models are solid throughout the whole game.

gameplay: i'll give it a 8/10. the game is not hard to control between kain and razel.

over all i'll give this awesome game a 8 1/2 out of 10. this is the most underrated game i've seen in a while. yeah the camera angle is a little different, but trust me its not anything to cry about. i had this game twice(xbox and ps2) the first time around i hated the camera angle so i didn't give it time of day. but the 2nd time around i fell it love with it. also this is not a walk in the park game, this game is long, real long. injoy

Awesome ending to a spectacular series, but is it the end?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Leagcy of Kain: Defiance was a spectacular game. I've had the chance to follow the games and what happens in this one makes all the mysterious things in every other game make so much sense. The team that made this game is genious. The way the story follows perfectly the timelines and how each thing effected outcomes in other games blew me away. It was a satisfying out come which left a few questions unanswered. Will there be another chapter in this amazing series, I don't know but I hope there is.
The Game:
Game play and graphics were fairly good. It did take me a while to get used to the point of veiw that the game was played in. For those who have played all of the previous games it was always shown from the back of the character seeing all that was in front of him, in this game it is totally different. Different angles are used as you go through the game and it can get confusing at times, and even hard. I personally had trouble guaging jumps or if I was in the right place to hit enemies. Other than that, the game runs smoothly and, other than the minor directional movement problems that occur due to the different camera angles, navigates smoothly.
If you have all the other games and don't have this one get it. It will be worth your money and time. If you don't have any of the games I suggest investing in the Legacy of Kain series and enjoy the experience.

A step backwards from its predecessor, but still good

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the latest (but hopefully not last) game in the Legacy of Kain Series. It is also the only game in which you get to play both Kain and Raziel.

I was really excited about this game at first, hearing they had revamped the combat system, about the only thing not great from the previous games. The actual result was only really a slight improvement.

They modeled it after Devil May Cry (A game near and dear to my heart), but its execution was not good. There are more camera issues with this game than almost any I've played previously. Too many times did I find the camera looking at the corner of a passageway while I'm busy fighting on the other side of it. What little control over the camera you have is useless; instead of rotating around the point of interest (ie, your character) it rotates on its own position. So instead of swinging around the corner so i can actually see Raziel, it looks in the other direction.

The style in general worked well in Devil May Cry (though I recall less camera issues in that game), but that game had an emphasis on nearly equal melee & ranged combat. When enemies were offscreen, you could at least shoot at them. This game has some ranged capabilities (telekenesis or TK), its not something you can use too much of.

I will admit though that using Kain's TK to throw enemies off a bridge, onto a spike, or just pull them closer was suprisingly fun.

That said, when the camera was working correctly, battles were slightly more interesting and frenzied than in previous games, but they also became frustrating sometimes. Also, the game's attempts at bosses (ghosts of previous pillar gaurdians) were extremely lame.

Graphics-wise, the game is pretty good. Kain and Raziel both look great, and little things like Kain's mist-form looked suprisingly good. The lighting/shadowing was particularly well done.

Plot wise, the game is good, but nowhere near the greatness of any of the previous games (except maybe Blood omen 2). The pacing drags, and it seems a little forumlaic. Also, while the voice acting is top-notch as usual for this series, the dialogue seemed to suffer a bit; it was a little over the top in some places (the lines and words themselves, not the acting).

The game gets better near the end, and many people will probably prefer it than to the end of the Soul Reaver games. This one leaves off with a definite "To be continued..." feel, but doesn't leave you with a Cliff-Hanger or with a feeling of unfulfilment.

If u love vampires.......

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

god did i love this game. but then again i was always a big fan of the lok games. some beter than others but this one is definetly the best lok game in the entire series. The game gives u deversity in worlds. And of course Raziel and Kain look as good as ever. My personal favorite being Raziel. Even though the two do basically the same thing they do it in their own ruthless way. So if u love vampires pick this one up.... or else! (just kidding!)

CRUNCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will eat your blood and soul!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: February 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

ok i AM a real vampire and dracula geek and when I saw this game I knew I could not denie my two favorite vampires locked together in one game.The graphics are cool. you get to weeken your enemys but the reviewer was right the bad guys are easy to deafeat and they are not realy bad. You get to weeken them and either impale them on your weapon or bite into their flesh like a good vampire should.

NO Doubt, BEST GAME EVA!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay seriously, I thought Halo was the greatest game I ever had, then i bought this, this is like the greatest game that the world has ever created. it's such a large improvement from the slightly dissapointing Soul Reaver 2, I mean, i thought at first, that this game was too easy, but the first two levels were just practice, cuz once I did Kain's second level, i was amazed, so many enemies, so many puzzles, blasting people with telekinesis, and sucking blood from 20 feet away! Fricken AmazinG! Raziel's levels aren't that great, but they keep the game flowing, so get this game, it'll be a hell of a ride.

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