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PRE-GAME

For the last sixty years, the vampire/human dhampir Rayne has been hunting down what is left of her vampiric brethren. After destroying her father Kagan, it only seems right that she should pay her siblings a visit. However Rayne soon discovers that she is fighting for more than simple revenge. The Cult of Kagan, an alliance of vampires who still worship Kagan, have plans to unleash "The Shroud"; a substance that has the ability to render sunlight harmless. Rayne is the only one with the power, skill and bloodlust to put an end to the Cult's machinations, and her own blood line.

EYE-SPY

THE HOOK: The sexy half-vampire, half-human Rayne is back to slice and dice some more evil vampires. She's packing new moves, new weapons and what appears to be an unhealthy addiction for tight fitting leather clothes.

HOW IT LOOKS AND FEELS: It has been two years since the original BloodRayne came out and that time has allowed Terminal Reality to give the sequel a much needed upgrade. BloodRayne 2 is a dark game and that tone is reflected admirably in the graphics. Dark textures and a very bleak color palette lend to the atmosphere. Through the game you will travel through mansions, carve your way out of a destroyed subway station, explore the obligatory sewer level and even stalk through the shadows in daylight. Each area is distinct and well detailed.

I do have a bit of a problem with the models however. They look fine from far away but if the camera moves in a bit closer you will begin to notice just how blocky some of the characters look. This becomes painfully noticeable during the many in-game cut scenes. Rayne's cheek bones are as sharp as razor blades.

Overall, the controls in BloodRayne 2 work well. Rayne has a myriad of combo moves to pull off and she learns new ones along the way. These combos are simple to execute and often times consist of only a few button presses. One the same page, the various 'executions' and fatalities that Rayne can perform are not only easy to use, they're also astoundingly gratifying. I can assure you that watching Rayne literally cut an enemy in half never gets old. Does that make me a bad person?

HOW IT SOUNDS:  The music in BloodRayne 2 is very heavily oriented towards the on-screen action. When nothing is going on and you're busy exploring the level, the music tends to be almost unnoticeable and fairly ambient. However, walk into a room full of ticked-off vampires and you'll be treated to some bass thumping techno (which sounds curiously similar to The Crystal Method). It's not that it's very inspired techno, it's just that it works so well in certain situations. I was quite impressed the first time the music kicked in as it really drew me into the action.

In example, the first level has you making your way through the backrooms of a sprawling mansion. Up until a certain point, the only music I had noticed was the echoing sound of a party that was going on somewhere else in the mansion. I stumbled upon a large, open staircase area with three doors. After a short cut scene the doors burst open and in streamed the bad guys. At this point the techno fight music ramped up and the ensuing battle played out like a fight scene from The Matrix: Revolutions. Except instead of Keanu Reeves, you had Rayne; and for some reason I'm okay with that.

The voice acting is better then I expected. While the thugs and grunts spout out the usual phoned in one-liners far to often, they don't overshadow the games truly good moments. Laura Bailey (who also voices Marlene Angel in Blue Gender) reprises her role as Rayne and really steals the spotlight. There is a genuine mix of humor and aberration in her voice that really gives Rayne some personality.

EXTRAS:There are a decent amount of extras to unlock in BloodRayne 2 and practically all of them are worthwhile. Level skips, extra costumes and concept/development artwork that is actually worth looking at. You can also go back and rewatch any of the cinematics or even sneak a peak at the trailer for the upcoming BloodRayne motion picture. Then again, after watching said trailer I'm not sure whether they included it as an extra or as punishment. Oh Ben Kingsley, where did you go wrong?

CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE:  A mixed bag. There are a few fully rendered computer graphic cinemas that are very well done. I've rewatched them two or three times already. However most of the cut-scenes and other cinematic moments are rendered as CG, but using the models and textures from the game. What you end up with are very polished CG movies filled with blocky characters and low-res textures. Slightly disappointing.

BEST PLAYER:  That would be Rayne. She's all you've got but thankfully she happens to be one of the most agile and lethal video game heroines to ever grace the consoles. She grinds down pipes and stairwells while simultaneously firing her guns. She swings from pipes with a grace akin to that of a gold metal gymnast. Plus she looks great in a form fitting black dress.

CHEAT CODE YOU NEED:  The appropriately named "Master Code" which will unlock...well, everything. Just head over to the cheat menu and enter the phrase "WANT THIS DARK REALITY TAINT QWEEF" This will unlock all the extras along with a very handy, and overly entertaining, in-game Debug Mode. From there you can enable God Mode or whatever else you'd like.

CHEAT CODE YOU WANT:  What I'd like is something that allows you to bump up the intensity of the ragdoll physics. I have this abnormal fascination with ragdoll physics and if there were only a way to make a corpse bounce across the room like a basketball, I could die a happy man.

OH MAN! MOMENT:  It can be somewhat frustrating trying to figure out the patterns to defeat the bosses. There is nothing fun about being beaten down while you're running around the room trying to find a lever that will open a water gate, flooding the room and stunning the boss thus allowing you to jump down from your hiding spot and get three or four hits in before you have to repeat the whole process. It's like an elaborate Rube Goldberg device.

GLITCH ITCH:  'Polished' is a not a word that belongs anywhere on BloodRayne 2. After spending a few hours with the game, I noticed it was common for it to essentially break. There are many times where scripted sequences won't execute or characters will get stuck in walls forcing you to kill yourself and begin again at the last checkpoint, or even worse, having to restart completely. These crashes don't happen often but they do happen.

FAN SERVICE: Besides the ability to unlock an evening gown outfit for Rayne? Fans of the series will definitely enjoy the continuation and subsequent furthering of the story. Many references are made back to the first game and having prior knowledge of it will most certainly enhance the experience for most. Did I mention you could also unlock a school girl outfit?

END GAME:

I had more fun with BloodRayne 2 then I expected. Being an action beat-em-up there isn't much in the way of depth. Most levels simply involve moving from point A to point B and eviscerating anything that might happen to cross your path. Yet the game is soaked in so much over the top gore and style that you have a hard time not grinning most of the time. Watching Rayne pull off some truly wicked combinations and fatalities is more then enough to keep the game feeling fresh.

I'm also very fond of the sheer necessity of the harpoon now. In the original BloodRayne, the harpoon was handy in certain situations but it could easily be ignored. This has been remedied in BloodRayne 2. You can use the harpoon to latch onto an enemy and fling them into objects or impale them on an assortment of sharp objects that are usually scattered about. Certain areas in the game require you to hurl enemies into, say for example, a giant fan blade. After about nine or ten deaths, the fan explodes and you are allowed to progress. It's a very nice way to integrate what used to be a worthless little skill.

Speaking of flinging enemies around, I must take a moment to mention the objects in the levels themselves. There are truly dozens of different objects such as book cases, trash cans, rubble piles or flaming pits that you can utilize to your advantage. Throw your harpoon out, snag an enemy and then throw them through the window. BloodRayne 2 revels in its physics engine and encourages you to play around to your hearts content.

I've mentioned the gore more then once already. Chunky might be an apt descriptor for this game. Have no doubts, BloodRayne 2 is one of the goriest games to grace the store shelves this year. Dismemberments and beheadings are common place and the blood flows by the gallon. The end-result of large scale fight often resembles a meat locker after a grenade goes off. BloodRayne 2 definitely earns its Mature rating.

Not all is perfect however. Probably my biggest complaint is the actual hand to hand combat with enemies. For some reason it really doesn't feel like your punches and slashes are really connecting with enemies. They do get hit except they don't really react to the attacks. They just keep shooting at you while you literally slice their arms off. From what I can gather, the A.I. in the game is limited to hitting you or shooting you while standing in place. It's not exactly as engaging as I'd have expected. Plus, it often leads to some very cheap deaths. You will be slashing furiously at a foe and dealing damage, however he will still remain in place, firing his gun without fail. This sort of non-reaction from the enemies is readily apparent in the boss fights. They will simply attack you relentlessly no matter what sort of combination you are unleashing. You may be physically hurting the enemies, it just doesn't feel like you're hurting them.

As with most beat-em-up action games, there are those who will stick with it until the end and there are those who will get tired of the repetitiveness quickly. I would encourage anyone to give BloodRayne 2 a try. At the very least, rent it first and then decide. It is a vast improvement over the original and you'd be doing yourself a disservice by missing it.

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