Second Time Around: Blood Omen 2 Part 2

 This is what I'd call a Hot Mess.

 Man, where do I start with this one? Maybe by saying that it's a wonky game. Gameplay is wonky, level design is wonky and the presentation is wonky. Take the gameplay, moving and exploration feels OK, with a few quirks, like not being able to glide too far(An invisible barrier will stop you in your tracks!) or how rotating actually rotates Kain, without any leg movement. And the combat? It's slow and clunky. Don't get me wrong, it works and gets the job done, but you'll notice some oddities, like being able to interrupt some enemy combos, or getting stuck in place because the hitbox of their attack actually hit you, even if the animation didn't. Speaking of weird hitboxes, sometimes it feels as if unless you are actually targeting the enemy, your attacks won't register. Sometimes. As a whole, combat feels clunky.

 Then there's the level design, which is a mixed bag. Levels look amazing, that's the biggest sell of the game, the gorgeous architecture and artistic design of the world of Nosgoth. But as for the levels themselves, they have some issues. Firstly, I've seen a lot of people call this one an action game, they are wrong. The puzzle-to-slashing ratio favors the former. There's so many puzzles that sometimes they feel forced, or without a raison d'etre. It's easier to make my point with a couple of examples... For instance, there's this stage in which your path eventually leads you into a random house, and said house happens to have a cracked floor and a box. Just because. But why did Kain even consider entering THAT house in particular? Or another stance in which the road forks, on one end there's a gate, and on the other one there's a warehouse. For whatever reason Kain decides to fumble with the controls, there's no hint as to WHY you are doing it, but you happen to free a monster that takes care of the gate. It's like there's puzzles for the sake of puzzles, but they couldn't be bothered to give you a reason to do them, so to speak. Since I mentioned that time in which you must enter a house, sometimes you'll have to open doors, which sounds like something stupid to mention, but the game is full of doors, 90% which you can't open, so if your path ends for whatever reason, you have to approach every door to check if it gets highlighted and you can open it. It feels random. That said, most of the puzzles were actually quite entertaining to figure out.

 And then we come to the performance... This may be exclusive to the PS2(I heard it was the worst port of the game), but the game runs terribly. The framerate is horrid, expect drops at a second's notice. The cutscenes are terrible as well, particularly on the sound department. Sometimes, ambient noise will drown out the voices, which is particularly annoying, or some cutscenes will lack music, or sound effects and sometimes, even both. On the flip side, voice acting is pretty good for the most part, with a couple of exceptions. Kain's VA is still top-notch and completely sells you on the character.

 Speaking of Kain, nay, of the Legacy of Kain, this game feels superfluous. It does little, if anything, to further the lore of the franchise. Sure, we get to see Kain be an arrogant prick, which is entertaining, but it does little for the franchise as a whole. Then there's the fact that it introduces a couple of plot holes. Y'see, Defiance was meant to explain that Kain actually revived Vorador, and Janos' resurrection as well, but as with most Legacy of Kain games, it was rushed and the explanations were never given. The end result, is that this game not only does little for the lore, but it actually introduces a couple of plot holes. Way to go. And as much as I enjoyed the script, the 'love' subplot was executed terribly, Kain never shows any kind of endearment, or even thought about Umah, but we are to believe that he felt something for her?

 Y'know what's the saddest part about Blood Omen 2? That beneath all of its issues lies a good game. There are good ideas, if a bit half baked. With some ironing out, it could've been really good, but as it stands, it is a memorable game, just not a particularly good one.
 5.5 out of 10


 And now comes the part where I re-read my old review, just for kicks... Wow, I actually agree with the me of two years ago, heck, I mentioned things I actually forgot, like the dumb AI or the terrible checkpoint spread. I also mentioned that the dialogue had some particularly bad lines, but to be honest, I can't remember anything to cheesy, except maybe the Seer's pleasure at being bitten but Kain. And I like the fact that I appreciated how the environments looked, since it is a very appealing world.

 This concludes the 'Blood Omen' branch of the Legacy of Kain series, sadly Kain won't be playable again until Defiance, but I'll get to see him quite a bit. Hopefully he is as arrogant as he was(I can't remember much of Soul Reaver's characterization!).