Game #1086: BloodRayne

  This vampire doesn't suck.

 Ah, BloodRayne, now this is a game I used to play a lot back when I was younger. The game looked amazing, things such as being able to sever cloth, even if in pre-selected areas, felt so next-gen, as well as the way in which this very same cloth would sway as you walked under it, as well as the huge amount of vampire-y stuff Rayne could pull off made for a bloody good time for a kid that enjoyed horror.

 This is a third-person shooter hybrid thing. Guns are part of Rayne's arsenal to be sure, and she can dual wield different set of weapons as well as shoot at two different targets at the same time, which was super cool back then. However, Rayne's repertoire of abilities goes beyond that, she has two blades on her wrists which she can use in conjunction with kicks to shred her enemies to bits. You can also use a hook to bring down enemies to your level for an easy feed, because you can feed on enemies to replenish your health.... while using their body as a bullet shield. You can even shoot while feeding. Hit enough enemies with your melee attacks and you'll fill your Rage gauge, which you can then use to turn super powerful, increasing your strength, durability and limb-tearing potential for a short while. It's super satisfying.

 Playing the game is pretty darn fun because the game does a great job at making you feel like an overpowered vampire. Not only do you have all these different tools, but the control scheme is easy to get used to and Rayne is very responsive to your inputs.

 Most of the game is pretty straightforward, find and kill certain targets or get to a certain spot. You can turn on vamp-vision to highlight where your objective is in order to aid you. That said, I'd lie if I claimed I didn't get stumped a few times. The game is not exceedingly hard, but a few times it can be tough to figure out ho to proceed. Heck, the final boss is unfairly hard, both to figure out and to actually defeat, heck, I wasn't able to.

 There's a funny PS2 bug, where upon reaching the game's third act a cutscene plays out... and the game freezes. Even the guide I consulted every now and then suggested to watch the cutscene, restart your PS2 and then skip the cutscene!

 I'm happy to report that BloodRayne holds up really well nowadays. Yeah, sure female characters are dressed in very exploitative late 90's early 00's designs, but Rayne is just the right amount of sexy without reaching cringe levels, plus, she's a vampire and vampires are supposed to be sexy and seductive, so it kinda fits. When all's said and done, I definitely think BloodRayne is a great game, and I had a blast revisiting this one.

 8.5