Reviewed By Arielle Danan
Full Game play can be found here! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFgWlynmlfme8bl7YyR3y8LFe72rHJUkc
In a game where the boobs are pointy, the camera work is wonky, and the story line is half way decent we see Rayne, a half human half vampire takes on her newly found vengeance with some elegance and allot of bloodshed.
In the sequel to BloodRayne, Rayne is a bloodthirsty Dhampir seeking revenge for her family who was turned by the evil Kagen. This game, which in its day was a revolutionary gaming piece, now something nostalgic and cringeworthy. Created by terminal reality and released in 2004 this game shows a great comparison to today’s video games in a sense of how far games have come in fourteen years and how technology has made not only more impressive graphics, but how writers have stepped up their game when it comes to plot lines and story development. This game is a third person “hack-and-slash” video game that takes off directly from the first game in both the story and glitchy camera movement. Now in 2004 gaming was really starting to becoming a “thing” if you will. More and more houses had gaming consoles, with little kids who loved playing them. Very seldom did you see an adult back in the early 2000’s that played video games, now its become more of a common practice to play video games in your down time or as a job. When the need for more consoles rose so did the need for more diverse plotlines. I really feel as if the early 2000’s paved way for more well-developed stories in games. Granted the first Resident Evil came out in 1998, the story was not intensely flushed out until its remake debuted in 2002.
So, with keeping the plot line in mind when discussing BloodRayne two, it makes a strong statement as far as games go back in 2004. Now a days in the age of limitless gaming the story of BloodRayne two seems archaic and ill formed, but back when gaming was really making a statement it was the Mona Lisa of its time. Yes, while it had bad camera work, horrible voice acting, and story line filled with gaps and annoying cliffhangers, there is no doubt that BloodRayne has made its mark both good and bad in the gaming community. Now, I realize that the PC version of blood Rayne is overarchingly better compared to the console version (even though it was made for both) the PC version of both BloodRayne One and Two, are smoother and the camera work isn’t as glitchy. When I mention camera work I am referencing the many times that the camera within the game spun around for no reason, went in front of Raynes face and made it hard to control her character during certain boss battles. I hope there is a remake in the future for both games, it would be a wonderful thing to see, and fans of the game like myself would love to see such a game evolve with the times.
Now, lets dive into what I feel like is a prevalent subject to address when discussing this game. The lack of subtitles in most sections of the game. Yes, its true “back in the day” subtitles were used very rarely. The developers either didn’t think there would be a point and/or were just too lazy to put them in. It made me sort of annoyed that the developers didn’t put subtitles in areas that it might be needed the most. For example, when Rayne is getting instructions for a boss battle, there would be no captions. Only during certain cut scenes, and even the during the longer cut scenes that acted like a mini movie there were no captions. It made me feel bad for the viewers out there whom couldn’t here and had to, basically guess through the video.
So in a nutshell, would I recommend this game? If you are looking for amazing graphics, a harrowing adventure and amazing voice acting then no. Stay far away from this. But if you are like me and you are looking to reminisce on the good old days of early console/PC gaming laugh and cringe while doing so, then yes!
and Two, are smoother and the camera work isn’t as glitchy. When I mention camera work I am referencing the many times that the camera within the game spun around for no reason, went in front of Raynes face and made it hard to control her character during certain boss battles. I hope there is a remake in the future for both games, it would be a wonderful thing to see, and fans of the game like myself would love to see such a game evolve with the times. Now, lets dive into what I feel like is a prevalent subject to address when discussing this game. The lack of subtitles in most sections of the game. Yes, its true “back in the day” subtitles were used very rarely. The developers either didn’t think there would be a pure and/or were just too lazy to put them in. It made me sort of annoyed that the developers didn’t put subtitles in areas that it might be needed the most. For example, when Rayne is getting instructions for a boss battle, there would be no captions. Only during certain cut scenes, and even the during the longer cut scenes that acted like a mini movie there were no captions. It made me feel bad for the viewers out there whom couldn’t here and had to, basically guess through the video. So in a nutshell, would I recommend this game? If you are looking for amazing graphics, a harrowing adventure and amazing voice acting then no. Stay far away from this. But if you are like me and you are looking to reminisce on the good old days of early console/PC gaming laugh and cringe while doing so, then yes!