BloodRayne 2

Written by Ryan Smotherman  on March 17, 2004

First Impressions: If she wishes, this vampire can suck my bloodЕ among other things.

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Terminal Reality had a sure fire hit on their hands with the release of the original third-person action title known as BloodRayne. The star of the game, Agent Rayne, was a hot, redheaded vampire chick whose bloodlust took all vampire-based games to a whole new level. Just throw in the fact that she's half-naked and murdering wave after wave of nazi troops in super duper violent and gory ways, and it was hard not to get excited about it's potential. Sadly, it only managed to turn a few heads, as repetition in gameplay managed to be its downfall. But once again, we have a developer who is determined to make a number of improvements in a sequel in order to make a title everyone will sink their teeth in so to speak.

First things first, Agent Rayne is back, better, and hotter than ever. However, she now finds herself in the present day, instead of her pre-World War time when we first saw her. And lucky for us, time seems to have made for an evolved game, on many different levels. The story involves Rayne in a rather dubious failing out with her family. Tired of hiding within the shadows of humans, Rayne's father creates a device, known as the shroud, that will block out the sun and allow all vampires to freely walk the Earth at any time, with the eventual goal of taking it over. At his side are Rayne's siblings, generals of this new vampire reign. Of course, Rayne will have no part in this, and will in fact launch a campaign to spoil her family's diabolical plans.

By and large, the gameplay contained within BloodRayne's successor will be much like the originals, but with a few different elements thrown in the mix to add the much-needed depth. As you'd expect, the game sticks to the third-person perspective, not to mention the action heavy gameplay. Rayne's arsenal of techniques has been significantly enhanced, allowed you to pull of tons of damage inflicting combos that can be used on three different levels of your opponent's bodies (high, middle, and low). Although this might be more of a gimmick than anything, Rayne is now much more stylish than before. As she's able to perform impressive maneuvers, including a wide range of flips and somersaults, in order to more impressively slay the living. Back are her ridiculously oversized blades that she uses for quick dismemberment and the standard gutting of all who appose her. Like any good vampire, blood will no doubt be a primary source of life, and now ammunition for the decent range of arsenal you'd be able to fire. That's right, blood now equals bullets, which is sort of strange if you sit and ponder it.

Additionally, like Kain in Bloom Omen 2, Rayne will have a few potent "bloodlust" powers available for use. These are basically abilities that take advantage of her vampire-enhanced strength and senses. When you throw on top of all this action-based gameplay different puzzle elements, as well as climbing and swinging talents Rayne now has in order to reach normally unreachable places (a la Prince of Persia), and you look to have a game that should impress those who enjoy a little thought with there death-filled fun.

BloodRayne 2's visual prowess is noticeable the second you take a look at a screenshot or see it in action. The art design is top-notch, the character animations are smooth and fluid, and environments are exquisitely detailed in the title's dark atmosphere. Seeing Rayne's guns-a-blazin' and watching as she slices through an enemy's limb is a nice touch for those who enjoy a good visual bloodbath. The original BloodRayne was cosmetically striking to begin with, but you better believe that Terminal Reality is pushing Sony's four year old system to it's limits here, which should show in the final product.