Bloodrayne 2 PC Game

The predecessor still ranks as one of my all-time favourite video games, so I could not wait to get my hands on part 2 of Majesco's gory vampire saga (okay: half-vampire). And the sequel is even better than I expected. The elements that made "BloodRayne" such a hit are still there: Extremely fast-paced action, a good dose of black humour and an exceptionally visceral gameplay.

After all, it's still running around and chopping everybody up who comes in Rayne's way, but that dhampir lady definitely has got more style than all other female game protagonists combined. Using Rayne's wristblades is still as much fun as it was in part 1; besides, she delivers kicks and handles some awesome anti-vampire guns that feed on blood just as she does. For "BloodRayne 2", she has also learned to do some amazing acrobatics, swinging on horizontal and vertical poles and sliding down handrails and ropes. Just like in "BloodRayne", she can also employ her harpoon and thus hurl her enemies in any direction she likes.

The graphics are also amazing - they may not be a match for Half-Life 2 or Doom 3, but hey, who cares? What you get here are beautifully detailed levels with lots of stuff you can smash and break any way you like (thanks to ragdoll physics engine), and the heroine looks better than ever. The a.i. is not that good, however. Enemies just keep running at you and seldom take the trouble of fleeing or taking cover. In contrast to part 1, "BloodRayne 2" has a real multitude of controls one has to take care of, but they can be mastered quickly, and they are also very precise.

Otherwise, it's the usual mayhem: Feast on the one guy, decapitate the other and shed as much blood as possible. While feeding on a victim, Rayne can employ three different fatalities that should satisfy even the most hard-boiled gamer. Although the violence has got a somewhat cartoon-like style to it, I definitely would only recommend it to mature players.

To sum up, I would say that "BloodRayne 2" is what a modern 3D action game should be like: fast, violent, varied, stylish. Highly recommended for all those out there looking for a top-notch gaming experience.

This is a really fun game, if you're into sci-fi fantasy vampire killing chocked full of gore, a super-hot vampiress and non stop action.

You're a half-vampire out to avenge your family killed by vampires. Using her trademark blades, spear chain, and vampire-feeding kill moves, there are endless ways to kill your enemies.

Pros: Being on a PC is moddable... you can download programs to cheat or change the look of the game.

Cons: It took about a year to come out on PC, after it was out on PS2 and X-box, so if you're a Bloodrayne fan, you've probably already played it.

A-

Video games are subliminally to to our generation what famous oil paintings and statues were to an older one. Unlike great artworks, they can and should be enjoyed as fun and an easy way to blow off steam and aggression. But sometimes the care and love with which the characters and scenery are rendered really tip you off, it is more than just a game to its maker. It's a work of art. I am going to review Bloodrayne 2 in both regards real quickly.

Let me also start with this: the game has a whole lot of adult content, some of which is pretty inapproprate for youngsters to be seeing, and for your mother or perhaps girlfriend to be seeing without some warning, at least. For starters, the designer really likes shapely women, and likes to watch their soft bits jiggle. OK, so long as we're clear on this and other points, we'll be OK. Briefly, this is the most violent, sexist, trashy game I have ever enjoyed the h___ out of. Just be warned, I have seen a newspaper review this game as being outright misogynistic. To say the least, it's not a game for women to enjoy usually.

OK, that out of the way, along with most potential buyers ...

First, I haven't often had as much fun with a computer game since HL2. It's kind of funny that so many of the really good violent games have at least one segment where you have to take your character through the sewers and fight the bad guys while the rats scurry around underfoot. Surely it says something about the mentality of those who play them all, like me.

But I had fun learning all the complex fighting moves, never did really get them all down, and got killed a million times. The controls are just a bit iffy, IMO, and you really can't control Rayne all that well, unless you possess skills well beyond mine. Which I can't rule out. But to me, the controls are the weakest part of the gameplay. Just the same, if you like fighting games, and I'm old enough to be thinking Mortal Kombat right now, you will enjoy this.

Anyway, the game, like a lot of FPS and 3PS games really are sort of an interactive graphic novel. It walks you through a story line that can only have one conclusion, and when you finally get there, the experience is meant to be more than a comic book or a movie, because you actually played a role yourself. And that brings me to my other part of the review, the artwork. Which is fantastic.

First, thanks to advances in DirectX, the graphics that were pretty weak in the original Bloodrayne are now far superior, and I really felt many times I was watching some of the best animation I had ever watched in any any anime. To me, that's worth the price of the game in itself. The game manages to incorporate some of the dramatic graphical elements that comic books are so famous for, while maintaining all the action and gameplay. This game is as good as the best comic book, graphically.

The theme or message of the game is in its way the strongest thing about the game to me. Usually vampire movies have some kind of subliminal theme, a story that is being told about contemporary life. Often comic books have some real, genuinely intellectual message not apparent to casual reading. This game also has an "artistic" message, unlike many others out there.

This game was originally marketed to both Americans and Russians. Like many Americans who wound up purchasing the Russian version of this game on eBay or wherever, it's especially clear to me thanks to my my readings in Russian history. The story of Rayne is the tragic story of Russia. The fury of Rayne against her vampire ancestors is the rage against the centuries of crime and slavery inflicted upon Russia and most of the Soviet Republics by a long line of crual "strong man" rulers, starting with the great Kha-Khan (Kagan) himself, Ghengis and his family, and then on down to Ivan the Terrible, all the way to Josef Stalin himself, and now the modern Mafiya who rule Russia in all but name, some say. It's no accident that the supreme vampire is named Kagan, (the pronunciation of this ancient word is horribly butchered in the English voiceover) which is one of apparently many corrupt pronunciations of Kha Khan in use over the centuries.

(BTW, I do not know that Russian video gamers would agree with me, and I don't even know if the designer is Russian. This is all conjecture.)

So being a major fan of comic books and their sometimes redeeming artistic values, I would strongly recommend this game for those discerning video game players out there who can appreciate a truly good trashy game. The apparent contradiction of having a game with such a horny sexy female protagonist and such a solemn underlying theme would seem odd, except I have watched a good few vampire movies and played a few games like this in my life, and I think this is not so uncommon really.

And BTW, for those fans of properly bad English voiceovers, this movie is teh bomb. You HAVE TO turn up the volume on the dialogue once you get to Xerx's lab, and just love those Brooklyn/Jersey accents. And drink Sky vodka and OJ while doing it, IMO. This is not a paid advertisement.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 19 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars