Legacy of Kain: Defiance

[Droo]

I've just *aquired* this game and have yet to play it cause i have to wait for a piece of hardware...

Just in the meantime has anyone else played it? Im a great fan of soul reaver 1 / 2, although 2 was a bit naff without having played and completed SR1.

How does this game compare?

D

[Boutros]

I've just *aquired* this game and have yet to play it cause i have to wait for a piece of hardware...

Just in the meantime has anyone else played it? Im a great fan of soul reaver 1 / 2, although 2 was a bit naff without having played and completed SR1.

How does this game compare?

D

I've played SR2:LoK (admittedly without having played the 1st) and, although the viduals were pretty impressive, I found the game to be extremely monotonous and boring.

Therefor I am very sceptic about this one. Is there any reason for me to believe that this game is going to be much better than its predecessor?

[Corrupt Rose]

Well, I want to see how the story officially ends (although I could make an educated guess). All in all I'm looking forward to it a great deal. I'm not entirely sure why, though. The Soul Reaver series has always just been one of those games greater than the sum of it's parts for me...

- Corrupt

[Boutros]

Well, I want to see how the story officially ends (although I could make an educated guess). All in all I'm looking forward to it a great deal. I'm not entirely sure why, though. The Soul Reaver series has always just been one of those games greater than the sum of it's parts for me...

- Corrupt

Well, I hear you there... once you haev experienced a series of games from the beginning, the incentive to keep buying the sequels is much higher.

I'm afraid that the Soul Reaver series will not be around much longer, since it's losing fans with every new instalment

[Meh]

Isn't Raziel... the Soul Reaver itself? Or something like that. Didn't it kind of absorb him at the end of SR2? I'd love to know how he's still "there" in Defiance.

Fucking brilliant story in the previous games, so I can't see them messing it up.

Did anyone else think Blood Omen 2 was awful?

[Corrupt Rose]

Isn't Raziel... the Soul Reaver itself? Or something like that. Didn't it kind of absorb him at the end of SR2? I'd love to know how he's still "there" in Defiance.

Fucking brilliant story in the previous games, so I can't see them messing it up. HE was supposed to be unified with the blade at that point (bringing things full circle) but Kain intervened to cause a Paradox.

Did anyone else think Blood Omen 2 was awful?

Kain saved his arse, because he'll be needed in the future for something. He was supposed to be absorbed into the blade at that point to bring it all full circle, but Kain intervened to cause a Paradox.

Blood Omen 2 was a mess.

---

Does anybody think it'd be far better, character design wise if Raziel actually had the ghost of the Soul Reaver (as in, looking like it physically did) in the Shadowlands, and the wierd energy projection of it in the real world where it's currently destroyed.

Time hopping tomfoolery not-withstanding.

- Corrupt

Edited December 8, 2003 by Corrupt Rose

[Uncle Mike]

I loved SR1, but SR2 bored me silly, and I gave up just after the first time-travel.

So I'm struggling to raise interest in LoK: Defiance, despite having an affinity for the franchise.

[Corrupt Rose]

I loved SR1, but SR2 bored me silly, and I gave up just after the first time-travel.

So I'm struggling to raise interest in LoK: Defiance, despite having an affinity for the franchise.

You may have a hard time understanding what's going on as well. SR2 only got interesting when the sotry did (about halfway through). It's the sotry that makes it worthwhile.

No only if they could bolt on Devil May Cry-esque combat mechanics to the story, they'd have a more exciting game.

- Corrupt

[Droo]

The story behind the original soul reaver was captivating, how kain used the corpses of the fallen human "saints" as the vessel for his own abomination, along with the vast variety of gameplay dynamics that oipen up to you along the way and massive differences in levels (anyone remember the cathedral level where you had to ring the bells to shatter the glass??)

The second one, as i said before was a bit crappy in terms of gameplay, but made up for it in continuing a good story, coming face to face with your human self to realise you werent as self richeous as you thought you may have been, and that vampires were not always monstrosities of nature.

Im just hoping the third game will excell in both, finishing a good story with (hopefully) a decent game inbetween.

D

history abhors a paradox... et al.

[Spiral]

No only if they could bolt on Devil May Cry-esque combat mechanics to the story, they'd have a more exciting game.

Raziel with dual pistols. Hell yeah.

Point taken though. It would make a nice improvement to the series.

[Corrupt Rose]

Raziel with dual pistols. Hell yeah.

Point taken though. It would make a nice improvement to the series.

Well, I didn't mean verbatim, naturally. But now you've said that, I keep getting images of Soul Reaver: The Wild West in my head.

There's nothing wrong with the combat system as it stands, I guess. It facilitates moving you through the actual story (and although it's no great literature, it's better than most other Video Game stories... second only to the Marathon series in my opinion), but it could do with a pacing upgrade.

Who knows... maybe it'll work differently in Defiance. I read somewhere that the Camera Angles are going to be fixed, which is certainly going to mess with my dodge-timing. Or even knowing which way to dodge.

And judging by Blood Omen 2, I really, really hope Kain's a bit lighter on his feet this time around...

- Corrupt

[Spiral]

But now you've said that, I keep getting images of Soul Reaver: The Wild West in my head.

And now I've got images of Raziel being voiced by Will Smith. Thanks a fucking lot.

It really would be nice for the sword play to be a bit more stylish though. I mean horizontal swing horizontal swing finisher gets very dull after a while. Speed the whole process up a bit I say, and mix up the attacks a bit more. Sorted.

[Corrupt Rose]

But no Kung Fu.

- Corrupt

[sandman]

I thought Soul Reaver was a fantastic game, SR2 ok and Blood Omen 2 very good.

I'm looking forward to defiance - Games TM's review says it is pretty good and the continuing story arc over 5 games is unique as far as I know ( and very good too ).

[Droo]

in soul reaver two you could open up the time line of events in all the games up until its realease.

[Cyhwuhx]

.::: I wonder what would've happened if Silicon Knights had stayed with the project.

[Droo]

Ok played it and im pretty impressed! the interlocking of the story seems like a good idea and the camera angles work a la devil may cry.

well impressed.

D

[Corrupt Rose]

Games TM's review says it is pretty good and the continuing story arc over 5 games is unique as far as I know ( and very good too ).

I'd probably dispute that.

It may all occur in the same world, but Kain's history isn't directly connected to the plot of Soul Reaver, outside of the fact that he's a vampire, who killed another one, who became one of the Risen through the power of entities as yet unknown.

It's two different stories in the same world.

- Corrupt

[Droo]

Kain killed razael knowing he'd come back as the soul reaver "to introduce free will" into the wheel of fate. As no one can control razael because he exists beyond fate.

Also, Kain believes himself a part of vampire lore, the "savour" of his kind, but mobius thinks him misguided (and by looking at the murals in the vampire church) you see that it looks more like razael is going to be the savour.

Their paths are inextricably linked, as is the stories.

D

[Corrupt Rose]

I still don't buy it, but I guess this is going to come down to one of those 'differences of opinions' that I keep hearing about.

I can understand where you're coming from, naturally... but I personally feel as though it's two different stories which have been bound together in Soul Reaver 2 for the big Finale in Defiance.

The stories are concurrent in my mind, not a single continuing arc.

- Corrupt

[jeroenr]

Apart from the story LoK Defiance is a disappointment gameplay wise. There are a lot of elements that just don't quit work. First you can scale a wall in spectral realm, later on you can't. Why?

And then there are question regarding the moves Raziel has. I mean where is the crawl button gone? How is it possible that Raziel has telekinetic powers?

[Corrupt Rose]

I'm not surprised. The Gameplay has never been the drawing factor for me in any of the Blood Omen/Soul Reaver games. But I'm a little bit upset to hear about walls becoming unclimbable. Sounds like the distant cousin of invisable walls that you bounce off when you walk near too...

If the developers have to ensure you go in the right direction in this respect, then you begin to wonder whether the story is going to be the driving force that it has been in the past. I mean... I did SR2 in one sitting. My butt really, really hurt after that.

But anyway, Raziel got Telekinetic powers a little way into Soul Reaver 1. He absorbed the ability from some guardian bloke, I think. It was damned handy for knocking vamps backward into the sun from a distance.

Or being a window-breaking vandel.

- Corrupt

[jeroenr]

You are right, back then he was using the reaver for this, not his hands...

Still a decent game, but whith a few flaws.

[Droo]

you can scale walls, and i didnt notice any at any point where you have to scale a wall in the spectral realm....

D

[jeroenr]

No, you didn't? Not even in the beginning of the game, where you have to escape from the giant squid?

Maybe they've sent me a bugged review version then.

[Corrupt Rose]

No, you did't? Not even in the beginning of the game, where you have to escape from the giant squid?

Maby they sent me a bugged review version then.

Right, just to say it now, please flag up or box any more spoilers. I now know what the opening sequence is. I don't want to know any more.

- Corrupt