hwaite's Full Review: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for Dreamcast
Soul Reaver is a pretty cool game. The game play is similar to that of the Tomb Raider & Resident Evil series but the story is more compelling. It's tough to build a game with puzzles that are both logical and interesting. So many of today's games have degenerated into a repetitive, series of 'find the [adjective] key/switch to open haphazard door number 372' type quests. Besides being boring, such activities usually don't even make any sense. Why would anyone build a door controlled by a switch located hundreds of yards away? What is the point of a machine activated by placing a gem in a hole somewhere? Why would anyone leave inane riddles to help out potential trespassers? I could go on for pages about the nonsensical tasks found in most epic quest video games. To some extent, this is unavoidable but Legacy of Kain makes a decent attempt at originality. I've only just started playing the game but the premise sets the stage for a wealth of challenging, interesting and less arbitrary adventuring. Your character, Raziel, is of a new breed of vampire. It sort of makes sense for him to be able to bypass obstacles using a set of talents unanticipated by normal humans/monsters/whatever. I won't recount the entire plot since you can find that anywhere. Rather, allow me to concentrate on the truly innovative ideas.
Your character is a sort of vampire with the standard task of tracking down and killing a terrible adversary. One interesting twist is that you are capable of traversing each locale in two separate planes of existence. The physics and inhabitants of each dimension may vary: time is frozen in the material plane while you move about the spectral one, water functions like a gas in the spectral plane, your ability to interact with physical objects is enhanced in the material plane, etc. The game also has several new takes on dispatching monsters: some enemies flee when they are injured, vampiric creatures must be impaled or exposed to sunlight or water to be permanently slain, human adversaries react to your apparent alignment. An even cooler variation on the typical themes is the dynamic set of abilities of the protagonist. You've probably seen a ton of games where the puzzles depend upon a character's innate (in)ability to swim, climb, fly, etc. Soul Reaver allows for a greater variety of brain-teasers by granting these abilities as the game progresses. These are just a few of many creative approaches that Eidos has used to breathe life into an increasingly mundane genre. Couple their new approaches with the traditional block-sliding/door-opening quests and you've got something that is at least less repetitive.
A good concept alone does not a good game make but Soul Reaver executes beautifully. The graphics are stunning. The difficulty is appropriate. The controls are intuitive. The story line is interesting. Cut scenes are smoothly integrated. The in-game tutorial is excellent. As of this writing, I haven't heard of too many good games for the Dreamcast. That should put Soul Reaver pretty high up on the 'to buy' list.
Cover up that neck 'cause five clans of vampires are out to get you! Loyal to their master, Kain, these bloodsuckers will do anything to protect him a...More at eBay
Explore the vast 3D world of Nosgoth Hunt 5 different tribes Over 1000 cinematics, Platforms: Sega Dreamcast, ESRB Rating: MatureMore at Amazon Marketplace
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