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BloodRayne

November 12th, 2002 Jason Rybka Leave a comment Go to comments

She’s sexy, smart, sarcastic, wears leather, has an attitude, and she sucks! Blood that is, now get your mind out of the gutter and get ready for some intense vampiric action in Majesco’s BloodRayne. Being half human and half vampire Agent BloodRayne has all the powers of a vampire, and none of the weaknesses. BloodRayne is part of a top secret fraternity called the Brimstone Society that hunts down and destroys supernatural threats. You go through Louisiana, Argentina, and Germany in your blood-filled quest to stop Jurgen Wolf, a Nazi, who wants to use special artifacts to dominate the world. Let’s get down and dirty with BloodRayne!

Gameplay

First and foremost let’s talk about the controls. BloodRayne offers many different control methods, with pre configured schemes for first person or third person aspect, and lefty or righty as well. Every game should include this feature, as it makes fighting your way through more natural and inherent to your own style, assuming you pick the option best suited to your preference, or whatever you’re in the mood for at the moment. I preferred playing in the third person aspect, since you can view her spectacular kills much clearer, but regardless of which control style you choose, the controls are easy to use and never posed a problem throughout the game.

You start your venture in the swamplands of Louisiana where you are introduced to Mynce, a Tiberian born Dhampire, who is a friend and mentor to Agent Rayne and also possesses the same abilities as her. The pace in Louisiana is a bit sluggish, and serves more as a training session for Rayne, where you’ll discover how to use some of your inherent talents and begin using the vast and impressive arsenal of weaponry. The first level is filled with zombies and spiders and a ton of water to avoid (and even Rayne dislikes water) and taking them out is fairly simple, but the real fun and interesting features of the game comes when you get to the next level, where you’ll be beating the hell out of the Nazis, so make sure you stick it out through the first level or you’ll really miss out on the real action.

Aside from being a looker, Rayne possesses supernatural abilities that give you the edge throughout the game. Her aura sense will allow you to see through walls and detect the enemies health and attitude. Extruded view is similar to a sniper mode were the right thumb stick is used to look up and down, and the left thumb stick will zoom in and out, allowing you to pick off enemies from a distance. Dilated perception gives you better precision in hitting targets, evading attacks and dodging bullets, and is very similar to the bullet time feature in Max Payne, but just a notch better since it’s use is unlimited. Blood rage makes you stronger and faster, and is available for a limited time based on your use of your blades. Using your blades will fill up your blood lust meter, once full you can use blood rage in a similar fashion to berserk mode in Blood Omen 2.

BloodRayne has a unique way of feeding. When close to a standing enemy pressing the X button will make Rayne jump onto them and begin sucking their blood until they die. If the enemy is lying down she will drop down, mount them, and feast! Both animations are done very convincing and you still maintain the use of your guns while upright. The included arsenal of weapons is superb and varied, ranging from pistols, rifles, shotguns, sub-machine guns, grenade and rocket launchers, and more. Agent Rayne will automatically pick up any weapon she comes near as long as it has ammo and she has a spot to carry it, if her inventory is full, it can be swapped for another weapon. She can carry four hand guns on her belt, two rifles or a large sub-machine gun or her back, two grenades on her belt, and one special weapon on her back. The use of all of the weapons is easy and each one has it’s own distinct blast and recoil.

The storyline has a substantial effect on the game, and carries you throughout the levels. Your enemy, the Gegengheist Gruppe (or GGG) is packed with some truly evil foes, that you will enjoy killing. The gameplay is fun, and once past the first level really picks up and becomes interesting. BloodRayne is extremely powerful and has many special abilities, many that become more powerful as you progress, and some that you acquire. Health generally is not a huge concern sucking the blood of your enemies is quite abundant and will restore your health. The real danger is getting stuck in the water. The varied enemies and detailed surrounding keep your attention, and the status indicator will help guide you to your targets, limiting the frustration level seen in other games.

Graphics / Presentation

The graphics in BloodRayne are done very well, and the frame rate stays smooth throughout the game. The grainy textures and mist-like effects are perfect for the gothic mood of the game. Character animations are done very well, and Rayne’s kills are superb. The FMV sequences are top notch and draw you into the game. Excellent use of shadow and lighting effects give you what you would expect in an Xbox title that uses the hardware at near-potential. At times it can be hard to distinguish certain environmental elements due to their similarities, but based on the rest of the graphical displays this can be easily overlooked.

BloodRayne Screenshot BloodRayne Screenshot BloodRayne Screenshot BloodRayne Screenshot BloodRayne Screenshot

Audio

The soundtrack included has an eerie feel to it and fits the game style very well. Weapons sounds are very convincing and true to life, as are the sounds of Rayne walking on different surfaces and sucking blood. Frequent comments from the main character are often amusing and fit the situation, but can sometimes be repetitive. BloodRayne has a sexy voice to go with her sexy look, and comes off as a confident bitch, perfect for her role in this blood-filled game. Dolby digital gives a full surround sound experience for those with a system to support it.

Replay Value

The length of the game is a bit short since you have such powerful abilities, and you could run through the game in about 8-10 hours of play. Playing through as first or third person the second time around has it’s merits. Having the option to replay the title on different difficulty settings adds a bit of value to it, but there aren’t many reasons to replay it, unless you just want to kick some Nazi ass (and who doesn’t).

Overall Score

Overall Score: 8.0 [not an average]

Additional Comments

BloodRayne is quite enjoyable, and has many interesting aspects to it. A very entertaining title that was created very well and offers allot of action. Definitely recommended as it makes great use of the Xbox hardware.

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