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18th January 2004:
Ready for a further Kaining?
Once more immerse yourself in the trials of the world of Nosgoth as the tides of fortune and time strive to keep two saviours apart in Legacy of Kain: Defiance.
Posted by Chris Snook - Xbox,PlayStation 2,PC - UK and Europe

Join once more the vampire Kain and his former lieutenant, the soul drinker Raziel as they once more try to fight fate and their own natures to try and save the world of Nosgoth - or destroy it.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance is the third game in both the Soul Reaver and Blood Omen series of games and as such ties the threads of those two arcs together and takes them to a new level of twisted ness as the two face hosts of enemies bent on eradicating them before they can meet once more and set about eradicating the most fearsome threat yet. The Hylden.

It is now nearly eight years since the first Blood Omen game emerged onto the PlayStation, combining a detailed world back-plot with an immediate storyline of betrayal, balance and redemption, weaving in strands of fate and time to create a satisfying game on nearly all levels, despite the less than solid 2d graphics.

Then in 1999, the second branch of the plot was begun as Soul Reaver took the story forwards as Kain now dominates Nosgoth with his legions of vampire followers. It is here that Raziel's story begins as he evolves faster than his master and is thus cast into the abyss to suffer for all time. Like Kain who was murdered and then resurected in Blood Omen, Raziel is given a chance at redemption.

Two years later and Soul Reaver 2 emerges to continue Raziel's quest to vanquish his former master and it is here that the concept of time and the alteration of history is introduced, a theme that is to be explored further in Defiance. With events working towards a resolution designed by some still unknown hand.

Blood Omen 2, in 2002 once more followed Kain as he begins to reclaim the empire that he had begun to build after the events in Blood Omen, only to be deposed by a powerful outside force. To do so Kain must face whole armies of zealots and demons as he strives to recover what he has lost and to resume his right to rule. The game is set about 400 years after the events in Blood Omen and sets up the events seen in Soul Reaver.

And so Defiance begins.

As befits such a rich world as Nosgoth there are characters that are as mighty as Kain and Raziel themselves. There are the guardians of the pillars, embodiments of human qualities, now corrupted like the pillars they represent, by the death of balance. Elemental forces such as those of the mind, death and time are slowly crumbling as the backdrop to the game, ultimately will Kain restore the balance he once so foolishly chose to ignore. Enemies include the Timestreamer, Moebius. Guardian of the Pillar of time, Sarafan Warriors out to slay every last vampire and the more brutal vampire hunters. All with somewhere in the shadows the architect of everything, the hidden hand that Raziel and Kain seek to destroy.

With the voice talents of most of the original cast and a few newcomers, the introduction of telekinesis into the combat mix available to the player (where you can throw enemies around or even over the edge of a precipice), a plot that spans centuries of time as paradoxes that have been created need to be resolved and what looks to be a superb control system available on both platforms and the PC, Eidos look set to raise the bar once more with this game.

Due out for PC, XBox and PlayStation 2 February 6.

*Screenshots are from all three platforms.

Chris Snook

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Related Games:

Legacy of Kain: Defiance
for PC

Screenshots