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Review:

11th February 2004:
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
The bloodthirsty vampires are finally released in Europe...
Posted by John Grothier - Xbox,PlayStation 2,PC - UK and Europe

The Legacy of Kain series has come a long way from its humble beginnings on the PlayStation. While other action adventures have not survived particularly well, the developers - Crystal Dynamics, have always managed to keep this series fresh and most importantly fun to play. Once more you must venture into the dark world of Nosgoth, but this time around you take control of both blood sucking Kain, and soul devouring Raziel in and epic battle to save the world. Divided by a common enemy, the Hylden, old adversaries Kain and Raziel must put their differences aside to defeat the dark forces that threaten to condemn the land of Nosgoth into eternal damnation.

With Legacy of Kain: Defiance the developers have completely re-vamped the fighting system, allowing for some breathtaking, over-the-top moves and combos. The camera system too has been tweaked with, and telekinesis can now be used for puzzle solving and also in combat. The games story is as strong as ever, and as you progress through the game you eagerly learn about the history of Nosgoth and the epic battles of the past. Not quite Milton's 'Paradise Lost', but dam close. For the first time in the series players play as both Kain and Raziel, in alternate chapters. The story starts with Kain searching for Mobeius in the Sarafan Stronghold, and it's not too long before you run into a couple of guards, and snack on their blood. Once you have guided Kain further into the stronghold, the story switches to Raziel deep in the Underworld where the tormented Raziel must escape his incarceration and fight his way to the surface.

As with the other games in the series, Raziel is armed with the wraith-blade of the Soul Reaver. Not only a devastating weapon, the Soul Reaver is the key to unlocking the secrets of Nosgoth. Raziel must forge the weapon with the elements of the world. This will allow Raziel to progress through the story, in his search to reassemble the Soul Reaver to its former glory, as the most powerful weapon ever forged. Raziel's reaver is actually a sentient life form, which craves the souls you feed it. While Kain's reaver is endowed with the ability to absorb an enemy's blood and thereby strengthening it. When the reaver is fully charged it will glow with the respective colour of its elemental alignment, allowing the weapon to deliver devastating blows and also cast the reaver spells.

There are many different fighting moves and combos to master, spells too can make short work of you enemies. The fighting system is responsive and most importantly it makes the game a joy to play. There is enough depth here for even the most advanced player. Fighting, drinking blood, and feeding souls to your reaver soon becomes second nature - thanks to a fantastic control system. When in combat mode the camera alters to allow for some close combat, but the game also allows the player to exit this mode easily in order to escape your enemies and heal up. While Legacy of Kain: Defiance has not evolved much from earlier titles, the deep, epic story keeps the player interested. The puzzles are sometimes a little too simple or a bit obvious, but occasionally you will have to stop and use your brain in order to progress. Raziels ability to shift between the material and spectral realms also adds depth to the game, and although each character plays very differently, both paths are absorbing and challenging.

The graphics in Legacy of Kain: Defiance are never short of stunning. The dark, gothic world of Nosgoth is beautifully rendered from medieval buildings complete with stone corridors and courtyards, to some impressive outdoor environments. The lighting effects are also notable, and some of the spells are breathtaking to the eye. The game does feature a lot of blood, and therefore carries a warning. When Kain feeds you see the blood literally drain from the helpless victim, and impaling the reaver also is extremely graphic - but we like that. However, the PAL conversion is not as good as it could have been, with the game not quite fitting the screen properly - it does, however, come with a 60htz mode, although there is no screen adjust option in the Xbox version.

The sound in Legacy of Kain: Defiance is quite brilliant, with a very impressive score - themes for each character, and the music changes pace to keep up with the action on screen. As with the other Legacy of Kain titles, Defiance has some of the best voice acting ever heard in a computer game. The voice talent for Kain, Raziel and all the characters in the game is superbly delivered. Ambient sounds are also used brilliantly, from the sound of the wind whipping around stone castles, to crows cawing, to the sound of your hapless victims squealing in certain agony.

Overall Legacy of Kain: Defiance is a worthy addition to an already fantastic series. The idea of playing both Kain and Raziel is brilliant and importantly it works incredibly well, and although the game and its puzzles has not evolved as much as it might have, anyone who is a fan of gothic action adventuring cannot afford to miss this one.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

Take control of both Kain and Raziel, and once again, journey through the dark, gothic world of Nosgoth. Stunning graphics and sound make this a worthy addition to the Legacy of Kain series and a fine action adventure filled with more that its fair share of blood and gore.

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Legacy of Kain: Defiance
for Xbox

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