Legacy of KainSoul Reaver 2 Preview

Those who played through the original Soul Reaver probably found the game's conclusion less than satisfactory, as the game's main villain, the vampire Kain, ran through a time portal after his confrontation with the undead hero known as Raziel. Of course, with his quest for vengeance left unsatisfied, Raziel pursued Kain through the portal, and the game essentially ended. Eidos and Crystal Dynamics quickly announced a sequel in which most, if not all, of the story's loose ends would be tied up and other avenues of the storyline would be expanded upon. We recently received a build of Soul Reaver 2 for the PC, and it looks as though the wait for the PC incarnation of Raziel's adventures will be well worth it.

The storyline surrounding the Soul Reaver series is a rich one. The series' hero, Raziel, was a loyal follower of Kain, but jealously would eventually consume Kain and cause him to throw Raziel into the abyss, where he would burn for an eternity. Fortunately for Raziel, the Elder God of Nosgoth pulled him from the abyss for the purpose of tracking down and defeating Kain. But a few things have changed since the initiation of Raziel's punishment--he's no longer a proud vampiric warrior, but rather a decaying shell of a being bent on seeing the blood of Kain on his hands. Indeed, as Raziel finds out, even Nosgoth has dramatically changed, as Kain's armies have swept over the land, draining the life out of a once magnificent civilization.

As Raziel chases Kain through the time portal, he's once again diverted from his ultimate destiny by Moebius, a human who's capable of manipulating time. Moebius also tells Raziel to hunt Kain down and kill him in order to prevent a catastrophic event from occurring in the past--an age in which humans walked freely through the cities and hills of Nosgoth and vampires were killed by the hundreds.

As you might expect, the Nosgoth of Soul Reaver has received a significant visual upgrade. When you walk out of Moebius' stronghold in the early portion of Soul Reaver 2, you're immediately greeted by a young and vibrant Nosgoth, with rich green trees and bushes filling out the landscape and a grand multitiered waterfall just a short distance away. It's quite an amazing sight, and it more than adequately demonstrates the leap in quality from the original Soul Reaver to Soul Reaver 2. Indoor structures are generally much larger than they were in the first game, and many of them use special effects, such as ground fog, to give the environments a more dynamic and interesting look. Even the character models, especially Raziel's, have benefited from an increase in polygonal detail.

Soul Reaver 2 features more than just visual upgrades. In fact, Crystal Dynamics has refined certain gameplay mechanics and completely eliminated others.

Don't Fear the Reaver

One of the differences between the original Soul Reaver and its sequel is the basic behavior of the Soul Reaver, the ethereal weapon that coils around Raziel's arm like a serpent. In Soul Reaver 2, there's a circular meter that essentially serves as an indicator of the symbiotic relationship between Raziel and the Soul Reaver. As you start to swing the Soul Reaver, the meter slowly begins to fill, and when it reaches its capacity, the Soul Reaver depletes Raziel's health until you stop slashing with it. This system essentially prevents you from abusing what's undeniably one of the most powerful weapons in the game, but it never really appears to become much of a problem early on in the game, as there are plenty of other basic weapons lying around--and, of course, Raziel can rely on his razor-sharp claws to do some of the dirty work.

Other changes in Soul Reaver 2 include the complete removal of the glyphs that gave Raziel special elemental powers. Instead, Crystal Dynamics opted for a system in which Raziel can imbue the Soul Reaver with different powers that ultimately help you solve puzzles and overcome barriers within certain levels. For example, one of the imbued powers lets Raziel construct bridges made of shadows, allowing him to cross to areas that were previously inaccessible. Retrieving these powers for the Soul Reaver isn't as simple as walking into an area and receiving the power. In fact, you'll have to solve some of Soul Reaver 2's more difficult puzzles to get them.

Generally, Soul Reaver 2's puzzles are similar to those found in the original game in that they require you to be familiar with how an area appears in both the mortal and spectral realms--which fans of the original Soul Reaver should be accustomed to. With that knowledge, you can solve quite a few of the easy puzzles almost immediately, but some puzzles may not have such an obvious solution, and it may take some time before you realize what the proper course of action is.

Veterans and newcomers alike should also be able to jump right into the combat system. Raziel has three different types of attacks to choose from initially: a long-range attack, a short-range weak attack, and a short-range strong attack. The long-range attack is executed by hurling a weapon through the air or by releasing a bolt of energy from Raziel's hands. The long-range attack isn't particularly strong, but it can be a valuable tool for drawing individual guards away from a group. While using the auto-face command, the two short-ranged attacks are probably the most effective, especially with the Soul Reaver. You can decide if you want to use fast but weak strikes or a strong strike that exposes Raziel to a counterattack if it misses. Raziel's blocking ability is also a welcomed addition though there doesn't appear to be much need for it early on in the game. It's also worth noting that the Soul Reaver can deprive you of health-regenerating souls, so a regular human weapon might be the best option in most situations.

From the looks of the current build, Soul Reaver 2 for the PC is just about finished. The excellent voice acting appears to be have been completely integrated, and the environments and character models don't suffer from any particular visual problems. Soul Reaver 2 is currently scheduled for release at the end of November.