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BloodRayne is a good that with some fine-tuning could be a great game.

User Rating: 7.4 | BloodRayne XBOX

By naniwa | Review Date: July 25, 2007

There are a lot of different aspects to how the game is played. There is a little plat forming that works pretty well into the game and doesn’t require great plat former skills to complete. The game reminds me a lot of Max Payne. You can slow down time for example, and it plays like a first person shooter like Max Payne does. You have a couple of different vision modes to use and a variety of guns and explosives to handle. Plus you have a hook chain to throw into them and pull them at you ala Scorpion Mortal Kombat style and this is great for when you need to feed to replenish your health but can’t get next to the prey to do so.

Lastly, you have your melee weapons that are large swords attached to Rayne and she has some kick combos to go with it. Along with your standard melee attacks you can go into blood rage mode were your attacks are intensified and do more damage. Overall the game plays well, but there are a few rough spots here are there that could definitely use some polishing. Also the game's AI is weak at times and you will occasionally see an enemy doing something incredibly stupid.

The game has a good look to it, for a 2002 game that is. Rayne looks good and most other characters do too. Your environments are highly interactive with plenty of things to break and walls to smash through. The melee combat animation of hitting your enemies is the worst looking part of the game. Also featured is some nice CG cut scenes that look excellent. But for a 2002 game it definitely looks pretty good, not ground breaking for the time just competent.

Sound effects are good and are generally nice and crisp. Hands down the best part of the sound that BloodRayne has to offer is the soundtrack that really couldn’t fit the game any better then it does. Unfortunately, the voice work is the worst part of the sound. It won’t make you recoil in disgust but it could have been a little better which seems to be the story of the game, not enough refinement. You looking at eight hours of action packed Gameplay when you’re considering this title. For an action game I’d say it’s around the average but maybe a little under. But, like I said it is very action packed with very little dicking around.

By and large this is a decent game that needs more shine and maybe BloodRayne II will have everything down and perfected. There is a short story to the game that doesn’t really add much to it and isn’t horrible but more irrelevant and doesn’t really do much of anything for the game. It’s not bad but it’s not good either it’s just there trying to explain why you are fighting Nazis and chasing spectral monsters and evil villains with extraordinary abilities. If you like action games sort of like Max Payne and don’t mind the gothic Vampire them then I’d check it out if you fit into that category.