Returning to Nosgoth for another bite, Soul Reaver is a classic that delivers on every front!
At the end of Blood Omen, the player is given the choice to sacrifice himself, to restore the land of Nosgoth, or damn it to rot, by refusing the sacrifice. Soul Reaver is based on the presumption that Kain choose the latter. Set 1500 years after Blood Omen, the player this time takes control of Raziel, Kain's first lieutenant, who is executed for evolving a pair of wings. The opening cutscene is amazing, with voice acting from Michael Bell, playing the part of Raziel, Tony Jay playing the part of the Elder God who saves Raziel from oblivion, and series veteran, Simon Templeman, returning as Kain. These main characters are joined by Anna Gunn, reprising her role as Ariel, & Richard Doyle, who reprises a role that is revealed at the end of the game. The audio is incredible, with the actors conveying all the emotion, determination, and wit that you would want. The music is amazing, changing with each new situation fluidly.
The story has Raziel rise from the underworld to exact revenge on both Kain, for sentencing him, and his brethren, for carrying it out. The gameplay involves puzzles, action, and exploration. One remarkable little feature that sets it apart from most other games, is the ability to "shift" between the Material Realm (the land of the living), & the Spectral Realm (the land of the dead). This feature is used in a number of ways, such as exploration, and in the use of solving puzzles. The combat is a simple matter of hack-and-slash until-your-opponent-is-stunned-so-you-can-perform-a-finisher. Most of the enemies in the game are the vampire offspring of Raziel's former brethren, who must be impaled, set alight, or thrown into the sunlight, before they die. The bosses are mainly comprised of Raziel's former brethren, who each require a certain strategy to kill. Once the boss is destroyed, Raziel will consume his soul, giving him a new power that will allow for further exploration, similar to the Metroid series. Unlike the previous game, in which your character sucked blood to regain health, Raziel now devours the souls of his enemies to restore his vitality, though he can only be killed in the Spectral Realm, as death in the Material Realm causes and automatic "shift."
The graphics are amazingly detailed for a Playstation game, and there is no loading times during the game (thankfully considering the overabundance of loading times in it's predecessor), with the only loading times being when your character has been destroyed. But even when Raziel is destroyed, you keep all of your progress, you're just moved to the starting point of the game. While this can be frustrating, it is slightly lessened by the warp gates that can be found around Nosgoth.
All in all, Soul Reaver is a classic that delivers on every front!