Feeling thirsty..... I'll have a pint of rhesus negative please (Bloodrayne (PS2))

Member Name: sparkymarky1973

Product:	Bloodrayne (PS2)
Date:	18/02/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Taking on the Third Reich one throat at a time is immensely thrilling!

Disadvantages: A bit easy in the final battles......

BloodRayne is a third-person adventure/ shooter that was released on the PS2 back in the day and, despite never becoming a big name, still managed to target a cult audience of die-hard gamers. A sequel was later released and in the last couple of years, two straight-to-DVD movies have also been released based on the games. There was also, I believe, a series of graphic novels devoted to the character.

You play Rayne, a Dhampir; half-human, half-vampire, who joins the infamous Brimstone Society both to locate her missing father and to help the society to eliminate the vampire menace that plagues mankind. The game begins in the eerie swamps of Louisiana to great effect with some truly great introductory levels. The action then moves to Argentina and Germany as Rayne pursues a group of occult-obsessed Nazis determined to use ancient artifacts to aid Hitler in winning the war a la Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Although the story is slightly derivative of other inspiration, this nonetheless makes for an enthralling game as anything where you get to take on The Third Reich can't be all bad!!

The controls are easy to master and combine hand-to-hand combat with a twin pair of blades Rayne uses to slice and dice her foes. For anyone who used to read 2000AD, Rayne closely resembles the Stronium Dog Bounty Hunter, Durham Red and this is as close as you are ever going to get to playing this character in a game. Health is regenerated through feeding and Rayne can jump on the back of her enemies and use them as a human shield whilst she feeds. This is a truly original touch to the game and one that gives it an added dimesion beyond the usual gameplay. Although it's not one of the true classics on the PS2, this game remains a firm favourite of mine and, replaying it recently, I can't believe I never picked up the sequel. I must watch the films too and see what they have done with the character for, in my mind, it is criminal that poor Rayne was never fated to be as big as the far inferior Lara Croft.

Summary: A great third person shooter/adventure often sadly ignored