Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
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| Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain | |
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| Developer(s) | Crystal Dynamics |
| Publisher(s) | Eidos Interactive |
| Series | Legacy of Kain series |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation 2/Xbox: NA March 19, 2002 EU March 28, 2002 Windows: NA March 29, 2002 EU April 5, 2002 GameCube: NA December 9, 2002 EU January 24, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) USK: 16+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, GameCube |
| Media | 1 DVD (PS2, Xbox) 1 CD-ROM (WIN) 1 GameCube Game Disc (GC) |
| System requirements | 450 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, 16 MB video card RAM, 8X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 8.1, 1650 MB available hard disk space, Windows 98 (WIN) |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse, or gamepad |
Blood Omen 2 is a video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos. It is the fourth game in the Legacy of Kain series, although chronologically it is set between the events of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. It was released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PC.
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[edit] Plot
Kain refused to sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars of Nosgoth in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Instead, with Vorador's help, he built a vampire army and attempted to conquer the world.
Four hundred years after the events of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Kain awakes in Meridian (Nosgoth's industrial capital city). He remembers very little, and is lacking much of his former power. He is greeted by a vampire called Umah, who informs Kain that he has been asleep for two hundred years.
Kain's conquest of Nosgoth had been opposed by an army of vampire hunters called the Sarafan. The Sarafan destroyed Kain's army, and Kain himself was defeated in combat by their leader, the Sarafan Lord. In the years since, the Sarafan have imposed harsh martial law on Nosgoth's human population. Employing 'Glyph magic' - a new kind of magic, deadly to vampires - they have hunted the remaining vampires to near extinction. Umah is a member of the Cabal; an underground resistance movement formed of vampires and working to undermine the Sarafan at every turn. The Cabal hopes that Kain will destroy the Sarafan Lord, and the traitorous vampires that protect him, having betrayed their own kind for personal gain.
Kain sets out to get his revenge, reclaim the Soul Reaver sword from the Sarafan Lord, and continue his ascent to power.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Major characters
- Kain
- The protagonist of Blood Omen 2. Kain is a nobleman turned vampire, with ambitions to rule the land of Nosgoth. He is also the last survivor of the Circle of Nine; the Guardian of the Pillar of Balance.
- Umah
- A vampire and lieutenant of the Cabal. She guides Kain through the first part of the game, reminding him of his vampiric abilities, and introducing him (and the player) to Meridian.
- The Sarafan Lord
- The antagonist of Blood Omen 2. He is a Hylden, one of a race banished from Nosgoth by the Ancient Vampires before Nosgoth's recorded history began. When Kain refused to sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars of Nosgoth in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, this Hylden re-entered Nosgoth, and rebuilt the defunct Sarafan order. As the Sarafan Lord, he intends to wipe out all vampires and non-Hylden races by activating 'The Device', an ancient weapon concealed beneath Meridian.
- Vorador
- An old vampire, an acquaintance of Kain from Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Vorador is the leader of the Cabal, and gives Kain directions and advice.
[edit] Secondary characters
- Janos Audron
- The last of the Ancient Vampires. Janos is enslaved to power the Device, and this has caused him to devolve into a huge beast. Later, when the Device is destroyed, Janos regains his normal winged, humanoid appearance.
- Faustus
- A vampire who has sided with the Sarafan.
- Marcus
- A vampire who has sided with the Sarafan, with powerful psychic abilities. They meet in the Upper City region of Meridian.
- Sebastian
- A quick-moving vampire who has sided with the Sarafan. He arranged the ambush that allowed Kain's army to be defeated by the Sarafan. Kain meets him in the Lower City region of Meridian, and later in the Industrial Quarter.
- Magnus
- A mad vampire in the Eternal Prison.
- The Seer
- A soothsayer that lives in the wastelands outside of Meridian who helps Kain along his journey. She is "an extremely powerful and mysterious Hylden" [1], however her physical appearance suggests she may be some kind of Vampire-Hylden hybrid.
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Dark Gifts
Legacy of Kain vampires evolve over time, and the curse of vampirism manifests differently in every individual, giving them various supernatural abilities. In Blood Omen 2, these abilities are known as 'Dark Gifts'. At the start of the game Kain has only two Dark Gifts, but gains others by defeating the traitorous vampires who have sided with the Sarafan.
Mist Form: One of the two initial Dark Gifts; when Kain is standing in mist he is able to assume a mist form, making him near invisible, unless he moves directly in front of an enemy. While in mist form, Kain moves silently, and is able to sneak up on and dispatch enemies with a particularly gory stealth attack. The attack varies depending on the weapon Kain is carrying at the time. When a skull appears above an enemy's head, a stealth attack can be employed.
Fury: The second of the two initial Dark Gifts; in combat this allows Kain to employ a single strike at double his normal strength. This particular power is fueled by Kain's 'Rage Bar' (at the top left hand corner of the screen). When Kain starts to glow red, the Fury attack can be employed.
Jump: Allows Kain to leap further than humanly possible. When the gift is activated, Kain tenses for the jump, and a ghost image of Kain appears. This image shows where Kain will jump to. When the ghost image turns from grey to purple, the jump can be made by pressing the button again. If Kain jumps into an enemy, the ghost image turns red, and an attack is executed as Kain jumps. This gift is gained after defeating Faustus.
Charm: Allows Kain to take control of a non-hostile character. When the gift is activated, a target appears. Once it is moved over a civilian character, the button can be pressed again, and the player then assumes control over that character. While under Kain's control the character can be moved, and can activate switches etc, but cannot attack and cannot stray beyond a certain range of Kain. This gift is gained after defeating Marcus.
Berserk: Allows Kain to execute a flurry of attacks against a single enemy, culminating in a slow motion scene where the enemy is seen flying through the air after Kain's final blow. Like Fury, this attack is fueled by the Rage Bar. This gift is gained when Sebastian is defeated.
Telekinesis: Allows Kain to manipulate objects using his mind. This gift is targeted, much like Charm. It can also be used to attack enemies. There is no boss battle to gain this gift; it is acquired after Kain meets the Seer in the canyons.
Immolate: The final Dark Gift. This power allows Kain to set his enemies on fire using only his mind. This gift, like Fury and Berserk, is combat only and is fueled by a full Rage Bar. This gift is gained by defeating Magnus.
[edit] Trivia
- Blood Omen 2 is the only Legacy of Kain game that does not feature Moebius the Timestreamer, in the flesh. However, a huge statue of him can been seen in the Eternal Prison.
- Blood Omen 2's events take place on the alternate timeline created by the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 paradox. [2]
- Vorador appears as the leader of the Cabal, despite being executed (by decapitation) in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. His presence is not explained. There was an intention for this to be covered in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, but it didn't make it as far as the released game. [3]
- Blood Omen 2 is commonly criticized for its awkward combat system, combat-focused gameplay, and infrequent, simplistic puzzles.
- Blood Omen 2 was developed by a different team from those who worked on Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance.
- Much of the art and plot seems to be taken from the cancelled Dreamcast sequel to Chakan: The Forever Man. [4] [5]
- The term 'Dark Gifts', the collective name for vampires' supernatural abilities in Blood Omen 2, may have been inspired by Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. There, the term 'Dark Gift' used as a synonym for vampirism.
- There is a picture of the girl with the pearl earring in the tavern.
[edit] External links
| Legacy of Kain series |
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| Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain | Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 | Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain | Legacy of Kain: Defiance |
| Major Characters |
| Kain | Raziel | Moebius | Elder God | Mortanius | Hash'ak'gik | Ariel | Vorador | Janos Audron |
| The Circle of Nine |
| Nupraptor the Mentalist | Malek the Sarafan | Bane the Druid | Azimuth the Planer | Dejoule the Energist | Anacrothe the Alchemist | Moebius the Timestreamer | Mortanius the Necromancer | Ariel of the Balance |
| Kain's Lieutenants |
| Raziel | Turel | Dumah | Rahab | Zephon | Melchiah |
| The World of Nosgoth |
| Pillars of Nosgoth | Lake of the Dead | Nosgoth timeline | Soul Reaver | Ancients | Hylden | Material Realm | Spectral Realm |
