Review

With the look and feel of a cross between the Legend of Zelda and Castlevania, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain unleashes the darker side of the Playstation. Your character (Kain) is murdered at the beginning of the game, then resurrected in the form of a vampire so that he can exact revenge upon those who have wronged him. As you will quickly discover, revenge is a dish best served at body temperature. Since Kain is a vampire, the easiest way to keep him alive is to suck the blood of anything that stands in his way. After a few whacks with his sword, his victim strikes a Mortal Kombat-style "Finish Him" pose. This leaves you with a choice: he can either finish his prey off with one last slash, or bite into the hapless victim like a good vampire should. The graphics in Kain are great. Everything from the power bar to the blood spurting out of an unsuspecting villager looks terrific. On the downside, the action is seen from an overhead perspective that is unnecessarily dark (as in not enough light). This darkness, unfortunately, makes it easy to miss items and doors. The music is appropriately foreboding, and it perfectly congeals the mood of the game. The voice talent is also superb, and continual voice-overs from your character both add to the story and point the you in the right direction. Capturing the spirit of Zelda and Beyond Oasis, Legacy of Kain is a great hack-and-slash role-playing game. With lots challenging and fun gameplay, sucking the blood out of hapless prisoners and townspeople is pure Playstation pleasure. --Jeff Gerstmann
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