Having just gone head to head with the latest batch of console demos, I thought I'd shed a little light on these two upcoming bad boys (and girls).
The Ultimate Metaphor For That Time of the Month?
| This guy still has better luck with women than I do |
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I must admit I never finished the first BloodRayne. It was one of those games that at first emitted coolness from every pore, but the deeper you delved, the more you realised you'd seen all it had to offer in the first ten minutes. I'm usually a sucker for T&A, but even the exciting new boob-jiggling dynamics weren't enough for me.
So how's the sequel? Although this demo is only a small portion of one level, I can say without doubt that it completely and utterly eclipses the original in every way (yes, even T&A). In fact, the mediocre original somewhat taints this just by being mentioned in the same sentence.
As with the first game, BloodRayne 2 sees you taking control of super vampire slut Rayne in another barrage of brainless button bashing carnage. Story-wise, we're in the present time now as opposed to Nazi era World War II, admittedly a lot less interesting, but the much more important difference here is that this time it just kicks
so much more arse.
This is exactly how Enter the Matrix should have played. You're constantly pulling off an all manner of fancy flips, kicks, and kung fu mastery with such aplomb that it'd cause Neo himself to empty his poop shoot. Rayne is just so nimble and responsive, seeing her in action is as beautiful as it is hypnotic. At least, as beautiful as slitting someone's belly down the middle
can be.
| The impressive ragdoll physics let you chuck enemies all over the place now |
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Helping things along is not only a vastly improved graphical shine and a fantastic new physics system, but also, and perhaps best of all, interactive and destroyable scenery.
Imagine, if you will, three thugs charging you down head on - such a simple scenario ends up having a ton of possible outcomes now. You could for instance, slice the first guy in half from head to toe, smack his buddy back across the room so hard as to smash him through a bar table, and finally lasso the third and final guy into a whirring fan blade, dosing the room in a nice claret sheen like something out of The Shining. But that's just what I'd do...you could alternatively go old skool and simply gun 'em all down before they get anywhere near you.
The new dynamic feel of the physics gives the game that same kind of freedom and spontaneity we recently felt in Psi-Ops and the like. The greatest thing about BloodRayne 2 though is that there's
always some kind of barbaric scenery feature to toss your helpless victims into, whether it be a garbage crusher or just through a top story window.
The animation is also fabulous, the effects wonderful, and Rayne herself looks stunning. One area that deserves special mention perhaps most of all though are the sound effects - not in a long time have I heard such bone crunching smacks and piercing machine gun fire. Here's one that truly shines when heard blasting out in 5.1 surround.
In terms of gameplay, it's quite clear that Terminal Reality have been playing Prince of Persia during the creation of BloodRayne 2, at least if this demo is anything to go by. In between the constant thrashings of violence and mayhem, you'll also be doing a fair bit of physical puzzle solving as well. Whereas Prince of Persia opted for a slow, methodical, feel though, Rayne is all about high speed chaos, so when you hit a brick wall (literally) and are forced into jumping and wall running segments, it can feel a bit laborious. Regardless, from what I've seen, such moments lend some variety to the game, so we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
The Truth Isn't Out There, It's Right Here
Secondly let's chat about Area 51 - this won't be too long though because, well, neither is the demo. Never the less, after battling my way through this tiny teaser - all three rooms of it - I'm pleasantly surprised so far.
Area 51 was originally an "on the rails" arcade game from back in the day, but thankfully any other similarities end abruptly there with this update. Instead what we have here is a squad based first person shooter in which you play one man of a military clean-up crew, sent in to sort out a rather nasty mess. Cue dark science fiction plot surrounding the Roswell crash site, alien invasions, and evil government conspiracies.
Of course, you get none of that from the demo - this is strictly a case of holding the trigger down and mowing down endless nasties.
This is actually a game I've kept one eye on for a while now. Sadly it just hasn't been gaining the kind of press and word of mouth it seemingly deserved though, which is a shame 'cos from what I've seen, we have a distinctly above average shooter here too.
I'll be honest though, it err "pays respect" to Halo in a huge number of ways. I wouldn't consider this a bad thing, though. Halo got it right after all; everything from the feel to the weapons to the speed of the movement - it all just slotted together perfectly. Area 51, although not particularly original in its wake, gets all the same things right. You'll even find that same selection of pistols, shotties and machine guns keeping you company.
The responsiveness and ease of aiming is simply brilliant, and way above average for a console based shooter. Sound and graphics, although following the Doom III trend of 90% darkness, are also pleasing to the senses.
What you won't find is Halo's humour though - this is apparently aiming for much more of a dark, adult atmosphere than Bungie's masterpiece. Imagine a whole game facing down The Flood, and you're starting to get the picture.
With the promise of alien weapons, transforming into a mutant, and even celebrity voiceover by David "Mulder" Duchovny, Area 51 looks set to be an enticing experience, but the success of this game for me relies on whether they include a co-op mode or not. This is the one single feature console shooters do considerably better than their PC counterparts by a good mile, and the primary factor deciding on whether I'll be splashing out on Area 51.
Although this demo is way too short to get hugely excited about just yet, it shows a lot of promise never the less, and could surprise a lot of people on release if it continues to perch below the radar.
Thus ends this brief look at two upcoming goodies for the PS2 and Xbox. While Rayne is heading for PC as well, this is the kinda thing that only deserves to be played with a console pad, so I'd quench that thought right now. It's also worth noting that while Area 51 was scheduled to hit the GameCube as well, it's since been cancelled. Another nail in the coffin?
BloodRayne 2 hits stores next month, Area 51 early next year.