LoK Defiance

[Majin_You]

Well, Christmas has passed, and I was fortunate to get Legacy of Kain - Defiance as one of my gifts. I've beaten the game once and am going through it again with a fine-tooth comb, and I think the story, and, this is kind of good to hear for an LoK game, gameplay are astounding. The combo system in the fighting seems repetitive, but I can't seem to get bored of stabbing madly with the ethereal reaver, or slashing like a maniac with the original Soul Reaver, and the dialogue, like in the predecessors of this game, is phenominal.

I was curious to know if anyone else has picked this game up, your opinions, etc., and, if you must go into spoilers, your favourite part =]

I absolutely loved the combat system in this one, and the opportunity to play as an older, more powerful Kain, while still having Raziel in there. I also like the ability (particularly after playing Soul Reaver 2) to opt to either feed the reaver or feed yourself. However, 2 things bug me, and they are pretty obvious, but don't really harm the game as a whole. First, the camera must be possessed....it clearly goes out of its way to hinder my progress :fight: .

Second, and last, they took out the ability (for Raziel, and I guess, in a way, for Kain) to put the reaver away and fight with other weapons, or your bare hands. I liked the ability to throw people around in Soul Reaver, so it's a pity that's gone.

Otherwise, outstanding work, and a MAJOR update on the gameplay, and I think it makes this LoK installment stand out. Definitely worth a try, even if you aren't wrapped up in the LoK story.

 

[shadowsaiyan17]

I want that game so much it looks awesome but i have to wait till next week

 

[Tassadar]

And here I was about to write a review, anyway Defiance was quite possibly one of the greatest platformers I've ever played. I loved the gameplay, and the storyline kept me up many nights in excitement.

Other reviews of this game I read complain much about the camera being a problem, and that Raziel and Kain aren't much different. But I do beg to differ, Raziel is much faster, and, in the PC version at least, the camera was rarely a huge problem for me.
Not only was the soundtrack awesome (sure, we could have used some more music in it), but, as with all LoK games, the voice acting was superb. One of the very, very few things to bring out my emotions was near the end.
The creator and director, Amy Hennig, announced another Legacy of Kain game will be released, and that Defiance was not the last, obviosly telling you which part (either Soul Reaver or Blood Omen) would spoil the story a bit.
All in all, I give it an amazing 10/10 for everything, I wouldn't be suprised finding myself beating this game again in a few months.

Sorry to somewhat spoil your thread with my review Majin_You, but I knew I would be harassed for making a new thread.

Vae Victus

 

[Lord Killmore]

he well this is my newest game after Legacy of Kein : Blood Omen 2.
too say the thruth i don´t like Raziel.
IBut i love Kain .
but the Thng i don´t i don´t like is Kain in this game : I hate this "deformed" version of him .
ever played Blood Omen or Blood omen 2? this is the Kain i wanted to say.
And i somehow like the battle style of Blood Omen 2 better but Defiance is really cool.
the storyline is a bit confusing but elese than that you guys should get it!

 

[The Cheese]

Loved the last scene between Kain and Raziel.

 

[Majin_You]

Couldn't agree more with your review, Tassadar. Besides, I wanted that kind of response in this thread =]

I agree, playing as Raziel and Kain generates 2 different games in one, so to speak. They aren't exactly the same, IMO. Good to hear, as well, that a new game is on the horizon. I think I can guess which of Blood Omen and Soul Reaver it will favor, so not too much guessing there for me.

Thanks for the responses, gents!

 

[Phatslugga]

Excellent game, haven't finished it yet only been able to play a bit here and there, but So far it's great, as were all of the otehr LOK/SR games.

 

[Judge]

yes I want that game when its out here in holland. played Soul Reaver 1 and 2 so I cant wait for this one . it's good that i'm hearing all these great reviews of it, now i'm sure I wanna have it

 

[Tassadar]

TRUST me Judge, if your a fan of the series you will NOT be dissappointed.

 

[Phatslugga]

Well, I just finished it a few hours ago... The game was just absolutley amazing, Following the plot since the first blood omen to this game was excellent, even more excellent than bill, ted, and their adventure. Melee system is a bit repetetive, but it never really became boring for me, I kept coming up with differnet types of combos. Graphics were stunning, especially the new spectral realm. The reaver looked great as always. The cinematics were all great, Especially the cinematics between Raziel and Kain.

I give the game a 13/10 and two w00ts. That's right 3 extra credit points AND two w00ts.

 

[Anty]

I've only played LOK Blood Omen 2, it was KEWL!!!

Must...... get...... this....... game.... soon . I will review asap if I have played out the game :]

 

[SailorAlea]

Well, there were a few things about Defiance I couldn't stand. Namely the camera angles. The combo system was repetitive.

Plus, some of the cool features from Blood Omen 2 were removed or just implemented pointlessly--like the 'only in certain spots' SuperJumping. Also, they took out completely the most cool feature of Blood Omen 2--
Stealth assassin kills. Those were so pointlessly fun.

Anyway, I have -always- preferred Kain to Raziel. It's pretty obvious from playing the games that Kain is more intelligent then Raziel. Raziel just never listens, something that's quite annoying.

Anyway, if nobody knew about this combo, it's fun to try out. I do it a lot.

'Punch Punch Kick' (to get them into the air), 'Punch Punch, Telekinesis'
It'll obviously hit them in the air, slash them a few times, then send them flying with telekinesis. This will also send them into the spikes a lot.

Playing around with telekinesis in battles is fun. I'm not sure why they added the statis field, though.. as it's nearly useless.

Something not many people noticed is that while telekinesis can't pick up or directly harm those huge fire golems and such, if you press Direction+Telekinesis (Normally used for immobilization), you can hit them and knock them back. They'll do the same animation as if you hit them hard, and leaves them open.

I don't know about the rest of you, but everytime Raziel's chapters came up, I'd just groan. Just like Kharg from Arc the Lad for PS2. Overall I'd give LoKefiance, an 8 or possibly 9 out of 10.

 

[Tassadar]

I dunno Alea, I loved all aspects of Defiance, the camera angles never bothered me (PC version at least). And I've always found Raziel to be smarter than Kain, but that may be because Kain is often left in the dark (in the example of the Heart of Darkness being inside him, the two reavers conjoining, etc.). Raziel knew what he was supposed to do but defied his destiny until he was able to change it. Not even the Elder God forsaw what happened to Raziel and the Reavers.

 

[Phatslugga]

The camera angles did annoy me a few times. There was a glitch I encountered while playing as Raziel. Apparently if you climb up an area incorrectly the camera wont follow you up, then when you hop up to the platform you can't see yourself, as the camera is watching you from under it. I tried to jump and run around to fix it, but i ended up falling through the level and dieing somehow.

I actually liked Raziel, it's true that Kain had a better grasp of the situation, but it was more interesting to watch Raziel try and figure out who to listen to, and come into conflict with others. The combo system was repetetive and I wish there was a little more to it, but I still had fun with it. The ending was completley worth it.