Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Category: PlayStation 2 Game Console: PlayStation 2 (Download Emulator) Format: CHD Developer: Crystal Dynamics Publisher: Eidos Interactive Series: Legacy of Kain Genre: Action / Adventure Mode: Single-player Region: NTSC Views: 1,837,147 Downloads: 1,573,683 Released: 30 October 2001 File Size: 3.3 GB Rating: 4.8/5 (865 votes)Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 is a 2001 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It is a sequel to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and the third game in the Legacy of Kain series.
Originally developed as a PlayStation and Dreamcast project, it was reworked into a PlayStation 2 and Windows title in early production. Soul Reaver 2 was followed by two sequels, Blood Omen 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance, in 2002 and 2003.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, is a single-player action adventure game. The player controls Raziel, a ghostly "ex-vampire", from a third-person perspective. Gameplay, which is based on the original Soul Reaver, prompts the player to shift between two planes of existence the material and spectral realms to progress. The material realm represents the physical, living world, whereas the spectral realm is a warped mirror of this environment.
In the spectral realm, the player cannot manipulate objects and weapons, and water is insubstantial. Raziel's health slowly regenerates in the spectral world, whereas it gradually depletes in the material realm.
If Raziel runs out of health in the material world, he is shunted into the spectral realm, and if killed in this plane, he returns to the nearest checkpoint. Save points enable players to record their progress and continue their game.
The player's primary weapon is a ghostly version of the Soul Reaver sword, referred to as the wraith-blade, other weapons include claws, swords and spears. The wraith-blade is symbiotically bound to Raziel, and can be summoned or dismissed at any time in the material world, but, if overused, the sword can turn against Raziel, siphoning his health.
As the game progresses, the player encounters magical forges which imbue the wraith-blade with elemental powers associated with darkness, light, air, and fire. These enhancements have various uses, but are only available in the material realm. If Raziel shifts, he loses his active elemental imbuement, and must re-forge the blade at locations scattered throughout the game world.
Soul Reaver 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Various reviewers held its storytelling, visuals and sound in high regard, but described its gameplay as dull and unsatisfying.
Jim Preston reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five.
"Perhaps a little too rococo for our tastes, Soul Reaver 2 is nonetheless an absorbing and expertly crafted game."
Jim Preston
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 won GameSpot's annual "Best Sound" award among console games. And it was nominated for NAVGTR Award for Outstanding Art Direction in a Game Cinema and Best Writing of the Year nomination but lost to Final Fantasy X and Half-Life respectively.
