BloodRayne 2 - First Look Preview

Many gamers could have easily missed the release of BloodRayne last this year. Itâ??s not that the game wasnâ??t any good, although BloodRayne got mix reviews, but the majority acclaimed it as exciting and inventive, it was just the fact that the coverage was possibly not as intensive or as inventive as it should have been considering the subject matter and its execution.

With news of the BloodRayne brand being made into a film and the annoucement of the sequel big things are now expected.

Development of BloodRayne 2 continues in the capable hands of Terminal Reality and is set in the present day with a dark and sinister storyline.

Majesco is being bullish about improving upon the original game in all elements and will deliver a bigger, more action-packed sequel that elevates the franchise to a whole new level.

Many will not be familiar with the setting or character cast of the game but with its strong imagery and storyline you only need a glimpse of the main character and a short burst of information to get playersâ?? wholehearted attention.

Born from the unnatural union of vampire and human, BloodRayne is blessed with the powers of a vampire but cursed with the unquenchable thirst for blood and a weakness to sunlight. Rayneâ??s (the female lead) encounters are certainly horrific, but just as often as not, BloodRayne's lethal beauty and acrobatic slaughter sends the monsters fleeing in terror. Her most unconventional weapon is her fangs. Being half-vampire, Rayne feeds on human blood to restore her health. She leaps upon startled foes, wraps her legs around them and sinks her fangs into the jugular. She drains the life from him, absorbing it to sustain her own life. In the end, he's dead and Rayne is revived. Rayne will also gain new powers by gorging on blood as well!

BloodRayne challenges the supernatural anti-heroine with her most personal battle yet as she hunts down each of her wicked siblings who are carrying on the legacy of their dead father, Kagan. They have created â??The Shroudâ??, a mysterious substance which, when released, renders the sun's lethal rays harmless to vampires. Now only BloodRayne stands between an unsuspecting humanity and a horrifying vampire dawn that will take the player through 10 compelling missions.

Expanding upon the distinctive features that were the hallmark of its predecessor â?“ fast-paced acrobatic combat and supernatural powers â?“ BloodRayne 2 includes new in-game dynamics such as pole combat, rail sliding and advanced melee fighting with fatality moves. Built upon a modified version of the Infernal Engine, BloodRayne 2 introduces threatening new bosses, all new environments set within a huge modern day city, a range of new supernatural powers and new motion-captured movements complete with soft-body physics. Terminal Reality has worked on new techniques that add more diversity and intensity to the fighting and combat which includes, 35+ combos. In effect the level of fighting will offer full body detection and some pretty explicit and disturbing dismemberments!

The provocative early images of BloodRayne certainly help to give the game more impetus and media attention and this is via visuals alone. Once you understand the full action itinerary on offer then a very substantial game is in the making.

A wonderful cast of in game characters, far outdoing the original, together with top of the range technology pushes the game to give powerful presentation, with the game engine is central to all of this. Motion Capture gives further credibility the fluidity of the game. The Infernal Engine, derived as it is from the original Nocturne engine, focuses on characters. TR technology allows the team to build extremely lifelike characters with smooth animations. Geoff Hill, from the BloodRayne team, commented that he believed that most game developers don't seem to put enough effort into character animation unlike Terminal. â??We spent a lot of time making a huge variety of animations. When some of the characters back away from you, they actually back-pedal to retreat. The Infernal Engine not only transitions between animations, it also blends, allowing enemies to strafe to the side while firing machine guns as they dive behind a corner to take cover."

The Infernal Engine was written almost entirely from scratch, building from Terminal Reality's eight-year history of innovative technology. Smooth character animation is one of the key elements of the engine.

If you were lucky enough to play the first game and understand the basic ideas behind the concept then nearly every area has been worked on and extended. The â??goreâ?? factor of the game, with dismembered limbs, the weapons list, including Rayne own attributes, has been dramatically reworked and it is perhaps the fuller melee mechanics for more precise fighting that will be one of the biggest and most impressive aspects of BloodRayne 2.

The macabre and very detailed setting from the first offering, the very Germanic war setting, is now transformed to the present day but still with the distinct and dynamic look and very detailed feel. A better synergy between the cast list and the environment now gives BloodRayne 2 a stronger ambience.

Interaction with characters and the environment is something Terminal is particularly proud of and have built most of the environments to let the player demolish and interactive within them. Most of the objects and some of the walls are breakable if you slash or kick them!

Just this quote from the team will let you understand the nature and focus of the game: â??Unlike some games that scatter generic gibs when you blow a character apart, we actually rip the models apart, limb-by-limb, in recognizable chunks.â?

Although you could easily get the impression this was a reworked and enhanced game relying on fighting, that is certainly not the case, although some of the â??end movesâ?? on offer are very enthralling. The storyline and cast lists also have diversity and interest and we could easily have a new female heroine to rival that of Lara Croft if Majesco/Terminal get it right this time around.