.

Where Soul Reaver was a game that consisted more of slow paced, nerve-wracking action and methodical puzzle solving, Defiance instead opts for a more action-oriented approach that for the most part works. Story wise, the game picks up soon after where Soul Reaver 2 drops off, and is quite ingenious. The story twists and turns and keeps up the series’ tradition of excellent story telling.

Also offered are a small leveling system where the player acquires experience and gains a few extra moves, a few collectable items, and different weapon modifications. Nothing in this respect is really groundbreaking, and don’t have a huge affect on gameplay, but it gives you a nice little surprise when you find a new health amulet or get a new move.

Graphics in this are a mixed bag really. Everything that you see will look good in-and-of itself, and the art that went into everything is very good. The best part is the character models and animations of the two main protagonists as well as the other main characters. Most of the creatures are also very detailed and are fun to look at.

Level design is something that Defiance excels with over most action games. Though inferior to the previous games, the levels are much better than most games of its kind. Progress is still blatantly linear, and could have been alleviated with more intricate paths. A poor camera does not help the level situation either. For those of you who said Ninja Gaiden had a poor camera system, do not play this game. The fixed, 3rd person camera system will leave a bad taste in your mouth at its best.

Music in this game isn’t necessarily important, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. The new music generally makes you tense when in combat and is somewhat haunting at the less frantic times. What really makes the music great are the returning tracks from previous games. These were excellent before and are good now. Only a few of the older tracks came back, but they are by far the best.

One major gripe I have with the sound is the impact noises. As a sword slashes through the air, the sound of it cutting the wind does not sound very authentic, and hitting anything makes a pathetic noise.

Response is the name of the game here, and the controls do well in the game. They are incredibly simple, and for those who can’t quite figure them out there is a built-in tutorial early in the game. Sometimes they would feel a bit sticky though, and performing special moves was a pain at certain points, but not generally.

Combos are easily performed as well. The number of moves available to you are skimpy, but offer an enormous potential to perform several juggling and ground based combos. The potential to create very cool looking and effective combos is there without the incentive though. Button mashing will do the trick on most occasions and no noticeable bonuses are given for doing something spectacular.

Both characters have the exact same move sets, and through the course of the game both learn the exact same special moves. This is both a blessing and a curse, as it makes controlling both easy but makes it very boring.

There is almost no replay evident in this title. Arcane Tomes can be found and collected to gain bonus material. All of this material is awarded on completion of the game though, and is no incentive to play it again. You will be compelled to finish it once for the story, and be rewarded with a great ending, but more than once sounds more like a chore than a game.

Violence in the game is contextual with the subject matter. The two main characters are evil, so nothing quaint can be expected. Some levels also contain walls smeared with blood, and enemies shed disappearing blood as they are slashed, thrown against walls, or impaled on spikes. It isn’t seriously gory, but has enough to credit its ‘M’ rating.

Defiance is a strong sequel for the LOK series. It is a strange action title though, as it excels where most action games fail (story and level design) and falls behind in things that most action games excel at (combat). Defiance is a must have for fans of the series, but those who like action games might get a fifteen hour kick out of this.

Graphics: 8.0 | Sound: 9.0 | Control: 7.5 | Replay: 5.0 | Overall Game Score: 8.5/10

Legacy of Kain: Defiance for XBOX screenshot 9