Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Plot synopsis:
=== Setting ===
Soul Reaver takes place within the fictional world of Nosgoth, where the health of the land is tied to the nine Pillars of Nosgoth, and each pillar in turn is represented by a guardian. Before the events of Soul Reaver, the guardians became corrupt, and, after Kain killed eight of them, he discovered he was the final one. Refusing to sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars, he doomed Nosgoth to eternal decay and proceeded to raise his vampire lieutenants, including Raziel, to besiege the land. By the time of Soul Reaver's introduction, the vampires are now the land's dominant species and apex predators, the humans have been decimated, and the vampire tribes have each claimed a region of Nosgoth and turned their attention to internal matters. Unknown to the vampires, beneath Nosgoth lurks The Elder God, an ancient and powerful entity. The Elder God controls the Wheel of Fate, a cycle of reincarnation of souls that circle the Wheel in a loop of predestination; however, because vampires are immortal, their souls do not spin with the Wheel, causing the land to decay as the Wheel stalls. By the time that Raziel is revived centuries after the game's opening cinematic, Nosgoth is on the brink of collapse, little more than a wasteland wracked with cataclysms and earthquakes.
=== Characters ===
The protagonist of Soul Reaver is the vampire-turned-wraith Raziel, whom Kain casts to death at the beginning of the game. Although Kain is the protagonist of the previous game, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, he is the primary antagonist and final boss of Soul Reaver. The Elder God resurrects and assists Raziel, explains the game's controls, and describes previous events in the story. Ariel, who preceded Kain as the guardian of the Pillar of Balance, appears as a spirit and offers Raziel advice on occasion. During his quest, Raziel meets his brothers—Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab and Dumah—who serve as the game's bosses. Each has developed different powers that Raziel partially gains by killing them and devouring their souls. A fifth brother, Turel, was omitted due to time constraints on development.
=== Story ===
As the game begins, Raziel approaches Kain's throne and extends newly grown wings. In an act of seeming jealousy, Kain tears the bones from Raziel's wings and has him thrown into the Lake of the Dead, a large natural whirlpool; however, Raziel is resurrected as a wraith by The Elder God to become his "soul reaver" and kill Kain, thus restoring Nosgoth. With The Elder God's guidance, Raziel adapts to his new form and returns to Nosgoth. Infiltrating a Necropolis inhabited by the Melchahim vampires, Raziel finds his brother Melchiah, who has devolved into a beast unable to sustain his own flesh. After Raziel kills Melchiah and absorbs his soul, he confronts Kain among the ruined Pillars of Nosgoth in the Sanctuary of the Clans. Kain does not appear surprised to see Raziel, apparently having even been expecting him, and implies that he has destroyed Raziel's vampire clan, which only enrages Raziel even further. When Raziel begins to criticize him, Kain simply launches a tirade against him before noting what has become of the empire and engaging him in combat. Kain quickly overpowers Raziel and attempts to strike him down with the Soul Reaver, a powerful sword that absorbs its victims' souls; however, the Reaver shatters when it strikes Raziel, and Kain escapes, strangely satisfied. Raziel enters the spectral realm to find the blade's soul-devouring spectral form, which binds itself to him. After this, Raziel meets Ariel, who restores his strength, and learns of Zephon's location from The Elder God.
Raziel ventures into a large cathedral once inhabited by the humans and finds the Zephonim clan. After ascending into the cathedral's spires, he finds that Zephon is now a large insect like creature whose body has merged into the cathedral spire in which he dwells. Raziel kills Zephon and uses the gained power to infiltrate an ancient crypt. There, Raziel discovers coffins for members of the Sarafan, a fanatical order of vampire hunters killed centuries before Kain's rule. To Raziel's horror, he finds the crypt was designated for him and his brothers; as cruel irony, Kain revived the Sarafan to serve him as his vampire sons. Raziel ventures through a secret passage under the crypt and finds a flooded abbey inhabited by the Rahabim clan, whose members have mutated into amphibians; its leader, Rahab, has become a merman. Raziel tells Rahab what he has learned about their human pasts, but Rahab is unmoved, claiming that Kain "saved" them, and attacks. Raziel defeats Rahab and absorbs his soul, then crosses the Lake of the Dead to the abandoned fortress of his brother Dumah. The Elder God explains that the Dumahim vampires were scattered following an invasion of human hunters. Raziel eventually finds Dumah shackled to his throne with his heart pierced. Raziel revives Dumah and leads him into a giant furnace, burning him alive and absorbing his soul.
Afterward, Raziel discovers the Oracle's Cave, where Moebius the Time Streamer once hid the Chronoplast, a magical time machine. Raziel traverses the caves and finds Kain in the Chronoplast's control room. Raziel is angered over what he has learned, and Kain says his actions are justified due to his being subject to destiny, before proceeding to inform Raziel that the Sarafan were far from the noble crusaders that Raziel believes them to be when the latter demands to know why he created him, which Raziel refuses to listen to. Raziel attacks Kain while the latter continues to adjust the Chronoplast's controls. Although Raziel eventually gains an advantage, the Chronoplast activates, and Kain escapes through a time portal, beckoning Raziel to follow. Raziel complies, ignoring warnings from The Elder God. As the game ends, Raziel emerges from the timeslip and is greeted by Moebius, leading into the events of Soul Reaver 2.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
Great gaming fun.
This is a rare game in that it doesn't have much replay value as it is a completely linear game, but I still love coming back and playing it over and over again.
The storyline is great, the voice acting is impeccable, the dialogue is profoundly eloquent and the level designs are amazing, they complement each other perfectly.
The drawback to this game is that there are many block puzzles that are too numerous, tedious and a little tiresome after a while.
There is a noticeable emphasis on using the environment to defeat enemies which is a little something that games need a little bit more of.
But you should give this game definite consideration to adding it to your game library..
My dream come true.
The first Legacy of Kain, "Blood Omen", was a primitive-looking Playstation game that would have been more at home on a Super Nintendo.
The slowdown was dire, graphics were basic, the loading between screens was unforgivable.
But the plot.
The plot was luscious.
A nobleman slain for no reason is offered the chance of revenge by becoming a vampire.
The characters were excellent, all classically trained Britons, rolling their r`s and delivering speeches with all the feeling of a classic Shakespeare production.
The game was irrelevant, the atmosphere was sublime.
And now it is happened.
Legacy of Kain has been given the remake it so richly deserves.
A tour-de-force for Playstation graphics, Soul Reaver takes everything that made the original charming, and replaces it`s weak old 2-D heart with a pounding, atmospheric 3-D update.
The plot is unspoiled, as many of the old characters have now returned, years after the original.
Now the vampires are in charge, and Nosgoth is teeming with unholy creatures, ready to die for their immortal masters.
The game is good, it is easy to pick up, nice to look at, scary to play.
But this plays second fiddle to the 1st rate plot and wonderful landscape it takes place in.
Tomb Raider should take a note from this monster.
THIS is how to be atmospheric AND groundbreaking..
Dark, Unique, Complex, Bloody and amazing!.
I loved this game as a child and to this date I think it holds up really well, It was one of the first games I got for my PlayStation back in 1999.
The storyline in this game was awesome, The voice acting is top notch, The graphics were great, The music is great, sound effects and gameplay were tight too.
The games puzzles are never too hard or easy and the places you explore are memorable.
The writing in this game is really tight plus it reminds me a lot of Shakespeare.
It was also one of the first games I have ever played that had hardly any loading times in it.
The only time it loads is when you load up your game.
The only flaws I have with the game is that the bloke pushing can get tedious and the games level design can be a bit confusing for first time players since the game is very big.
But overall this is an awesome game and I highly recommend it to any action adventure fans.
(Also this is how you do a Vampire Story Twilight!).
Best game since Metal Gear Solid..
An enthralling experience through the whole game.
Supremely recommended and excellent graphics to add to an already masterful game..
GREAT STORY WITH DECENT PLAY CONTROL....
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver without a doubt is one of the best games available for its plot, because even though Soul Reaver's battling system seems strong at first, toward the end it dies off and becomes rather humdrum.
Soul Reaver is a story of revenge, and follows the original Blood: Omen in which Kain took the throne of king in the vampiric world of Nosgoth.
A millenium later, one of Kain's six brethren, Raziel, developed wings in front of Kain, and seeing this as a potential threat, Kain banished Raziel to an unknowing underworld.
Here, Raziel became a soul reaver, no longer a vampire.
Seeking revenge, young Raziel searches for his brother and looks to right the betrayal Kain did.
The story develops interestingly, and it kept me going and gave me the push I needed to complete this masterpiece of a story.
Despite its battle engine, I enjoyed this game, though I was disappointed in the ending, which left more questions than it did answer some.
RECOMMENDATION:  SHELLING OUT $30 FOR A DECENT CONTROL PAD IS WORTH IT, AND WILL HELP OUT YOUR MANEUVERING RAZIEL THROUGH NOSGOTH.
I rate it 8 out of 10, for its wonderful visuals and great story which won awards from numerous publications.
Worth the effort of buying and finishing..
Its got it all....
This is one game that has all you can get for less than fifty bucks two years after release.
It has good graphics, in game and for the beginning FMV sequence, with a rich, believable story line.
You can't forget the voice acting either.
The characters actually sound like they're having a real conversation.
The images load as you come to them (unless your using a gameshark cheat device, than it will have to stop and "stream" the image) to make for smooth game play, and the lighting makes game play more believable and gives it a more dangerous feel.WARNING!
THIS CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS, READ ON ONLY IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS!
Another good point is that as you defeat your brothers and Kain you gain new abilities, allowing access to new areas and the powerful glyphs, eldrich energy levelers, and health levelers (play it and you'll see).
TIPS:To see better you can go into the TV menu and turn up the brightness.
Also try shifting realms, the lighting will change.