So we can't talk about Redemption without talking a bit on Vampire the Masquerade (VtM). VtM is a pen and paper rpg, in which players play vampires who belong to various secret society who have fought and conspired against each other since time immemorial. Usually, by manipulating human society from the shadows. Set in the modern day, it focused on an upcoming vampire apocalypse called "Gehenna". In which ancient vampires called "Antediluvians" are going to rise and consume the world. It also really tries to be mature and serious, with varying degrees of success. With later editions definitely improving on this aspect. You play a crusader named Christof, who becomes involved in the affairs of vampires while trying to reunite with his beloved, in a journey that stretches from Dark Age's Prague to modern New York. Now, Redemption does an odd thing with this source material. On the one hand it uses specific terminology so much, it's frankly almost incomprehensible without some basic familiarity with the source material. On the other hand, it uses the terms without context anyway. So there's a point where this knowledge doesn't really explains things all that much. The gameplay is third person, point and click, hack and slash. And it is a little unwieldy. You control up to four characters, but in the heat of battle I usually depended on the AI rather then try and skip between them. The AI is fidgety, and has some odd quirks about what powers or items it likes to use. It has a very frustrating resource management behaviors about "blood". But enemies are even dumber, so it balances out. And there is an overwhelming number of powers to choose from, not all of them are well explained. It is overwhelming and confusing. VtM fans will get a kick out of it, or grow annoyed with the scatter-shot use of the material. Under the haphazard use of the setting, the plot and characters are very traditional. At its core, it's a confusing game that aged poorly. I like it though.
When I think on adventure, I think on The Fate of Atlantis. Well written plot and characters. Branching paths depending on play-style. Clever Puzzles and fun dialog. Perhaps the best of its kind.
Defiance has provably the most solid gameplay in the LOK series. But what I really wanted from it is more story. It bookends the series, closing most of the open threads and provides a pretty satisfying conclusion to the relationship between Kain and Raziel. But a few 'out of character' moments and deus ex machina solutions hurt the story's flow. Characters are whisked away to their destinations in the plot so often, that it's clear that a bigger story was cut to fit the game. Some of the challenges seem repetitive, especially when the game hurries to reequip you with powers you have had in previous games. The game tries in vain to bring newcomers up to speed, but it is really a story only LOK veterans could understand and enjoy.
The Legacy of Kain series has developed into a complicated story in the hands of Crystal Dynamics. A story that rewards those who have the patience to follow it through. But I got into it medias res, with Soul Reaver 2. And SR2 stands on it's own. There are games that offer better gameplay, but few that can rival the voice work of Michael Bell And Simon Tempeman. And fewer still that can boast the crafted soliloquies and dialogs that drive this almost Shakespearean tragedy. Above all, SR2 is the story of Raziel. A Hamlet like figure who chases after the Mcbethian Kain for revenge. Raziel blames Kain for his personal loss as well as the grim fate of the world, and now a millenia in the past, that loss becomes all too clear. Raziel sees for the first time both Nosgoth and himself at their full glory. Nosgoth, before the corruption that would lay her low, and himself as a martyred crusader and both prey to Kain's ambitions. But he is about to embark on a journey that will cast doubts upon these convictions. His burning hatred for Kain clashed with his curiosity. And his discoveries will bring him full circle.
Darwinia is different then any other game you ever played. It has a light-year of strategy, a half gallon of action and a whole lot of charm. The controls are unique, yet strangely familiar. The setting is somewhere between tron and apace invaders. The only real flaw it has is that the moment you finally feel you understood how it has to be played, its over.
