Seems like we waited forever and a day for this one to come out, but when it finally did, we were all pleased at the grandeur of it. Soul Reaver is the psuedo-sequel to Legacy of Kain. In this tale, vampire have taken over the world. Raziel is a lieutenant under Kain's command until one day when he develops wings. The jealous Kain strips him of his wings and tries to destroy him. When Raziel is brought back, he becomes a vampire of souls and finds his world severly diseased as the vampires have evolved into inhuman monsters.

Equal parts action, RPG and platform, the story is solid and convincing. Lighting effects and character models are exquisite. The world of Nosgoth is a living creation unto itself, a believeable reality crafted and created for you to explore. The story is deep and the game environment draws you into the dark tale. Combat is easy to pick up, even if some of the enemies are so easy to get rid of.

The only major drawback this game seems to suffer is a lack of an in-game map, which would have made traveling among the different worlds much easier. The world you are a part of is so big that a player might find themselves lost without a general idea of where they're going.

Also, the ending seems rushed, leaving the player wanting more. If the ending hadn't been such a disappointment, this game would have gotten a better score. Either than that, this game is worth the time and money spent. Can't wait for the sequel.

- - kinderfeld