With Halloween right around the corner, let the frights on the Xbox begin.  First the horrific (and just plain superb) Fatal Frame II: The Director’s Cut and now BloodRayne 2.  It was just a year ago that the original BloodRayne was released and, while there were a number of things that held the game back from being a truly fantastic action game, the game and character was so popular that it inspired an upcoming movie.  Yet the question remains.  Is this a sequel you’ll gladly sink your teeth into or will it leave a bad taste in your mouth?  Well, let’s just say that this one doesn’t bite in a bad way.

One of the reasons the game was so popular was because the central character is a sexy half-human-half-vampire hybrid that has a fetish for skintight leather and ripping monsters and other vampires to pieces.  The last time we saw Rayne, she was acting on behalf of a secret organization calling itself the Brimstone Society as she infiltrated Nazi Germany in search of her evil vampire father she wants dead.  She gladly sliced through hundreds of Nazi soldiers (Rayne favors two long blades attached to her wrists) to get to him but, in the end, was robbed of the opportunity to kill Kagan when he died in an explosion.  Now in the present, Rayne discovers that daddy has left behind his own “children” that call themselves the Cult of Kagan and they plan to unleash a vampiric threat to walk in the day and rule over the mortals.

The passing years hasn’t changed Rayne in the slightest.  She still loves wearing skin-tight leather and she still favors her twin blades although she’s known to fire a few rounds from a gun and on occasion use her harpoon.  What has changed, though, is Rayne’s use of these weapons.  She now has a new set of slashing combo moves and can impale enemies in all new gruesome ways (after draining an enemy of its blood, she kicks him/her to the ground and either impales or beheads the victim).  Rayne’s harpoon now serves as a sort of whip that will have you impaling the enemy and then sending them flying to their death by throwing them into objects (a helicopter’s spinning blades, a fan or even the pointy end of something really sharp).  As a Dhampir, half-vampire, Rayne has Dhamphir Guns at her disposal.  These upgradeable guns use up Rayne’s blood so you won’t be looking around for extra ammo.  You will, however, look for victims to drain in order to refill the gun.

Rayne’s supernatural powers also make a return.  There are nine powers in total and most of them will be familiar to you if you’ve played the original.  There’s Blood Rage, which will grant Rayne the ability to cause double the damage.  Aside from this there’s Aura Vision (used to see in the dark as well as locate markings indicating secret doors) and Dilated Perception (a Max Payne-styled Bullet Time that slows the action down).  The new ones are also pretty interesting.  Ghost Feed, for example, let’s Rayne send a ghost version of herself to feed on victims while she continues to move about the world.

Also new to the series is the introduction of acrobatics.  Rayne is able to climb chain link fences like a cat (and she does so far better than a certain sexy feline by the name of Catwoman) and perform Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time-style acrobatics on horizontal poles as well as vertical ones.  And if that didn’t sound cool enough, she could even shoot or thrust her blade in this position.  The bad news is that the acrobatics just don’t sit well with the controls that make swinging a little awkward.  While we’re on the topic of flaws, the enemy AI is a bit better than the original game--but not by much.  The difficulty level is erratic, moving from easy to hard to hard to easy.  You’ll find some challenging bosses and the occasional monster that’s pretty swift on its feet.  Some enemies carry weapons and do serious damage, well, enough that you’ll run low on blood. 

The levels make more sense in BloodRayne 2 so gone are the missions that have you seeking out the mission objectives in oddly designed caverns that have Nazis cavorting with supernatural beings.  Here the supernatural beings scattered throughout the game freak out humans and there are enemies that will have Rayne wondering what part of Hell these monstrosities come from.  The game also hardly has you wondering what to do next since her Aural Vision gives her hints as to where to go next.

BloodRayne 2 is also a far better looking game than the first one and even the curvaceous Rayne herself looks really neatly rendered.  The visuals sport a sharper look that look great when it comes to other characters throughout the game and even the cut scenes look more amazing this time around.  The effects are the highlight of the game and you see it the minute you’re near a fire or the supernaturally changed world around her.  This is also an extremely bloody game, even more so than the original because the impalements and severing of limbs is more explicit.  Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume 1 will come to mind the second Rayne slices off an enemy’s limb (blood will spray in a quick, palpitating fan of liquid redness) or beheads someone.  This game is certainly not for the squeamish.

The voice acting, once again, is pretty good although Rayne can go from delightfully sexy to annoyingly too sarcastic.  The rest of the game is made up of some pretty decent voice acting all around and the dialogue, which could have been incredibly campy, is not bad at all.  The game’s score is pretty good throughout the game but when it comes to the sound effects this is where the game really shines.  Alleys are filled with all kinds of distinct sounds that seem to surround you in a wall of detailed sounds.  A bottle will roll somewhere and wind will blow pages from some newspaper into objects.  It’s not bad at all, actually.

BloodRayne 2 is a very worthwhile sequel that keeps the action (and blood) satisfyingly fresh.  While it’s not completely perfect (better enemy AI and a better handling of the acrobatics), there’s just enough thrills, chills and all-out carnage to keep fans interested from start to finish.  If you’re new to the series, this one will make a fan out of you.  If you’re a fan since the original, this one is sure to be your new favorite. 

Gameplay: 8.0
Slicing and dicing enemies feels just a tad better than the original and the use of her powers has improved in a great way.  The acrobatics, on the other hand, just don’t flow as smoothly and make for a clumsy trail-and-error-styled experience.  Still, the levels offer plenty of action-packed variety and whipping enemies into environmental objects make for some pretty gruesome yet cool deaths.  Need more health?  Just drain an unlucky bad guy that made the mistake of getting too close to you.

Graphics: 8.5
One of the features that improved considerably is the visuals.  The graphics now sport some pretty sharp and detailed backgrounds, surrounding and even characters.  Rayne herself looks particularly good and her fighting style is a lot more elegant to look at than the original game.  There are some neat visual effects that are centered on her powers and the cut scenes are just amazing.  As for the environments, they’re pretty good for a game that takes places mostly at night.  This is also one really bloody game.

Sound: 8.0
The score is good, although it doesn’t really stand out as much thanks to the sound effects and voice acting.  The voice acting is pretty good--although Rayne’s sarcastic tone comes off as more annoying than tough . . . yet oddly enough she still sounds appealingly sultry as ever.  The sound effects are what win the big points whether it’s the sound of the hissing monsters or the gentle, soothing sounds of blood spraying everywhere.  Jeez, this is one bloody game.

Difficulty: Medium
Unfortunately, the game’s difficulty level is the inconsistent feature in the game.  The game will go from extremely easy to incredibly difficult and back again throughout the game.  Mainly the biggest challenges come from Rayne attempting to swing from pole to pole and from the occasional boss found in each mission.

Concept: 8.0
The acrobatics would have been a very welcome addition to the gameplay, but it just isn’t done properly enough.  Still, fans will enjoy the sexy half-vampire’s killer moves, good level design and okay story.  You can also unlock some goodies but they’re of the new outfit variety.

Overall: 8.2
BloodRayne 2 is a fast-paced action game with a great supernatural twist and a sequel that will, no doubt, be a fan favorite.  With sharp visuals and loads of neat levels, you’ll have a blast cutting through enemies.  If you’re offended by extreme violence, stay clear, otherwise this is one enjoyably gruesome action game.