Blade 2

Gaming with added bite

Back in the 16-bit days of the SNES, Neo Geo and Genesis (aka MegaDrive), movie-to-game conversions were a dime-a-dozen.

This would have been a good thing, save for the fact that 99 per cent of them were utter shite.

Now, some 112-bits later, things are a little different. Thanks to the efforts of websites like ours (cough, ego stroke, cough), gamers are better informed on specific titles and generally came to know that movie-game ports sucked back in the early to mid 90s.

But, at the same, perhaps game developers knew that mums and dads were no longer buying games for their kids, and that the average age of gamers was steadily climbing. Who knows, maybe even the average age of gamers world-wide is now 37?

But the point I'm ever-so-slowly trying to make is that developers can't afford to make crap games, relying on a movie title or buxom babe to sell their product.

As a result, I reckon the quality of games has really improved over the past two years, and Blade II is one such game that would have been absolute pap, had it been released on a 16-bitter.

For those of you who haven't seen the movies, the Blade universe is a place were vampires exist in hiding, fearful that overzealous humans may destroy their already small numbers if work got out.

In this world, you play Blade - known as the DayWalker. He is a hybrid vampire who kicks arse by night - and also by day. He wears cool sunnies, has manic get-up and plenty of cool gadgetry. Yet, while he has all of the vampiric strengths, he has none of their weaknesses - he is, by and large, a very inspired comic-book character.

In Blade II you play this DayWalker and it's quite a lot of fun. While no blockbuster, the game will hold your interest for quite some time, due largely to a neat combat system.


Surrounded by enemies? No problemo...
The left analogue stick control movements, while holding left trigger initiates strafe. Right trigger shoots projectile weapons or grenades and of course there's the obligatory jump moves as well.

The peeps at Activision have gone beyond the call of duty with this 3rd-person action/adventure game, most of which usually assign just one or two attack buttons.

Blade II requires players to use the right analogue stick to attack and, while it will be tough to get to grips with, persevere and you'll find it works well.

I've read a few reviews saying the control system is too complicated and brings the game down. Pah! The fact that you can push back on the stick and do a backwards kick (and string a 'reverse' combo together) is pretty awesome in my mind.

What this '360-degree' combat system offers over the normal push button method is that you can be completely surrounded by blood suckers, but will always be able to fight your way out. A couple of nasties to your left? Just gently slide the stick in that direction and voila! Vampire gets boot in face.

Granted, it's not a perfect combat system. Until you get the rhythm down pat, it can be appear to be somewhat stubborn a little loose at times. Essentially, you must push the stick up 1, 2, 3 times to perform a basic combo - which may be a right punch, left punch, head kick.

At first, most gamers will instinctively flick the stick in the direction of danger quickly, while to get the best combos you actually have to push the stick quite slowly. I believe it may work well for some, while others may really have trouble with it.

Projective weapons, such as Blade's glaive (think deadly boomerang), his fully-automatic 30-round pistol and assault shotgun are easy to use, yet should be saved, for ammo pickups are few and far between. Still, taking a room full of baddies with the auto-pistol is quite a lark - and a little messy, to boot...

Further to the combat engine, every time you punch, kick, stomp, slap, bite, shoot, cut, bludgeon, strike, beat or bash a foe, your blood lust meter will fill. Once full, you can activate Blade's rage, which basically gives you super strength for about 25 seconds and the ability to slice and dice with Blade's fabled sword.


The DayWalker about to unleash a round-house
Going gangbusters with the sword is heaps of fun, as you can be faced with literally 30 vamps, and decapitate three with one swipe. The combat dynamics work well, but are a little hard to master at first. Just like hand-to-hand combat, it's all about rhythm, and getting your timing right.

Another rather gruesome feature to the game are the Mortal Kombat-inspired fatalities. It is possible to perform these ritualistic killings, if you will, with almost all weapons, including the pistol, sword and shotgun.

The manual suggests the best way to get a fatality is to beat your foe down a little, and then when he's close to death block one of his attacks and then strike quickly. I found this didn't really work at all, yet the fatalities came fairly often - put it down to fluke if you like.

There are maybe a dozen different finishing moves all up, one of which sees Blade grabbing his prey in the head-lock position and ramming a silver steak into their head. Figuring out the different fatalities is one of the more enjoyable aspects to the game, and is a great way to impress your geriatric neighbours.

While level design isn't exactly cutting edge, the game still throws up some very memorable moments. The first notable section you'll come across is on the third level. Basically, you've fought your way through this underground car park, dodging kamikaze drivers and pistol wielding vampires, to arrive at the back door to a popular nightclub.

But this isn't your bread and butter nightclub - it is full of evil bloodsuckers. Whistler - your elderly sidekick - gives a succinct briefing: "Get into the club and kill 'em all!"

Those running a 5.1 surround sound system through either their PS2 or Xbox (or both) will really appreciate the attention to detail in this area. Making the most of the in-built Dobly Pro Logic decoder, you can hear the techno beats pulsing quietly in the background then, as you bust through the large double doors into the heart of the club, the music floods around you and the effect was surprisingly cool - as were the vampires shaking their booty on the dance floors.

While the level design can be quite intricate and downright cool at times, the game involves a lot of wandering around in the later levels and can become a problem. Problem, you ask? Well, it gets boring, to be honest. And tedious - but only when you've exhausted all nasties in a level, as the combat is always lively.


The head-lock head-stab is somewhat gruesome
The sound effects, in general, are pretty sharp too, with Blade letting off many of his classic one-liners from the movie, such as: "Oooh - exciting!" Weapons effects are spot on, and the samples heard as he drags his sword on the ground while running, complete with sparks flying, is rather nice too.

As far as the graphics go, Blade II is quite the looker - both on Xbox and PS2. The Xbox does have the advantage - texture maps are much more detailed and the game doesn't bog down as much.

Running at a seamless 30fps, Blade's animations and martial arts style look great, and one would assume that Activision spent quite some time in the mo-cap room.

Blade II is also a rather violent game, and much of the blood and guts are recreated with more attention to detail than many would like.

It's a fairly sexy looking game, and there are some levels that will warrant a double-take, but like I said before, a lot of the later levels get repetitive and all the trudging around bites.

If you thought the Blade movies were crap and had too much action, then perhaps you should steer clear of this title. Fans of the Marvel comic books and films, however, should check this out - it may not be pushing the envelope, but it's one of the more impressive 3rd person actioners on the consoles of late.

Game: Blade 2
System: Xbox & Playstation 2
Players: 1
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Mucky Foot
Distributor: Activision

Rating: 80%