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elfsYesterday, after getting my hair cut I wandered over to the Half-Price near the salon and cashed in the last of my credit from two bags full of old books, and found a super-cheap remaindered copy, still new in the box, of BloodRayne. With all the hoopla, and being down one first-person shooter to play, I picked it up.
And now I understand all of the reviews. Reviewers either uniformly liked it or hated it. There was no middle ground. I mean, consider the pros and cons.
And so on. Some (some?) of the cut scenes are pure gratuity, with the camera trailing up her legs, over her butt, spiraling around her waist to get a good view of her breasts (all encased in the most fetishy of red and black leather with silver buckles, of course) before coming upon her pale, youthful face with its mouthful of teeth.
The programmers spent inordinate amounts of time on Rayne's hair. It flies in defiance of all known laws of physics, and the two black ribbons she keeps tied in it flutter along, the pigtails of the damned, and when she flicks her head to focus on something it's animated as a kittenish, winsome glance with predatory chaser. The voice acting is so-so for most of the characters I've met so far, but the actress for Rayne was well-chosen and her delivery is much better than most. The script matches the visuals: characters getting shot use obscenities the way one would expect. And Rayne herself is the star, and the design team took pains with her dialogue; as a result, she comes across as likable, even good company.
Gameplay is better than average. I've played much worse and had a good time. Rayne may be a little too powerful for her role, but I'm at the point where she's obviously a killing machine trained to take out hordes of bad guys, and we're just waiting for the Anti-Supernatural Group to pull out the big guns. Some of the levels are maze-like and bewildering. Missions are per-area; there are no multi-segment game areas, and if you try and leave an area before you've accomplished your objective Rayne will shake her head and say, "No, not done here yet," and turn around. Half-Life this ain't.
Obviously, this is not the kind of game you'd play if you're a guilty liberal or a feminist with no sense of humor. (At least, you wouldn't confess to playing something so earnestly sexist.) But I think it'll provide a couple of hours of entertainment. And given that it cost me less than a movie, I have no complaints about BloodRayne.
And now I understand all of the reviews. Reviewers either uniformly liked it or hated it. There was no middle ground. I mean, consider the pros and cons.
- Con: you play a chick.
- Pro: you a really freaking hot vampire chick.
- Con: The combat moves are as complex as a martial arts game.
- Pro: The end moves have satisfyingly gory aesthetics.
- Con: game play slows down when she feeds on blood.
- Pro: she makes great orgasmic moans when she does this.
- Con: The game engine is old, with a primitive sense of camera.
- Pro: In tight spaces, the camera closes in on her butt.
And so on. Some (some?) of the cut scenes are pure gratuity, with the camera trailing up her legs, over her butt, spiraling around her waist to get a good view of her breasts (all encased in the most fetishy of red and black leather with silver buckles, of course) before coming upon her pale, youthful face with its mouthful of teeth.
The programmers spent inordinate amounts of time on Rayne's hair. It flies in defiance of all known laws of physics, and the two black ribbons she keeps tied in it flutter along, the pigtails of the damned, and when she flicks her head to focus on something it's animated as a kittenish, winsome glance with predatory chaser. The voice acting is so-so for most of the characters I've met so far, but the actress for Rayne was well-chosen and her delivery is much better than most. The script matches the visuals: characters getting shot use obscenities the way one would expect. And Rayne herself is the star, and the design team took pains with her dialogue; as a result, she comes across as likable, even good company.
Gameplay is better than average. I've played much worse and had a good time. Rayne may be a little too powerful for her role, but I'm at the point where she's obviously a killing machine trained to take out hordes of bad guys, and we're just waiting for the Anti-Supernatural Group to pull out the big guns. Some of the levels are maze-like and bewildering. Missions are per-area; there are no multi-segment game areas, and if you try and leave an area before you've accomplished your objective Rayne will shake her head and say, "No, not done here yet," and turn around. Half-Life this ain't.
Obviously, this is not the kind of game you'd play if you're a guilty liberal or a feminist with no sense of humor. (At least, you wouldn't confess to playing something so earnestly sexist.) But I think it'll provide a couple of hours of entertainment. And given that it cost me less than a movie, I have no complaints about BloodRayne.
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No One Lives Forever
Date: 2004-09-22 08:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-22 09:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-22 10:03 am (UTC)Agreed
Date: 2004-09-22 10:52 am (UTC)