Rayne has returned in BloodRayne: Betrayal, the long-awaited sequel of sorts to the BloodRayne series. Rayne is on a mission to infiltrate a dark castle and to stop a sinister plot from transpiring. This lengthly journey spans across fifteen brutal, hellish chapters.
The fifteen chapters offer about five to eight hours of actual gameplay depending on your side-scrolling skills. This doesn’t include any hidden items you may uncover along the way, like skulls and idols. Skulls will permanently increase your stats; this includes your health and carrying additional ammo.
Rayne has a multitude of attacks at her disposal. There is both a short range attack with her blades and a long range attack with her handgun. By rapidly pressing the X button and changing the direction on the analog stick, you will preform different special attacks with Rayne’s short range weapons.
Rayne can feed off her enemies to replenish her depleting health, and she can use those same enemies as exploding bombs. This skill works well in later chapters when walls are blocking the way. Rayne will also gain the ability to transform into a raven. This will allow her to fit into tight spaces that are otherwise too small for her human form to enter.
BloodRayne: Betrayal is a very hard game to master. What makes the game so difficult are the controls: having to turn around and back flip to a platform (especially while being attacked) can be grating on the nerves. However, once you have the controls mastered, the game becomes more enjoyable to play.
There are multiple checkpoints available in each level that acts as a temporary save point. When Rayne dies, she will be restored at the previous checkpoint inside the level. These checkpoints do not permanently save your progress, so if you quit the game or turn off the console, your progress will be lost and and it’s back to the beginning of that chapter.
BloodRayne: Betrayal doesn’t have any cinemas or even speech for that matter. The graphics are rendered using a cell-shaded technique that resembles a cartoon. The graphics are designed in a very dark, gothic manner. Organ music fills the earlier stages with scores of guitar rifts in the background, while the music becomes much heavier as the chapters progress.
BloodRayne is a decent side-scroller that can satisfy your Castlevania cravings without having to dig out your old Playstation. Granted, BloodRayne can be very frustrating at times, but nothing can beat the satisfaction felt when you complete a chapter with a ranking higher than “F” tier.
The highest ranking you can achieve in a BloodRayne chapter is ‘Dhampir’ and that is no easy task by any means. Your ranking is based on the time you take to defeat enemies, obtain hidden items, etc.
BloodRayne: Betrayal is a bittersweet experience that will push your gaming skills to their limit. Once you wrap your head around the control mechanics and figure out the first couple of puzzles, you will have it made.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3 (Available on PSN / Also Available on XBL)
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: Majesco
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $14.99 ($11.99 Playstation Plus)
BloodRayne: Betrayal Official Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Dark and gothic (just as I like it) comic book style graphics that make you feel like you’re reading a comic instead of playing a game. | |
| Sound |  |
| Love the music; it gives me flashbacks of Castlevania. The organ and rock music is simply the best. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Hack-n-slashing at its best; blood and violence at its best; and the fast-paced with action never pauses for a moment. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| This title is really worth the money and a must have if you are a Ben 10 fan. | |
