I did it- I bought the Blade 2 game...

[Dolemite]

Being a huge Blade fan, and having been really dissapointed by the PS1 Blade game, I was looking forward to Blade 2 on the PS2. Then, the reviews came. Bad, bad reviews. Shit, I thought. Yet another crappy Blade game. The Daywalker doesn't deserve this. Still, being such a huge Blade fan, I figured I had to at least rent the thing, but neither Blockbuster or Hollywood Video carried the game to rent. Dammit. Finally, I decided to take advantage of EB's return poilcy and "rent" it from them. And, to my suprise, it's not a bad game at all! I knew there were a couple people here who were interested in the game and were probably turned off by the reviews, but it's really a decent game.

The main gripe in the reviews was the control, but it's fine. I honestly don't knwo what they're bitching about. Movement is fine. You move with the left stick, and you push on the right stick to attack in any direction, and you can switch direction in mid-combo. You just have to calculate your moves- the combat isn't a high-speed stick-mashing affair, it's slow with rhythm. But you can really dish out attacks and combos in any direction. You just have to keep your wits about you if you're surrounded- don't panic and start flailing. The weapon system works very well, too. You earn points during the levels that unlock weapons between levels. You load up on the weapons before you start a level, but you only have limited slots, so choose wisely. The pistols/shotguns/etc. have limited ammo, but it's fine since they're so powerful. If you had unlimited ammo the game would be very unbalanced. The Glaive (the bladed boomarang thing) is great. It has unlimited use- you just charge it up and let it fly, and it takes off vampire heads left and right. Me like. I once took down 9 or 10 Vampires at once with the thing. Also, if you block and counter-attack right away (either with bare hands or waith a weapon), you'll do a really cool finishing move, like staking the vamp in the head. The Vamp's death effects are cool too, with them turning to ash like in the movies. The sword is activated when you build up your Rage meter during combat (if you charge it up all the way, you not only get the sword, but a shield and super-strength as well). You get the sword for a limited time, and you really can wipe out tons of enemies with it. The best part of the game so far is a dance club that basically re-creates the Blood Club in the beginning of the first movie- you're on a dance floor with, seriously, about 40-50 vampires. I love just running into the middle of them and activating the sword and just tearing into them. You really feel like Blade killing those suckheads.

Graphically, the game is nice. Not amazing, but nice. The models look fine (Blade looks very good, with lots of details on his uniform and weapons), and you can have tons of bad guys on-screen at once (like the club in the above paragraph). The bad guys aren't as detailed as Blade, but they're close. The frame-rate is nice and smooth, and didn't even slow down in the club scene. The textures are good in parts, and somewhat washed out in others. Gore effects are well done (Blood! Decapitated heads!), as are explosions. No real complaints here, but not much to go crazy about either. At least it doesn't run at 10 frames per second like the shitty PS1 Blade game. This game, while just above average, is 10,000 times better than that one.

There's sound-a-like voice actors for Blade and Whistler, and they sound very convincing- especially the guy who does Whistler, who has that gravely old guy voice down pat. The story consists of Whistler going over mission objectives with Blade at the beginning of a level. I haven't played that far yet, but there's hints of an overall storyline tying all of the missions together. The presentation is well done, anyway. You can tell that the developers were Blade fans, as the game has the right "feel" and attitude. Even the music sounds like the movies (especially the first movie- the club level even has a rip-off version of the New Order tune playing in the Blood Club in the first movie). Hell, you can even do certain moves that Blade did in the movies- like when he bashed Traci Lords in the gut and then shotgunned her head off (that was a shame, Traci looked hot)! Before you can start the game, you have to complete a short yet useful training level. It's funny, because Whistler runs you through several tests, and if you fuck up, he really rips on you. At one point, he told me to go up a flight of stairs. Instead, I just sat there doing something else. Suddenly, he yells, "GET UP THOSE GODDAMN STAIRS!!". Funny. Oh, yeah, there's plenty of cursing, too, like, "assholes", and "chicken shit". Always good family fun.

Anyway, Blade 2 is a decent game that Blade fans should check out. And remember, "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."

Any questions/comments, suckheads?

[Despair]

WoW Cool Impressions Dolemite. I was wondering when will you try this game , and good to hear that it didnt dissapoint.

I will definately check it out now, and since neither of my video stores carry this as well, I will look for it on Ebay.

I assume you played PS2 version, so I wonder if Xbox version have any improvments over that, or they are simular.

P.S - It once again proves my theory, never trust magazine reviews, and at least try it for yourself, before dissmissing the game, based on their negative score

[Dolemite]

Thanks, Despair. And I agree with you 100%- I can't count the number of video game (or movie) reviews I've read that were really off the mark. Some of my favorie movies and games have been panned by the ass-backwards reviewers. The worst thing I can say about Blade 2 is that it's a good-to-average action game dressed up with really cool Blade stuff. It doesn't really do anything new or different (though the amount of enemies on-screen and the hand-to-hand 360 degree combat system are very cool), but it's a very solid game that Blade fans will like for sure.

You were wondering when I'd try the game? Do I come off like that big of a Blade fan? I guess I do. Seriously, it's one of my favoite movie series ever. Good stuff, and I like ya all the more because you're a fan as well.

Speaking of being known for liking certain things, maybe it's about time I do another Illbleed thread...

[Despair]

I think I will try to pick up Xbox version then. There are few of them on Ebay right now, going in about $25-35 range, so I think I can afford that

[Dolemite]

New or used?

[Despair]

Just won Blade for Xbox, New for $32

Beats $54 that my GameStop wants for it, even with shipping added.

Hopefully it will arrive sometime early next week

[Dolemite]

Cool! Tell me what you think of it when you get it.

[Despair]

Most definately Already paid for it, so hopefully it will be in the mail very soon.

I will post my impressions when I get it.

I also picked up Gungrave (another game that you cant rent, since none of the stores have it, its like they only care to have "BIG" name games ) on Ebay, so I will be expecting both of these games to arrive next week.

[Dolemite]

Yes, Gungrave, yet another game I can't fine to rent anywhere either (I live in NY). I might have to try the EB "rental" policy for this game as well...