BloodRayne Demo

Female main characters may not be that common in video games, but there are some famous names out there that withstood the test of time, including April Ryan and Lara Croft. However, there is also a less friendly version of them, one that handles every problem by eviscerating it: Rayne. Although she only appeared in two games, she is by far the most famous female vampire in the industry.

BloodRayne is a third-person action-adventure game in which you play as Rayne, a bloodthirsty vampire that fights to eradicate her own race from the face of the Earth. However, the plot and the story is actually more complicated than that, although you do not really get to notice, since most of the gameplay is filled with violent fighting sequences and incredible acrobatics to spice up the action.

The plot is actually formed out of three parts and each part tells a different story, with Rayne trying to achieve certain objectives in order to infiltrate Nazi bases, recover ancient artifacts or even investigate a mysterious disease. Obviously, regardless of the plot, the levels are always littered with bad guys that do their best to slow you down as much as possible, even if the the AI is very simple and can be easily tricked.

Gameplay-wise, it all revolves around your ability to tackle multiple enemies at the same time and use Rayne's large array of acrobatic moves in order to take them out. Obviously, you can also use a variety of weapons and regenerate hitpoints by sucking the blood out of your foes, which serves to remind you that she is also a vampire. However, except for some pretty difficult battles, the combat should be relatively simple and easy to deal with, regardless of your previous experience with such games.

Visually, the game shows its age a bit, but the environments still look pretty good and convincing. The retro alternative universe is nicely decorated with all sorts of interesting environments, including Nazi flags and more crosses that you can see in a lifetime. Fortunately, the animations are also fairly good, especially since Rayne needs to perform quite the flexible acrobatics almost on a regular basis.

Although BloodRayne may not win any prizes when it comes to story, characters or innovation, it can certainly be fun to play, thanks to the many combos that are possible. Things get rather difficult toward the end and it is always a challenge to go head-to-head against powerful foes.