Part 21

Sorry about the slow updates here - needed to give my fingers a bit of a break after the more then 3 hours (!) spent on the SR2 ending. Will get into the meat of Defiance in a few hours - but for now, here's the intro.

Watch it here:

Video - Defiance intro

Kain:
"Given the choice - whether to rule a corrupt and failing empire, or to challenge the Fates for another throw..."

Kain:
"...a better throw, against one's destiny... what was a king to do?"

We're presented with a brief set of clips from the previous games...

Kain:
"But does one ever truly have a choice?"

Kain:
"One can only match, move by move, the machinations of Fate..."

Kain:
"...and thus defy the tyrannous stars."

For those still somehow unaware (Maybe having not played them and somehow avoided all the spoiler tagged content in this thread?), in Defiance, we follow the path of both Kain and Raziel. The game takes place between the events of SR2 and the events of BO1 - we don't know (yet) exactly when. Keep in mind that this is effectively 500 years after the ending of SR2 - since they were 500 years in the past, at that time. Much has changed, including Moebius' rise to power. This is after Kain Murdered King William (which was 50 years before the rest of Blood Omen - and thus, before this, now), after the corruption of the pillars, and before Kain's efforts in BO1.

Recall at the end of SR2, we saw Kain, tormented by some realization, and his only explaination: "My God... the Hylden... we've walked right into their trap! Raziel! Janos must stay dead!" but Raziel slipped away before he could hear Kain's warning.

Further, Kain retains some, but not all, of his power from BO1 - bat form, check... mist form, check... Pentalich of Tarot, nope, sorry. He does, however, have some very strong telekinetic abilities, now - think Raziel's Reaver Bolt, but he can pick people up bodilly and, say, throw them over cliffs or into environmental hazards. This makes combat pretty damn fun, I must admit. More on this to come!

Another of the game's changes is the combat system - gone is SR2's Block key, we've no need for that BS now. Mouse control is fully supported in an intelligent manner, and we can dodge in all 4 directions very easilly, as well as having a number of combo type attacks, unlockable as the game progresses - as Kain and Raziel kill more and more opponents, they begin to unlock their abilities. They have 5 each, in total, and they're similar to each other's (in fact the keystrokes are identical), but each has their own unique touch that makes them nifty.

We've also got an inventory again, but not as fleshed out as BO1's. Here, it mainly tracks plot related items we pick up along the way - no armor and weapon changes or spells to select.

Kain:
"And so I returned to the sanctuary of my enemy - the fortress of the Sarafan brotherhood, deemed impossible for any man to penetrate..."

Kain:
"...impossible for any man."

Kain Mists through the gate, snaps the guard's neck, and drinks.

He then calmly wipes his mouth and continues on his way. Awesome.

Kain:
"Deep within these walls, my prey awaited:"

Kain:
"Moebius the Time Streamer, deceiver and eternal gamester, using living beings as his pawns."

Sarafan 1:
"In the end, we rooted out an entire nest of the fiends."

Sarafan 2:
"But we had swept that area already."

Sarafan 1:
"Not well enough. But no matter - we purged every last one of that brood with fire. May their souls now rest."

Sarafan 2:
"Lord Moebius will be pleased."

Kain:
"It was time for Moebius to answer a few questions."

Kain:
"I hoped, for his sake, to find him in a forthcoming mood."

Next time: We search for Moebius within the Stronghold.