E3: Soul Reaver 2 impressions

[05.19.01] » The undead keep going and going.

   Soul Reaver 2 was part of Eidos' booth, and fully playable. The graphics looked very much like the Dreamcast version of the first Soul Reaver, which is probably to be expected since the developers were focusing more on diversifying the gameplay experience rather than revamping the engine.

   Happily, the developers assured us that the game will be far less reliant upon block puzzles than Soul Reaver 1 was, and the demo seemed to bear them out. The first puzzle involved the familiar spectral realm; Raziel simply had to switch over and jump up to a ledge, then suck in a soul to get back to the real world. From there, you have to open a hatch blocking a stream of wind, which is strong enough to give you an extra lift when gliding to the other side. There, you'll find the dark reaver for your blade which will let you create a bridge across the gap. On the other side was a completely black room, which you needed the light reaver to activate, which requires another wind tunnel opening, and so on.

   If Crystal Dynamics can keep up the interesting puzzle designs, Soul Reaver 2 should be significantly improved over the already well-done original. Look for it on the PS2 this fall.