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"Some really cool parts, some really bland"

I saw Blade 2 for sale at Best Buy for 9.99 in a local ad. So I ran out there the next day to get it because I figured an x-box game at ten bones would fly off the shelves, even if most of the major reviews on the net said it is kinda crappy. Well it was a big of a suprise that there were about 20 copies left on the shelf. Not a good sign!
Well I also bought xbox live the same day so you can guess that I didn't get to play Blade 2 until two days later. Having said that, it's probably the most average game I've ever played, except for a few things that make it a *little* cooler.

-Gameplay-
- This is probably why most reviewers gave the game low scores. It's a little clanky. You move with the left analog stick, which is fine. You fight with the right stick (???) Yes, you push it in the direction of your foes and then that attacks. My fiancee wanted to know what the heck all the clicking noise was when I was playing them game, and I had to explain to her that you have to push the joystick a certain way in order to attack. She was as confused as I was.

Walking, blade kinda sucks. He is actually animated quite well when running forward, but turning and walking backwards are pretty crappy. I think if Blade turned better, instead of in wide arcs, he would have been a lot better and the game would be more fun.

-Weapons-

- Blade has a variety of weapons to use, and you've seen them all in the movie. The coolest is the pistol, I think, because he really shreds people down just like in the films. However he has limited bullets and they run out real fast. He also has the little glaive-bat-a-rang thing going on that he can throw out, but it only works in large open areas. Other weapons include a shotgun and the UV flash bombs.

The of course, there is Blade's sword. When you beat up enough people you get to use your ''rage'' which brings out the sword. WOW! Now this is actually very cool. it's almost like being invincible because you seriously can mess up just about anyone. Being surrounded is no problem and I am actually quite amazed at how Blade fights with the sword- it looks just like the movie. He can slash someone, spin back and stab someone else in the chest, then lunge forward and impale another enemy. It's really something to see. I give the game an extra 1.5 just for that.

-Sound-

Given the genre, it's actually pretty good. In the club you get a pseudo version of ''confusion'' from Blade 1, and the music gets progressively louder durning that level until you bust out on the rave floor and the music is full blast. Sounds from the pistol are good, but there is really no sound to the glaive, which is disappointing because there is a lot of potential to that weapon.

The thing that was both cool and lame at the same time were the random ''finishes'' blade does to enemies. He will either grab them by the shirt or put them in a headlock and then jam one of those vials into their head, killing them. Pretty cool the first coupla times you see it. But then it gets old. And Blade says the SAME stuff over and over. Which wouldn't be bad, but sometimes it doesn't make sense.
''Ooohh... so exciting'' and ''Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer''
This of course is all said by a Wesley Snipes impersonator, who actually sounds like a white guy the more I listen to it.

-Difficulty-

Blade can be fairly hard. But it teaches you the same thing most games do- don't waste your ammo foolishly, and don't run headlong into a huge group of people expecting to beat them all down (unless you have the sword :-0 )

-Graphics-
They're pretty decent given the material, and the animations are ok, but things slow down a bit when there are a ton of people on the screen. Also some of the levels look exactly the same, which just reeks of laziness.

-Humor-

Ok, there is a part in Blade 2 that made me actually laugh out loud. I'm playing the tutortial and Whistler is telling me what to do. Well I fail a jump and he just lays into me verbally. ''Quit screwing around and get up those GD stairs!'' It was great. He gets more and more mad the less you do. I give the game a .5 more just for that.

Overall- 6.0

It's got some good parts, and some funny parts, and fortunately nothing really terrible. Load times are pretty fast, so I'm pleased with that as well. I'm just glad there are no glaring flaws in the game. For $10 it's a good deal. It's a game I pick up once a day to get a little further with, just to kill some time. Overall a pretty decent game with a few little perks and thankfully no BS.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/03, Updated 03/23/03