Metacritic Games

BloodRayne 2 (Xbox)

Born from the unnatural union of vampire and human, BloodRayne is blessed with the powers of a vampire but cursed with the unquenchable thirst for blood and a weakness to sunlight. BloodRayne 2 challenges the supernatural anti-heroine with her most personal battle yet as she hunts down each of her wicked siblings who are carrying on the legacy of their dead father, Kagan. They have created "The Shroud," a mysterious substance which, when released, renders the sun’s lethal rays harmless to vampires. Now only BloodRayne stands between an unsuspecting humanity and a horrifying vampire dawn. Expanding upon the distinctive features that were the hallmark of its predecessor – fast-paced acrobatic combat and supernatural powers – BloodRayne 2 includes new in-game dynamics such as pole combat, rail sliding and advanced melee fighting with fatality moves. Built upon a modified version of the Infernal Engine, BloodRayne 2 introduces threatening new bosses, all new environments set within a huge modern day city, a range of new supernatural powers and new motion-captured movements complete with soft-body physics. [Majesco]

Majesco Sales Inc.
Third-Person Action
Players: 1
M (Mature)
Developer: Terminal Reality
Released October 12, 2004

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

71 / 100

Critic Reviews

89 XGP Gaming
Terminal Reality and Majesco prove once again that videogame sequels don't suck - that is of course, unless they're supposed to.
86 Armchair Empire
With so many options available and constant re-evaluations about the situation I didn’t feel the creep of boredom even if most of the enemies are pushovers.
85 GamingTrend
Improves on its predecessor in almost every way, even if it still features the same maddening difficulty level as the original.
85 Warcry
Reply value is questionable, so less than hardcore fans might want to pick this up as a rental.
84 Next Level Gaming
An excellent follow up to the original. It provides plenty of the action, and it is one of the bloodiest games I have seen to date.
84 XboxAddict
Overall BloodRayne 2, although lacking in some departments is still a drastic improvement over the original.
84 Gaming Target
It still has some blaring issues (that “unpolished” feel really sticks with you) but the coolness and guilty pleasure-ness of it make it well worth the time and money.
83 Into Liquid Sky
There are many things that could use some polish, but this sequel is definitely a step in the right direction.
83 TeamXbox
It is very evident, however, that the BloodRayne series has come along way, flexing much better visuals, deeper gameplay, and a smoother overall look and feel thanks to the Infernal engine.
83 Play Magazine
What Terminal Reality has managed to create in the two years succeeding the Bloodrayne debut borders on miraculous. [Nov 2004, p.72]
82 GameZone
With sharp visuals and loads of neat levels, you’ll have a blast cutting through enemies. If you’re offended by extreme violence, stay clear, otherwise this is one enjoyably gruesome action game.
80 Console Gameworld
It’s a game worth checking out if you like strong, sexy female anti-heroes and gratuitous bloodshed, and aren’t hoping for an experience heavy on plot and social relevance.
80 IGN
Thanks to how the harpoon has been integrated into the extensive environmental interaction, and the superior visuals, and more varied gameplay, BloodRayne 2 stands above the original. Thanks to some broken scripting, easy combat (with no difficulty levels available) and incongruent acrobatics, BR2 isn't hugely better, only noticeably better.
80 Game Over Online
One of the few things that can be said about BloodRayne 2 is that it’s a nice looking title. The character model for Rayne looks extremely detailed, as do the character models for some of the main enemies.
80 Game Informer
While this sequel does succeed in proving Rayne is more than a pretty face, a few more tweaks are needed before her playtime prowess matches her dark mystique. [Nov 2004, p.147]
80 Computer and Video Games
If you want to look at pert bottoms and women sucking each others' necks while wearing stockings, you'd be better off doing it on the internet for free. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
80 Cheat Code Central
Bloodrayne 2 is the perfect game for Halloween. It's a sweet, scary treat but it's over too quickly.
78 Worth Playing
A fun, challenging game for the first three stages, with varied gameplay and a likeable heroine... Once you get beyond that point, you’ll find it increasingly frustrating... or you’ll start cheating madly in the name of basic survival.
76 Inside Gamer Online
A decent action game with a lot of nifty gameplay twists thrown in for good measure. While we wish BloodRayne moved a bit better than she does, no one can argue that she brings a sexy darkness to an action game (ahem) dripping with personality.
75 MS Xbox World
A pretty decent action game, featuring a sassy heroine, cool moves and powers make the action very hot indeed. The gore is suitably over the top but remains fun all the same.
75 Cinescape
Isn’t a great game, but it’s a lot of fun. Look at it as the popcorn movie of the game world, it’s really pretty, but only skin (or polygon?) deep.
73 GameSpot
Provides a viscerally enjoyable experience pretty much from beginning to end. The game certainly has its blemishes, and it's definitely not the deepest or headiest action title you'll ever experience, but underneath those problems is a stylish and gory action game with enough kills and thrills to keep you entertained.
72 Official Xbox Magazine
The graphics are noticeably better, the gameplay is expanded upon, and it's twice as bloody as the first game. [Holiday 2004, p.67]
71 TotalGames.net
Basically a game that is split between repetitive combat and annoying pole swinging sections.
70 Boomtown
If you liked the original, or love games like Prince of Persia or Ninja Gaiden then it is definitely worth a look at.
70 GamerFeed
There are still some nagging flaws, like questionable AI and the poor soundtrack, but you'll still get your money's worth out of this bloodsucker.
70 GameSpy
For a lot of players, the excellent graphics and high levels of violence and sex appeal will be more than enough to keep Bloodrayne 2 spinning. It's really a shame that the A.I. is so daft, and even with all the acrobatics, the very linear levels don't truly captivate.
70 GamePro
Despite Rayne’s new abilities, you’re still doing pretty much the same thing as before—slashing up wimpy guys, defeating bosses, and then doing it all over again after the next save point. (Even worse, the old camera problems are still there—you’ll get blindsided by enemies all the time simply because you had no advance warning of their presence.)
70 Jolt Online Gaming UK
As great as it is to be sliding down a banister firing off both guns before holding out your blades to slice into two anyone unlucky enough to be standing near the bottom as you pass, the sloppy controls and quirks in the design do prevent BR2 from being anything more than a reasonably-decent third-person action-slasher.
63 Electronic Gaming Monthly
Sex and violence are the stars, but clever, well-delivered dialogue carries an entertaining vampire apocalypse plot well above current game standards. [Holiday 2004, p.106]
50 Eurogamer
Anyone over a certain age is likely to be highly embarrassed if they get caught playing it though, and for flip's sake, don't actually buy the thing unless you wipe with ten pound notes.
40 GMR Magazine
Merely an average action game featuring an overly sexy protagonist and an entertaining combat engine held back by myriad game-breaking glitches. [Jan 2005, p.106]
40 Xbox Nation Magazine
The game reheats the same scenario again and again, with Rayne forced to toss shmoe after shmoe into a killing device until any hint of fun is sucked bone dry. [Dec 2004, p.96]
38 My Gamer
Forgoes the spunk of its predecessor in a vain attempt to update and build a franchise, and brings mediocrity to an all time record by managing to be absolutely average in every aspect except plot—where it manages to be different and be dismal.
30 1UP
As it is, it feels like a one-night brainstorming session came up with a whole bunch of random ideas thrown in a pot and clumsily stirred. There might be a good game in here somewhere, but it needs to cook a lot longer.

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