Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

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Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a top-down action/adventure video game, the first game in the successful Legacy of Kain series and the only one developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics. The game was first released in 1996 for the PlayStation, and later ported to Microsoft Windows. A Saturn version was announced during production but later cancelled before release. Blood Omen was followed by four sequels developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive, including a direct sequel, Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain.

In the game, the player takes the role of Kain, a nobleman who is murdered and given the chance for revenge by becoming a vampire. Subject to manipulation from several forces, he travels the land of Nosgoth in the hopes of discovering a cure to his unlife, but gradually begins to look upon his transformation as a blessing over the course of the story. The game was praised for its high-quality voice acting, moody atmosphere, and compelling storyline.

Gameplay
Blood Omen is a top-down, action-adventure game, similar to The Legend of Zelda. Many considered this game as an RPG, though it lacks levelups, shops thus it can be considered as a hack'n'slash action

Plot
The game features a mature and well crafted story of deception, betrayal and manipulation of the main character. Kain, a nobleman in the world of Nosgoth, is murdered by assassins and offered new life as a Vampire by the necromancer Mortanius to take vengeance. Kain easily kills his murderers, but Mortanius convinces Kain that they were mere pawns and that the real perpetrators can be found at the Pillars of Nosgoth, which protect Nosgoth from destruction. There, the ghost of Ariel, the former Guardian of the Pillar of Balance, tells him that the humans guarding the Pillars from decay have gone insane, and that they must be killed for the Pillars to be saved.

Kain embarks on a quest to kill the guardians and visits their fortresses, gaining numerous powers in the process, and often encountering strange and deranged characters, like the Oracle, which tells him of the Nemesis and tells him to seek the aid of Vorador -- a powerful vampire. After eliminating several more guardians, Kain learns that an army commanded by the Nemesis -- a corrupted ruler once named William the Just -- is on the brink of conquering Nosgoth. Kain tries to neutralize this threat using a Time streaming device -- which he found in a cathedral in the city of Avernus -- to go 50 years back into the past, and kill the young King William. He succeeds, but in the altered history, the murder of William at his hands sets off a genocidal crusade against all vampires, rendering him the last of his kind. Kain discovers that he has been manipulated into changing history by the guardian of time, Moebius, posing as the Oracle, whom he finally manages to kill.

At this point, Kain encounters the two remaining guardians, Mortanius, and Anacrothe the Alchemist, fighting. Anarcrothe is killed by Mortanius and Kain challenges him, believing he is the last guardian. After defeating him, Mortanius turns into a monster, who is revealed as the author of the murder of Ariel and Kain as part of a plot to destroy the pillars.

After defeating the monster, Kain learns that he is the last guardian, the guardian of the Pillar of Balance. He is given two choices: sacrifice himself, restore the land, and free Ariel while condemning vampires to extinction, or refuse the sacrifice and let the pillars fall. Later games in the series were based on Kain's decision to refuse the sacrifice. Blood Omen 2, the sequel, is meant to show the player an altered storyline 400 years after the pillars fall due to the events of Soul Reaver 2.

Characters
In general, the first part of the saga puts stress on the presentation of authentic and unusual characters who fit perfectly into the murky world of Blood Omen.

In contrast to the sequels, the emphasis is put on the development of gloomy atmosphere and the outstanding protagonist. Unlike the stereotype of a handsome, morally correct hero, Kain ironically takes the part of a sarcastic, cynical, malicious, yet charismatic character (a free thinker who plays with fate as it does with him). He does not fight for special principles but only for his own "cure of the curse." There really is no main villain except maybe the Hylden Lord.

Major characters

 * Kain: The protagonist of Blood Omen. Kain was a nobleman who was murdered by unknown assassins. Mortanius the Necromancer resurrected him as a vampire so he would kill the Circle of Nine, never realizing his true destiny as Balance Guardian.


 * Mortanius the Necromancer: Mortanius is a powerful necromancer and the Death Guardian of the pillars. Mortanius was the one who arranged Kain's murder and resurrection. Mortanius wished for Kain to unearth his true destiny as the Scion of Balance. He knew his vampire son would kill him. Mortanius was being controlled by the Hylden Lord when he murdered Ariel. He is also a worshiper of the god Hash'ak'gik (really Turel).


 * Ariel of the Balance: Ariel was the Balance Guardian before Kain. She was murdered by Mortanius while he was possessed by the Hylden Lord. She kept Kain ignorant of his true destiny while she used him as the scourge of the Circle of Nine.


 * Oracle of Nosgoth/Moebius the Timestreamer: Moebius is the Time Guardian and Timestreamer. He used Kain to kill William the Just to ignite war against the vampires. He is also a worshiper of the Elder God. Moebius was the one who gave William the Soul Reaver. He tricked Kain by acting as the Oracle of Nosgoth.


 * Vorador: Vorador is the lord of the vampires and soon the last of the vampires except for Kain. He helps Kain defeat Malek and is murdered by Moebius's army.


 * Hylden Lord: The Hylden Lord is the leader of the Hylden and the one possessing Mortanius. He is seen in a demon form at the end of Blood Omen. He is seen in Blood Omen 2 as the main villain. Kain doesn't recognize him in Blood Omen 2.


 * Nemesis: The Nemesis is a warlord wanting to take over Nosgoth. At one time he was known as William the Just, but the power of the Soul Reaver had made him a power hungry tyrant.


 * King Ottmar: King Ottmar is the king of Willendorf the wealthiest city in all Nosgoth. Ottmar was at first shocked by how his daughter's soul was taken by Elzevir a doll maker in Nosgoth. After his daughter's soul had been returned he granted Kain a request. Ottmar granted Kain's request to send his troops against the Nemesis' army.

Reception
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain was well-received by critics, with an average review score of 83% as determined by Game Rankings. IGN cited the story as "the best of many strong features in the game", praising the voices and atmosphere. Although the game's CD-based load times were described as long and "agonizing", IGN commended the developer for keeping them from interfering with the game.