Reviews / previews
I think I'm one of the few gamers who enjoyed Blood 2
more than the original. The ambient storyline, the
kickass weapons--love that Orb--and the graphics far
surpassed the first Blood. But all I heard was, "Yeah,
but you can't kick
the zombie heads
around like you used
to."
Well, now you can.
In the Nightmare
Levels add-on pack,
developer Monolith
Productions and
publisher GT
Interactive have
included a multiplayer soccer match in which you
blast your way past the enemy and then try to kick
disembodied noggins into the other team's goal.
The pack also includes all the patches and
enhancements made to Blood 2's multiplayer mode
since its release. It's now playable even over a dialup
connection, and you'll find an additional six
multiplayer maps and new character choices for CTF,
team play, and BloodBath.
The single-player missions--around four--introduce a
couple of new weapons--a rapid-fire combat shotgun
and a flayer that rips
victims apart a la
Hellraiser-and three
new bad guys. The
Gremlins are
annoying, the Nightmare makes a decent
end-boss, and it's good to see a return of the
Cultists from the original Blood.
Unfortunately, graphic issues still exist. I ran
into clipping problems on some maps, and
was unable to adjust brightness or gamma settings. (Some areas are so dark
they're unplayable.) And while the multiplayer tweaks are nice, nobody seems
to be playing Blood 2. GameSpy found only six servers and repeated visits at
different times of day and night, weekday and weekend didn't change the
score.
Perhaps if Blood 2 had shipped with zombie-head soccer and playable
multiplayer modes, it wouldn't have turned into such a dried up scab. As it is,
this transfusion is a case of too little, too
late.-- Joel Strauch / GamePro
Got an opinion about Blood 2 Nightmare Levels? Or maybe know a good cheat or strategy? Share it with the world!