Blood II: The Chosen is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Monolith Productions and distributed by GT Interactive, which was later purchased by Infogrames. Released on October 31, 1998, it featured Monolith's new fully 3D engine Lithtech, which was previously used in Shogo: Mobile Armor Division.. An expansion pack, Blood II: The Chosen - The Nightmare Levels, was released on August, 1999.
Unlike the first installment, Blood, which was set in 1920s, Blood II takes place in the year 2028, so in addition to conventional weapons and magical items also incorporates science-fictional technology. As well as its predecessor, the game is significant with excessive graphic violence and a crude style of humour.
Features
Single player
In single player mode the player can choose his character among one of the four Chosen. However major plot holes occur if any other character than Caleb is selected: in-game cinematics are not shown and the story does not develop properly. Blood II gameplay is influenced by the choice of character at the start of the game because every Chosen has different marksmanship abilities, amount of maximum hit points and armor level. Caleb, a main protagonist of the first Blood, is the most balanced character, being able to use both firearms and magical means with good efficiency.
The game is divided into chapters, each of which is accessible only if the previous one is completed. A total of 17 weapons (some of them in dual mode) are available to player, although he has only 10 positions at his disposal and thus must choose which weapons will be included in his arsenal. Every weapon has also a secondary fire mode which deals higher damage to hostile creatures but consuming more ammunition units. Several power-ups involving invulnerability, stealth movement or increased firepower gives player an advantage over enemies for a limited period of time and are frequently in vicinity during tougher battles.
Multiplayer
Blood II is primary focused on single player experience, but also features multiplayer modes. Instead of Deathmatch mode, authors decided to change the name to "Bloodbath" because it better reflects the game's title. Each player can choose one of the four Chosen to control during the match - Caleb, Gabriella, Ishmael and Ophelia. Since every character has different abilities, the weaponry they receive at the beginning of the game varies.
Story
The game presupposes familiarity with the storyline of Blood.
The year is 2028 and Caleb, the undead anti-hero from Blood, after the final confrontation with his old master, the god Tchernobog, has spent the last century trying to figure out a way to resurrect his fallen comrades, including his lost love Ophelia, but to no avail. During these years he has grown somewhat more tolerant towards other people, so much that he can actually avoid killing everyone he runs into, but not that much to stop him from bringing along a weapon wherever he goes. However the Cabal, the cult of Tchernobog, is not dead, but has undergone a radical change that transformed what once was a dark, secret cult into CabalCo (short for Cabal Company), a powerful and wealthy business company. The Cabal in its new form still seeks to dominate the world, but rather than using magical means, it employs the power arising from its preheminent economical position, penetrating into the everyday life of the people thus controlling it. Apparently the Cabal has decided to briefly forget about Caleb (labelled as the Great Betrayer), but it has not forgiven him: Gideon, the man behind the Cabal's change and current head of CabalCo, wishes to bring back his cult to its full, former glory by slaying Caleb and getting back from him the Tchernobog powers the Chosen has absorbed after defeating the god.
Trivia
- In the underground maintenance tunnels, a secret room can be found which appears to belong to a Predator hunter from the Predator movie series- green glowing blood on the floor, several wall-mounted skulls with spinal columns attached, a round disc weapon on the table, and two xenomorphs' (Alien series) skulls on the wall as well.
- The glove of Freddy Krueger can also be found on a wall in the underground tunnels.
- The CabalCo building has several barracks which have posters on the walls. These include movie posters for Dirty Harry and From Dusk Till Dawn, as well as the box artwork for Shogo: Mobile Armor Division.
- The neon signs in the game for the Coral Essex hotel constantly flicker the "C" and "Es" portions of the sign, a subtle "oral sex" joke. This is a reference to "Revenge of the Nerds" movie.
References
- Blood II: The Chosen computer game manual
External links
- PlanetBlood - A source of information for all Blood games.
- LithTech Homepage - The official Lithtech Game Engine homepage.