Game Review: BloodRayne: Betrayal
Billy O'Keefe - Mclatchy -Tribune News Service
Sep 16, 2011
For: Playstation 3 (via Playstation Network) and Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade)
From: WayForward/Majesco
ESRB Rating: Teen (suggestive themes, mild language, violence, blood and gore)
Price: $15
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Some shaky games and awful movies left little doubt that a change of scenery would be good for the half-human, half-vampiric Rayne. Whether it's also good for you comes down to whether you tolerate punishment or embrace it. "BloodRayne: Betrayal" takes what formerly was a traditional action series and re-imagines it as a lavishly animated 2D sidescroller with cartoony but graphically violent (in a "How did this get a Teen rating?" kind of way) look.
That animation is elaborate to an arguable fault, particularly when you're trying to dodge peril and one Rayne's attack animations creates a slight but critical lag in control sensitivity. Responsiveness is at a premium, too, because "Betrayal" is stiffly difficult in a "Mega Man 9" kind of way and occasionally unreasonably hard when it asks you to make some very precise jumps with jump and dash controls that aren't so precise themselves. Those who pride themselves on mastering cruelly challenging games will get their money's worth several times over, thanks to a campaign that's tough to beat and a scoring/ranking system that's merciless and demoralizing. (Don't be surprised if you never grade higher than an F, even if you finish the game.)
Mere mortals, however, should be advised: "Betrayal" has no issue with crushing your spirit, be it by design or due to the aforementioned issues, and if you don't go into it hungry for a beating - not simply tolerant of one, but hungry for it - you're bound to get chewed up, spit out and left wanting your $15 back.
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