Amy Henning interview from EGM

Amy Henning shared her info from her years working in Silicon Knights and Crystal Dynamics. The full transcript was taken from the magazine by Laura Organa Solo and is found here.

New Soul Revenant wallpapers from Jake

Hey LOK fans, hope you spent your holidays well. Here is a small present by Jake from Soul Revenant - a first set of wallpapers. Who would have thought chased by Melchiah could have been even more scarier! The other brethren will be posted as well. You can vote in the poll to decide which brother do you want to see next for wallpaper. In the meantime, enjoy Melchiah.

Previous poll results
In the last poll, 39% of voters stated that they bought the Steam versions of Legacy of Kain, 30% owns GOG versions only, 20% of voters owns retail games, 9% owns both GOG and Steam versions. Glad you still support Legacy of Kain even after all those years.

Steam Holiday Sale and end of the year (or the world?)

Steam started its annual holiday sale today. Legacy of Kain series are on sale too, so you can buy the whole pack for 11,97e. Strangely, the LOK series are not part of the Square Enix collection pack, which on the other hand has older Tomb Raider titles. Which games will you or have you bought so far? Enjoy the holidays and I hope you will play some good games!

In the previous poll, 67% of people who voted like the new Defiance texture pack, so I am glad you tried it out. Be sure to vote on the new poll too. I personally own pc versions of SR1 and 2 on gog, Defiance on a dvd from game magazine. I got also SR on Steam as a gift (thanks Merty!), but don´t plan to buy them there as well. I have all of the games on PlayStation. What about you? Feel free to leave a comment on where you got your LOK games from.

My ps1/2 LoK collection

Legacy of Kain is on Steam! (UPDATE)

Steam is within my reach!

On November 28th, Tomb Raider 1 - 5 have been released on Steam, following their earlier release on GOG. Each of them is availabe for 10 euros. User Celebrimnar posted in the TR2 forum section on Steam a link to the roster of upcoming games to release on Steam, and Legacy of Kain is on it! No Blood Omen though, most likely because problems with Activision, which so far prohibits it for being published on GOG as well. Legacy of Kain titles should be available on Steam shortly.

UPDATE: As expected, LoK games are now availabe, although no BO2 and BO1.

Exhumed Reviews

As part of reminiscing of Lobotomy and their games, I have dug up and translated few articles from old Slovak and Czech magazines. The very first review is from, now non-existent, game magazine RIKI, so I hope you enjoy it.

RIKI Exhumed PC version Review

When I grabbed Exhumed and saw the box, I´ve thought: another Doom shooter clone (or Duke shooter?). Enough already. Graphics typically Duke like, no 3D models. It looks like  an Egyptian environment... Hm. After ten minutes of playing: Jesus Christ, curse all the spiders! It´s only the first level and I am having small troubles. Difficulty can´t be changed and is pretty decent. Level is too big, you can´t save, the enemies are tough... Hmmm, but I like the music... After two days of playing: O, great Re, Tefnut, Geb-earth and Nut-sky, o Usire, Eset, Nebthet and Sutech, o, Horus, o Hathor, forgive me, that I, am only an earthly worm, which dared to doubt even for a moment about a game, which is a celebration of your immortality, celebration of eternal sands of Sahara, where every grain represents one human soul, ruled over by you. Forgive me, and you, o, highest god of sun Re, return even this morning  from your journey in the underworld, so that the rising sun would persuade me that in your great power you can still forgive.

Enough of chat, I will inform you how fantastic Exhumed trully is, though it might not seem like that at first. I won´t start with technical execution, graphics or sounds, but I´ll spit out immediately the most important and gigantic thing which Exhumed has: atmosphere. Atmosphere of this game is something so perfect, heavy, emotionally impactful and colourful, that words are not enough to describe it. You will be walking inside thousand years old temples full of mumies, and mostly  fantastic decorations, vases, paintings, hieroglyphs. That all with a regard for a monumental architecture, which makes you feel, even though you are the main hero, for which the faith of mankind depends on, even though you will be fearfully kiling enemies with your weapons, you will still feel small and unimportant. Even though you are cutting with a machette the strings of the original inhabitants, the buildings remain. Remains also gold, paintings and the old culture, which is indestructible. The majestic columns benevolently gaze over at doings of some man with knowledge, that he will leave soon and will leave them to rest maybe for another thousands of years. That´s all for the atmosphere. Graphics, as I mentioned, are very compelling, mostly in decorations. You can have resolution of 320x200 and 640x480.

In the next paragraph, I will deal with music - music in Exhumed is a gem, which has no comparison - I have tried to remember any game, which had such brilliant connection between atmosphere and what´s happening on screen, with what´s coming from the speakers. Beautiful egyptian motives, old instruments, mysterious sounds, all together tied together with vangelis art of combination of sounds and melodies. Some of the music is made with maximum emphasis on the before mentioned atmosphere. The track begins with desert wind, croaking of crows (or are they vultures?), then there is a gong, followed by a sound of a freed stone rolling down an old staircase, short brumming of monks, and finally after that, a short melody. The whole thing is just fantastic and even it doesn´t reach the eeriness of Boceeli´s Rapsodia - who likes this kinda of style, will be drooling so much and for very long (I am for example connected to an artificial nourishment, because my organism can´t efficiently manage water - everything is being transformed into slobber, which is dripping slowly, very slowly down my chin to the carpet. And why is that? Because I have CD of Exhumed stuck in my drive and listening to music!).

Gameplaywise Exhumed is up to standarts as well. Alas, there are only seven weapons, but are (certain ones) very original. From a traditional revolver, M60, flamethrower and grenades there are also two others which fascinated me; firstly it´s a snake staff, from which a cobra flies out after shooting,  seeking out the nearest enemy (if it doesn´t find anything, it will bite you too), and the second one is the genius bracelet of god Ra, which can summon a storm cloud with a lightning, killing any enemy in one hit. Enemies are also atmospheric: from some sort of henchmen of god Ra, to mumies, to some sort of fire dragons. All of the enemies are pretty tough and so don´t expect a pistol would kill anybody in one hit. The game´s system is also pretty interesting - you finally CANNOT shoot underwater, you can fill your oxygen from plants, to which it´s bound to and the deal with saving - it doesn´t exist. You have to find a gold scarab and when you are killed, you are starting by it. At the beginning you have three lives, over time you will get more (or more likely you will lose all of them). Hehe, when I think about that at the beginning I had no idea what to write, it´s hilarious. I think, that I have described this unique game, which just like Quake builds upon atmosphere and mystery. The game does this brilliantly. Gong."

Lion

(Originaly published in Slovak in RIKI, no. 29, excerpt taken from www.oldgames.sk)

More reviews of Exhumed coming soon (including my own).

Lobotomy Software History Video - Exhumed

My friend SegaFanbois put together a very informative and interesting video about Lobotomy Software and their great, mostly overlooked game, Exhumed. The video explains their background, how they were making ports for other companies and their desire to make a game on their own, which resulted in creating the Slave Driver engine. This engine powered Exhumed for pc, Sega Saturn and PlayStation. While the pc version was developed as first, it was a straight corridor Doom like game, in which the player progressed on the map to the next level. However, the console versions have completely different levels and Zelda like gameplay. Unlike any fps shooter at that time, there are rpg elements present like improving the health bar and amount of "shooting energy" (instead of bullets) and gathering different artifacts such as the sandals for improved jump, breathing mask for longer underwater swimming, and secret areas to find in each level. It also features non-linear progress, where players can choose where to go next on the map selection screen. Exhumed remains to this day one of my favourite fps games alongside Half-Life and still remains highly playable and enjoyable. Did I mention it has an amazing soundtrack? If you never heard about Exhumed yet and you like innovative shooters, this game is for you!

Exhumed Soundtrack
Lobotomy Software fan blog
Like Lobotomy Software fan page on Facebook 

Getting all the team dolls is really a challenge but gives you dolphin and vulture abilities!

Finding the secret areas is fun and rewarding

 

Amun bombs serve as grenades and are very usefull

Defiance Texture Pack Update - Download

Hey there! I have updated the Texture Pack for Defiance me and Jake have released a while ago. I have refined Raziel´s current SR2 textures (the symbol on the cowl is from the Dreamcast Raziel model). The pack also includes the original white costume for Ariel (with an alternate face texture) and an alternate outfit and face for Mortanius. I have replaced Kain´s face texture to bring it closer to the SR1 render of Kain and fixed up colour of his accessories. I will update the pack with some more fixes later. You can see the changes in the comparison screenshots below.

Let me know if you like the pack or have any suggestions in the comments, thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks to Hylden´s help, Raziel´s wings are now fixed and have no white outline anymore. Thanks, Hylden!

Legacy of Kain: Defiance - Texture Pack download

The moderator from Eidos Forums, the Hylden, also made some really nice self-painted textures for Kain, Raziel, fixed up the reavers and other stuff, so check out his version too.

More screenshots available at: https://picasaweb.google.com/111750711154771636438/LegacyOfKainDefianceTextureMod#

Amy Henning talks Soul Reaver

In the article Behind the Classics found on the official PlayStation blog, Amy Henning looked back at her vampiric heritage, Soul Reaver. She elaborated more about the game´s original concept:

"The Shifter concept was the genesis of the game that would become Soul Reaver; the core ideas were all there. The hero was an undead creature, able to shift between the spectral and material realms, and glide on the tattered remains of his wing-like coattails. We conceived the spirit realm as a twisted, expressionistic version of the physical world. The hero was bent on revenge after being betrayed and cast down by his creator – like Raziel, he was a dark savior figure, chosen to restore balance to a blighted, dystopian world."

and also commented on the cut ending of the game:

"To hit the August ’99 release date, we had to cut the last few levels of the game, and end on a cliffhanger that set up Soul Reaver 2. Originally, Raziel was going to hunt down and destroy all of his former brothers as well as Kain – and then, using his newly-acquired abilities, he would’ve activated the long-dormant pipes of the Silenced Cathedral to wipe out the remaining vampires of Nosgoth with a sonic blast. Only then would he realize that he’d been the Elder God’s pawn all along, that the purging of the vampires had devastating consequences, and that the only way to set things right would be to use Moebius’ time-streaming device to go back in time and alter history (in the sequel).

So the story would have arrived at a similar place, just by a different route. In the end, as much as I hated its bluntness, Soul Reaver’s “To Be Continued” ending probably turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I think it opened up more interesting story options for the sequels."

Cited from the original article by Sid Shuman

Soul Reaver - The Complete Soundtrack v5

The fifth version of the SR1 OST is finally done and available for download! This version is available in Ogg Vorbis. The soundtrack is divided into three parts, which can be downloaded and extracted separately. I have uploaded both versions, so you can choose which one to download.

Thanks for downloading and enjoy the awesome Soul Reaver music!

Please bear in mind, that the SR1 OST which is hosted on NR is outdated and I recommend downloading this version instead.

Note: This version is out of date. Please download the latest version 7 here.

Soul Revenant - update

Hey guys, some new content for Soul Revenant will be posted here soon. Screenshots and an introduction cutscene video are on the way, so check back here during October. It is really exciting to work on this project and re-creating the deleted parts of the game. The enemies are higher poly than even those in Dreamcast version and the environments as well, (with normal maps too).

First part of the OST almost done (update)

Hey there, I have been busy with game development recently, so did not have enough time for an update. I finally got to a point when there is only few songs from the City left to do for the first part of the Soul Reaver OST. I will start uploading it (around 1GB) even before the second part is done, as they are downloaded separately anyway. I will post a link to a FLAC version of OST1 soon and update this post once the upload is done. I hope you will like it!

UPDATE: I have finished working on OST1 and OST2, so now only few tracks from OST3 remain and the soundtrack will be available soon. Thanks for waiting!

Legacy of Kain - the entire series translated into Czech

LOK fan Templayer has translated all of the Legacy of Kain videos by ChocolatierRob and included Czech subtitles, which can be accesssed through CC on YouTube. You can view all of the videos in this playlist.

Working on a new version of Soul Reaver OST (update)

Now that I am finally free from school, I can finally finish up recording the latest v5 of the Soul Reaver OST. Although I have started recording in ogg, I have decided to also export the files in FLAC format if there is enough demand for it. However, this will come at a cost of slightly bigger file size. The oggs can reach up to 499kbps, while FLAC up to almost 700kbps. The difference between them is barely noticable, so let me know in the poll on the right which format of the OST do you prefer. You can also download these two test samples to decide which one sounds better. I should be done within a few days and will post link to the new soundtrack as soon as I am done. I have also redone the soundtrack cover (the picture above), so I hope you will like it.

On the previous poll "Which remake would you like to see?" 63% (37) users voted for Soul Reaver, while 36% (21). Seems, that people are more in favour of a Soul Reaver reboot, but Blood Omen is not forgotten either. Thanks for voting!

Legacy of Kain reboot/remake coming? (new poll)

There are more and more reasons indicating, that indeed there is a new Legacy of Kain game in the progress. The latest one is an interview with Meagan Marie (Eidos spokeperson), who said when asked about a new Legacy of Kain game: "I can't even touch that, I can't even talk about anything related to that, no comment", while previously, Crystal Dynamics stated that they are not working on any Legacy of Kain there. However, this does not mean, that Eidos could not use a different studio to make a new game. So the new poll deals with what would you like this new LoK game to be? A Soul Reaver remake? Or a Blood Omen remake?

Also, on another note, I want to thank the Russian site Wheel of Fate, which started hosting the latest news from my blog on their site. Thanks, guys!

The poll on the previous topic "Which is your favourite deck from Legions of Nosgoth?" ended and here are the results:

Spectral Deck   5 (18%) Necrovampire Deck   6 (22%) Vampire Deck   10 (37%) Hylden Deck   2 (7%) Sarafan Deck   4 (14%)
There were 27 voters in this poll. The Vampire Deck seems to be the most used, with the Sarafan Deck the least. If you have tried Legions of Nosgoth, you can leave a comment on why do you prefer a certain Deck over the other.
In September, we will also  have several days dedicated to this card game and will announce the dates and hours up front, so you know when we will be online and ready to play with you.

Defiance Texture Mod for download

If you would like to play Defiance with modified textures, you can use the TexMod pack v1 made by Jake Pawloski and me. We will update it in the future to include new textures for more characters. This version includes alternate textures for Raziel (SR2 style), Mortanius (BO1 style) and Ariel (SR1 style), and also a higher res background for Sarafan Stronghold, as seen in this video. Installation is simple - just download the Defiance TexMod and follow the instructions. Remember, you can always play Defiance with the original textures as well. Enjoy!

Umah´s and Vorador´s role in Defiance revealed!

Daniel Cabuco has graciously provided the long awaited answers for the cut parts of Legacy of Kain and much more! In a question about intended appearance of Umah and Vorador, Daniel replied that she was supposed to make an appearance as a vampire worshipper after Vorador was beheaded (supposedly when Raziel would have returned from Avernus), but was ultimately replaced by a cutscene with Moebius. 

According to Daniel, Raziel would be given a quest by Umah to reclaim Vorador´s head from Moebius´ statue holding his head. This would reward Umah with being turned into a vampire. Daniel also stated that the cut was necessary due to time and also that two resurrections taking place (Raziel had to resurrect Janos as well) was a bit redundant.

Dan Cabuco has a new site

Dan Cabuco has made a new site, together with a forum section, so if you have any question regarding Legacy of Kain series or game industry in general, register and drop a question! The site is for now work-in-progress and will be updated. Daniel has also posted an awesome picture of Lt. Zephon on DA, so be sure to check it out!

Defiance on GoG

Hello there, Legacy of Kain: Defiance is now available for purchase on GoG for 5,99 dollars. Defiance is thus the third Legacy of Kain game to appear as downloadable game on GoG after Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2. Now only the Blood Omen games remain to appear there as well.

Maps reuploaded and Soul Revenant section on Lost Chronicle

Lost Chronicle got an update regarding Soul Revenant, so head over to the Fan Archives section on page 9 and click on Soul Revenant to read more about the project. I have also reuploaded the Nosgoth maps on the site, so click on Nosgoth Maps on page 7 to download the high res versions.

More new info about the project coming soon.

Fan game Soul Revenant announced!

A new fan game has been announced by Jake Pawloski on LOK PS forums - a 3D enhancenment of the original Soul Reaver, aptly named Soul Revenant. The game takes everything which was great from Soul Reaver and enhances it to improved graphics, enhanced models from SR2 and Dreamcast), similarly as the project Blood Omnicide does, which is a Blood Omen remake in 3D. The game will require for you to own a legal pc version copy of Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2, which you can purchase on gog.com.

Soul Revenant will feature all the locations found in Soul Reaver in higher polygon count, all the abilities and glyphs and also the same game mechanics. The game will also feature a recreation of all the deleted areas, events and audio as it was originally intended by the creators. Our first goal is to finish the game rules and animations, then we can publish a playable demo taking place at the beginning of the game. For now, you can see the first screenshots from the Underworld level below and later we will post a video of the first cutscene as well.

New LOK WIKI update

Bazielim has informed the community, that there is a new complete article on the LoK Wiki concerning the sixth game. It is a very interesting read and I recommend it to everybody who is interested in all the recent news about LoK:

"Anyway, the time has now come for the first teasers of what has been going on, (though there will be much more to come later, and a lot of it is much more interesting). So without further ado, I give you our first offering of this ''Anniversary Season'' - the new Sixth Game article - a detailed run-down of the potential for a new game. Other touches that I can reveal now are that there are several reviews and improvements of existing articles under-way, with Mortanius our first to reach completion.

More will follow over the next few weeks" (Bazielim, Eidos Forums)

New Soul Reaver wallpaper by Jake

Hey there, LoK fans! You might be interested in getting this new wallpaper by Jake, click here to view it or download it from DA.

New Soul Reaver Art by Jake

Jake Pawloski posted a pretty cool Soul Reaver poster in the Top Cow comic book style. The penwork is hand drawn and was coloured in Photoshop. Enjoy!

Soul Reaver 2 on GOG

Following the release of Soul Reaver on GoG, Soul Reaver 2 was released there as well for the same price. The bonuses include avatars, wallpapers and the timeline, so if you don´t have SR2 yet, it´s a good opportunity to get it. It´s very likely that Defiance will soon follow as well.

Legions of Nosgoth OCG coming to your pc!

A new fan edition to the Legacy of Kain universe was released today. Legions of Nosgoth is a fan card game by  Jake Pawloski and Raina Audron. We devised a simple rule system and made five factions to choose from - you can either play with the twisted creatures of the Underworld from the Spectral Deck, dominate your opponents with Kain and his empire in the Necrovampire Deck, deal devasting blows with young Kain and his vampire army in the Vampire Deck, avenge your enemy with the Hylden Deck and let ruthless Sarafan crusade crush any resistance in the Sarafan Deck. These five distinct decks contain around 90 playing cards specifically designed by Jake and me. We used the beautiful art of Legacy of Kain and we made sure that all of the card´s abilities closely follow Legacy of Kain and its rules,  creating a unique and fun experience not only for LOK fans.

If you like card games and Legacy of Kain, you can download Legions of Nosgoth here. The 7zip file comes with a detailed rulebook explaining all the rules, high-res versions of the cards and LackeyCCG. LackeyCCG is a program made specifically for card games. It supports many plugins like Pokémon, Magic the Gathering and others and doesn´t need to be installed. Simply run the program, select your deck, invite a friend and together, conquer the Legions of Nosgoth!

E3 is over and with it, no new info about a possible LOK game

I bet that many of you, LOK fans, have been awaiting even a slightest news at the recently ended E3. What was announced? Square Enix had the following games on display:

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Hitman: Absolution (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Tomb Raider (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Dungeon Siege III (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Heroes of Ruin (Nintendo 3DS)

and several other games for mobile segment.

Alas, no LOK in there... Though I was eagerly awaiting the news about the new IP as promised by one of Eidos employees on twitter, but the big surprise turned out actually the release date of the new Tomb Raider reboot which was pushed to March, 2013. Why is LOK of such no interest to Square? Or perhaps the recent release of Soul Reaver on gog.com and being released for free on PSN+ might suggest that Eidos haven´t forgotten about their series just yet. We will have to wait and see if any official statement will be done by Square Enix.

As for the polls on my blog, on previous poll 50% of the voters said that they bought SR from gog and 37% is still planning to. In the poll regarding E3 "will there be new LOK announced this year?",  33% voted no, 25% yes and 41% wasn´t sure. I will be posting a new poll soon together with some other news!

The Priestess sketch re-coloured

As a cut boss from Soul Reaver, the Priestess would bestow the ability of possession to Raziel which would allow him to reach his brother Turel. There are only two known depictions of her - one concept art sketch and she is also featured in the Soul Reaver comics. I decided to re-colour the original sketch and make it more high-res by smoothing the pixels out and increasing the size of the image. You can view it by clicking on the picture on left or view on Deviant Art.

Upcoming E3, Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain

E3 starts on Monday, so as a LOK fan, I don´t get my hopes up too much but will be watching the upcoming press conferences. Square Enix promised unveiling of a new IP during the introduction of Tomb Raider reboot trailer, but nothing was announced yet. Crystal Dynamics are focusing on finishing up the TR reboot and it´s very likely that in case of success it will spawn a sequel. No LOK news have been heared ever since the Soul Reaver reboot rumour and although it is possible that Square Enix could have something ready for E3, the odds are pretty low. There are several secret games waiting to be announced on E3 though, so who knows if they are all new IPs... What do you think? Will they announce a new LOK? You can express your opinion in the new poll.

New unseen footage from Turel´s Smokestack Area and screenshots

User Thiago found another rare footage from Soul Reaver which is found on PlayStation Zone vol. 6 demo disk. The disks includes a prototype Soul Reaver intro cutscene in which Kain wears Raziel´s clan symbol instead his own and footage from Turel´s Smokestack, Oracle´s Cave, Human Citadel and Necropolis areas as described in this article.

Here is the video depicting the previously unseen footage from Turel´s Smokestack Area:

There are also the following images found on the disk:

Raziel´s model is updated but his stance when he holds a spear is the one from the Lighthouse Demo.

Bleeding sluagh.