"We are excited to bring video gaming's most infamous villain - Kain - to the GameCube in Crystal Dynamics' Blood Omen 2," says Sean Amann, Marketing Director at Eidos Interactive. "With an emphasis on storyline, puzzle-solving and deadly combat, Blood Omen 2 for GameCube promises to be one of the few dark thrillers available for the system to date."

Four hundred years have passed since the evil vampire Kain damned the world in the original Blood Omen, choosing to rule the world in damnation rather than die for its salvation. Now Kain, who once controlled the land of Nosgoth with his vampire armies, returns to find his brethren slain and his dark powers stripped by a mysterious figure. To reclaim his rule and exact his vengeance, Kain must uncover the ominous plot that threatens the land he seeks to conquer.

Blood Omen 2, the latest instalment in the Legacy of Kain Series, is a mission-based action game with a focus on combat and stealth. An engrossing story drives the player through huge detailed 3D environments. Kain starts the game with two supernatural abilities: Mist (which shrouds you from your enemies) and Fury (a manic combat attack). Additional Dark Gifts such as Charm (mind-control) and Super-Jump (enables you to access treacherous new areas), must be acquired from your most dangerous enemies to aid you in your deathly challenges. Kain also has a multitude of weapons at his disposal, each with their own gruesome finishing move. After each brutal attack Kain must draw strength by draining his enemies of their blood.

Blood Omen 2 boasts an advanced artificial intelligence system that determines how characters in the game react to Kain. The inhabitants of Nosgoth react to Kain according to how he interacts with them and also according to how he has behaved up to that point in the game. If Kain mindlessly attacks people, this will attract unwanted attention, if he moves stealthily through the shadows the longer it will take for people to realise he is a vampire.

"Our main goal is to create a great, fun, and absorbing fantasy game," says Sam Newman, Producer on Blood Omen 2. "It's also to tell a great story, and to have the player become involved in our characters and our world. This game has what many games lack: a complex and believable world, a compelling main character, an amazing combat system, and a dramatic storyline."