First, what can you tell us about the first game? How well did it sell? What was the main criticism from gamers?
Liz Buckley: The first BloodRayne game sold more than 600,000 units worldwide and laid the foundation for the launch of the sequel. Majesco is very pleased to realize that kind of sell through out of the gates for a new property (IP). Since the original's release, the fan base has grown exponentially and there are now more than 15 fan sites dedicated to the game along with 100k+ registrants on the official sites. That kind of fan support going into BR2 has really driven the team to create a sequel that will deliver the quality gameplay the fans expect.
The main criticisms of the first title centered around the limited combat system and as a result, that system in the sequel has been completely overhauled.
Is there a back story considering the big gap in time periods between the two games?
Liz Buckley: The sequel takes place 60 years in the future from the first one; we believed it's easier to develop Rayne as a character without being limited by one period in history. The synopsis for the sequel: When we last saw BloodRayne in 1935, she joined forces with the shadowy Brimstone Society to destroy a supernatural Nazi bid for dominance. Her father, Kagan, an influential Nazi collaborator, was killed in an accident at the close of the War. Cheated of killing Kagan herself, Rayne has spent the last sixty years ferreting out and destroying his many offspring, her siblings. They have banded together and formed the Cult of Kagan, pledging to carry on his legacy of creating a new era of vampire supremacy where humans are mere cattle for the bloodthirsty predators that hunt them. BloodRayne's nefarious siblings have created "The Shroud," a mysterious substance which, when released, renders the sun's lethal rays harmless to vampires and twists nature into a nightmarish perversion. Now only BloodRayne stands between an unsuspecting humanity and a horrifying vampire dawn.
What types of environments and locations will be part of the fold?
Liz Buckley: The game takes place within a modern day city but that's not to say all of our settings are typical city environments. Your missions will take you into the meatpacking district, down beneath the streets into the sewers and to other grisly locations like the Wetworks factories where humans are "harvested" for their blood. Our very first environment is within an opulent mansion so that also offers some interesting gameplay opportunities in very different surroundings for Rayne (who incidentally looks hot as hell in a black vamp evening gown!). That's just a sampling but there's a lot more to look forward to as well-I just don't want to ruin all of the surprises.
What enemies and other characters make up the cast? What was your main focus when developing the new characters for the sequel?
Liz Buckley: Rayne's target list in the sequel is essentially composed of her siblings who are in league with her father Kagan. Each sibling has lesser minions who report to him/her, but the key characters she'll need to kill are the bosses within her own family. Some of the standout characters we've revealed so far include Ferril (she wears nothing but swirling tattoos and has very long claws she uses to slash at her victims) and Ephemera (she weaves in and out of the shadows). There are many more bosses and sub-bosses too (including dhampir, and more creature related baddies like the Brute and Wetworks Foreman).
The team's focus when developing each character was to create compelling and challenging bosses that Rayne could earn relevant powers from once she defeated them. Since each boss also has minions who report to him/her, it was also important to create distinctive looks for each "family" of enemies.
