10 Guilty Pleasure Video Games We All Played More Than Any Blockbuster

5. Blood Omen II

The Legacy Of Kain series has to count as one of the most ambitious in gaming history - an epic telling of the tragic story of vampiric antihero Kain and his battle to defy his own fate. Incorporating elements from Shakespeare, Lovecraftian imagery and English poet John Milton - make no mistake this is high-brow stuff. Perhaps most impressively, Crystal Dynamics managed to compliment these provocative themes and varied influences with genuinely innovative and stimulating gameplay. Unlike many third-person action titles, puzzle-solving and thinking out of the box was the key to the other Legacy of Kain games. Which makes 2002's Blood Omen II something of a black sheep of the series is that it moves away from the previous instalments' cerebral elements in favour of gory hack-and-slash thrills, but this isn't a vintage Bordeaux red, this is a three-litre bottle of Frosty Jacks. The gameplay mechanics are a little primitive in comparison to the previous year's Soul Reaver 2, but the combat is smooth enough that slaughtering the countless foes various grisly ways and feasting on their blood (of course) remains barbarically enjoyable throughout the linear campaign. Visually, the game maintains the standard of previous games, although Kain himself is maybe just a little too on the flamboyant side. Like a copious amount of Frosty Jacks, the thrills are cheap and you're sure to forget them afterwards, but there's also a lot to enjoy.