BloodRayne (series)

Influences

"BloodRayne" appears to be heavily inspired by "Nocturne", an earlier third-person survival horror game by Terminal Reality. The character of BloodRayne is similar to a character in "Nocturne" called Svetlana, another half-vampire supernatural hunter. In early beta screenshots of "BloodRayne", BloodRayne's appearance and costume was almost identical to that of Svetlana's. Additionally, some enemies in "BloodRayne" (such as the Daemites and bat vampires) originally appeared in "Nocturne". The final act of "BloodRayne" also takes place in the same location (Castle Gaustadt) as the first act of "Nocturne". Finally, the concept of the Brimstone Society is very similar to the Spookhouse in "Nocturne"; and the voice of the Brimstone Society agent from the "BloodRayne" introduction movie is done by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558931/ Lynn Mathis] who also did the voice of Stranger, the protagonist of "Nocturne".

Both Bloodrayne and Svetlana may have been inspired by the character of Durham Red from the comic book 2000 AD, although that has been frequently denied by the TRI representatives when discussed on bloodrayne.co.uk forums. In a posting then on the then active BloodRayne.uk.co fan forums Joe Wampole, a developer for BloodRayne had this to say,

"Durham Red looks like a cool character but we've never heard of her. It is coincidence that her and BloodRayne look so similar.

The symbol on the hair is similar but looks more like a target, while Rayne's looks a little like Prince's symbol. Also, it looks like Durham is set in some alternate super sci-fi future.

I think it is just natural to put a vamp chick in black leather and either color her hair black or red." [cite web| title =Bloodrayne.co.uk|date = October, 2002| url = http://www.bloodrayne.co.uk/board/showthread.php?s=281e8e0e017510c14ca205798511450f&threadid=108| accessdate = 2007-12-11 ]

Video games

BloodRayne

"BloodRayne", developed by Terminal Reality, is a horror-themed third-person action video game released on 15 October 2002 for Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and for the PC on September 9, 2003. A Mac port was done by Aspyr and released on 6 May 2003, but was plagued with technical problems not seen in other versions, which caused fans to be upset and reviews to be harsh.

It is set in 1933 and 1938 , just before World War II. As an agent of the Brimstone Society, Rayne is sent to a variety of locations (a small swamp town in Louisiana, a Nazi fortress in Argentina, and an ancient castle in Germany) to battle supernatural creatures as well as the Nazi army.

Bloodrayne 2

Possibly set in 2004, the game is about Rayne confronting her father vampire, the King of Vampire, Kagan. Denied the pleasure of killing him herself, Rayne spent the last 60 years after the War seeking out and destroying Kagan's other offspring. These offspring, Rayne's half-siblings, have banded together to form a group called the Cult of Kagan. The Cult has created "The Shroud", a substance that can render sun rays harmless to vampires, allowing them to surface at all times of the day, and twists nature into a nightmarish perversion (Trees dying almost instantly, grass catching on fire, corpses twitching). Using "The Shroud", the Cult has pledged to create a new era of vampire supremacy, continuing Kagan's legacy.

"BloodRayne PSP" (cancelled)

- Majesco announced that one of their upcoming games was going to be a BloodRayne game for the PSP. Little was known, except that it supposedly took place immediately after "BloodRayne 2", and would feature a two-player cooperative mode, which would have made it the first game in the series to do so. The game was to cover Rayne's unknown history, and return some old characters (Mynce, Kagan, butcheress etc.) and develop new characters. However, financial difficulties forced Majesco to cancel Bloodrayne for the PSP. [ [http://psp.gamespy.com/playstation-portable/bloodrayne/ BloodRayne PSP (PSP) ] "Gamespy". Retrieved on December 1, 2007]

Movies

BloodRayne the Movie (2006)

On January 6, 2006, "BloodRayne" was released. [ [http://www.variety.com/profiles/Film/main/167817/Bloodrayne.html?dataSet=1 Bloodrayne] "Variety". Retrieved on December 1, 2007] It features "Terminator 3" star Kristanna Loken as Rayne and Ben Kingsley as Kagan. The film's premise was announced as follows: "Set over two centuries before events in the game, the film will follow BloodRayne's quest to stop Kagan's nefarious schemes to slaughter mankind."

The film was directed by Uwe Boll, who was responsible for two other video-game-to-movie adaptations ("House of the Dead" and "Alone in the Dark") which were ill-received by critics. The film received poor reviews, and was declared "an absurd sword-and-sorcery vid-game adaptation from schlock-maestro Uwe Boll, featuring a distinguished (and slumming) cast." by Rotten Tomatoes reviewer consensus. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bloodrayne/about.php#consensus BloodRayne (2006)] "Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved on December 1, 2007]

This film is non-canon for the game series, as it is set over two centuries before the game, and deviates from the game's plot numerous times.

BloodRayne II: Deliverance (2007)

On October 2, 2006, Boll revealed that a follow-up entitled BloodRayne II: Deliverance was gearing up for a January 2007 start date. Unlike the previous film, this time Natassia Malthe would play the part of Rayne. The storyline involves Rayne battling vampires in the Wild West. The movie was released direct to DVD in September 2007.

BloodRayne 3: Warhammer

Uwe Boll has announced that he will be doing a BloodRayne 3 movie, set during World War II. He also stated that both Kristanna Loken and Natassia Malthe would like to return to portray Rayne in the movie. Filming is supposed to begin in Croatia, spring of 2008.

Comics

As of September 2007, seven BloodRayne one-shot comic books have been published. They are, in order:
* "Skies Afire"
* "Seeds of Sin"
* "Lycan Rex"
* "Dark Soul"
* "Twin Blades"
* "Tibetan Heights"
* "BloodRayne RAW II"

"BloodRayne: Plague of Dreams" was a three-part bi-monthly miniseries first published on September 20th, 2006. It was written by Troy Wall with art by Mark Robinson and Stacie Ponder.

References

External links

*;Movie
* [http://www.bloodrayne-themovie.com BloodRayne the Movie Website]
*imdb title|id=0383222|title=BloodRayne
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bloodrayne/ "BloodRayne"] at Rotten Tomatoes.
* [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/bloodrayne2/news.html?sid=6142096&q=blood%20rayne GameSpot's report on the "debacle"] ;Comics
* [http://www.digitalwebbing.com/bloodrayne/ "BloodRayne"] at Digital Webbing
* [http://www.echo3worldwide.com Echo 3 Worldwide]