Those familiar with Blood will perhaps remember the character you played was one pissed off chap named Caleb. In case you're unfamiliar, let us set the scene for you. Caleb was once a member of the ancient Cabal cult; however, he was at odds with the cult's mentor Tchernoborg who buried our man alive at the start of Blood. You then went on to smoke the anthropomorphic Tchernoborg and c'est tout you thought. Far from it, as back on Earth and betwixt Blood and Blood II the rest of the Cabal cult have subsequently become pissed off with you for having ridden them of their chief. Oh, the irony! They're also hungry for blood, forcing Caleb to leave for 100 years to seek a shoulder to cry on by resurrecting the other three Chosen Ones (previously murdered by Tchernoborg). The rejuvenated fab. four breed a new air of confidence within each other and together set upon ridding Earth of the Cabal cult. To cut a long story short, Blood II's single player game enabled you to pick from one of four characters including Caleb, Ophelia, Ishmael and Gabriella each with their own pros and cons.

First off, Caleb can be described as the 'brawler', with his good blend of speed and toughness. Ophelia on the other hand is faster, quieter and a bit more versatile to boot. Choosing Ishmael will reap rewards due to his magical prowess and indeed his ability to counter attacks made on him. And finally, there's Gabriella. She is described as the 'ultimate walking weapon'. Being the strongest of the four, she's also the most versatile. Unfortunately all the heavy weaponry (yes we're getting to that) takes its toll and weighs her down almost to the point where a visit to Weight Watchers wouldn't go amiss.

After having played right through from start to finish, we'd like to commend Monolith on the level paid in terms of attention to detail. For example, the 'Elevator Music', which plays as you transit from one level to another in Chapter One, is a nice touch. It breaks up the monotony of a 'loading time' between levels. Then there's the ability to play football (the English one) with a gibed victim's head. Kicking their brain matter all over the place might seem a little extreme to some but it's all right by us. Clearly Monolith took some pride in the work done on their weapons. Graphical touches such as the empty shells flying out of the MAC-10 Sub Machine gun and nestling on the ground, or the Sniper mode for the Rifle have been fit in appropriately.