Kain Raziel(XIII)

Description
We don\'t get a lot of custom models here, but when we do they tend to be rather high quality, because most of the people who spend the time to make a custom model want to do a good job on it. This is the kind of material we\'ve come to expect from StingRay, and most of what we\'re getting is old work, to boot!

Now the last review I gave StingRay was slightly inaccurate because I didn\'t have any first-hand knowledge of the subject matter, and unfortunately this time isn\'t any different. However I did my homework and cross-referenced with a fan of the series and looked up some pictures, and to say the least for some older models these are both quite good. Personally after my research I\'d have to say the Kain model is the better of the two. It captures the character\'s face very well, as well as getting the rest of the model quite accurately. The only inconsistency I can find (or rather that I was told about) was that perhaps his skin is a little [i]too[/i] green.

The texturing on both models is quite strong. It\'s quite obvious that StingRay knew what she was doing when she made these, and undoubtedly is even better now. However especially for the Raziel model the skinning really outdoes the model. Not to say the model\'s bad, however it does have its weaknesses, the first and formost being the musculature. Or lack thereof. As I\'m told, Raziel was thrown into an abyssal lake, burning away his flesh which [i]should[/i] leave his muscles incredibly well defined. This model, however, does not have that definition and rather relies on the skinmap to create the illusion of detail that doesn\'t actually exist. This works sometimes, and other times does not. With the cylindrical legs provided here, it doesn\'t really work that well. However to be honest I really doubt you\'d notice that well while you were playing, so this may be negligible to any but the most fanatical \"I must have a perfect model\" fans.

The only other strange thing I found was with the soundsets. One of the death sounds in Kain\'s soundset says \"You know what must be done, Kain.\" Based on nothing bug logic, I\'d have to take a guess that this isn\'t Kain speaking, else I\'m afraid Kain would be speaking to himself, although I suppose that\'s completely possible. You\'ll have to tell me :p.

Other than that, though, a great couple of models which I\'m sure Legacy of Kain fans will really enjoy. Despite my lack of knowledge in this area I find them both really cool and well-made models, if not a bit creepy. But hey, I guess that\'s the point!

Bot Support: Yes
Team Support: Yes
New Sounds: Yes
NPC Support: No

~Inyri