When I first started playing this game I thought, "Oh well, there's
always Tomb Raider.  I suppose I can take it back and trade it in in a
few days."  Boy am I glad I didn't!
This game is @@$ GREAT!!  Not only does the sound (I *love* Kain's
evil chuckle when he slashes at his enemies and the fantastic sample
of the wolf howl!) fit the game, but the music is just right.  I
remember one level when the music was sorta subliminated behind
howling shrieks of wind and another where a sinister woman's voice
faded in and out of the music. 
Of course what really sets this game apart from anything else out
there is the voice acting.  WOW!!  Its a joy to listen to Kain relate
his experiences with different towns, people and places.  And I nearly
burst out laughing when I went into a tavern under one of his guises
and spoke to a woman and she telling me to, 'bugger off and keep my
hands to myself' or something to that effect.  Her accent was
'perfect' old-english.
Beyond the sound effects are the graphical splendors.  The lighting
effects are awesome!!  Better than those in Loaded by far.  The effect
of flickering torches and light reflected off of crystalline
formations was sublime.  The AVI's are always welcome and never
bothersome.  You can even review them 'in-game' and access all the
other options of the game (control settings, sound and music levels,
load games, overworld map view, etc) while you're in the game!!  
I thought the monsters were dull and repetitve at first, but now after
encountering the skeletons and worse, I can't complain at all.
Then there's the numerous weapons you have at your disposal, the
regular sword, the boulder smashing and enemy stunning mace, the
brutal and tree felling axes (One in each hand..bad ass weapons).  And
not only that, you get Kain's voice narration telling you exactly what
each weapon capabilites are and what its best used against.  The same
goes for all of the spells.
And finally we get to the size of the game itself.  I thought that
100+ hours thing was a boast, but now I'm not so sure.  I've been
playing this game for 3 days now and I've only gotten one of the nine
spires activated again!  The levels are long and filled with devious
traps, teleporters, powerups, hidden items and baddies.  I couldn't
ask for more really except a sequel!!
Some people no doubt will be put off by the loading time between the
levels in this game and the infrequent cases of slowdown, but IMO its
all *well* worth it.  You just can't do the AVI and hours of great
voice overs in this game on a cartridge.  No way.  And as to the
slowdown, I'm sure it was all a matter of the code not being as tight
as it could have been and besides it doesn't really detract from an
adventure game IMO.  And the great art in this game is another thing.
Some of the painted floor frescos (Especially in that mad magician's
castle) are fantastic!  I would say, give the game a chance.  Buy it
from a place where you can return it if you don't like it, but play it
for at least 3 days consistently and you'll find youself hooked.
Trust me.
In closing I would like to say that this game brought up alot of
parallels between itself and the Castlevania series in my mind.  The
ironic thing though is that you're playing the role as a vampire
instead of a vampire hunter.  :)  And frankly I think I like the
vampire (Kain) and playing the vampire *ALOT* better.
I am aware of a Castlevania game being released for the PSX in Japan
in a few months, but is Legacy of Kain the game that we'd rather
have??  The quality (For an American game) of this game is truly
mind-blowing.  I wouldn't be surprised if alot of Japanese PSX owners
are gritting their teeth and rubbing their hands to get a hold of this
game.  
Still though I suppose Castlevania will always be Castlevania (We'd
miss the whip, wouldn't we? :) ) but Legacy of Kain damned well
deserves (if it doesn't upright and cry out!!) a sequel!!!
CRYSTAL DYNAMICS AND SILICON KNIGHTS, WE DEMAND A SEQUEL TO THIS
FABULOUS GAME!!!  AND FURTHERMORE, WE WANT THIS TO BE A SERIES ON THE
PSX IN THE VEIN OF CASTLEVANIA AND METROID ON THE NES!!
Okay, enough shouting.  Anyone else care to comment?
-The Journeyer
jurny@dimensional.com