I really thibk Rebellions legal department might be interested in this!

Matt · 20 January, 2003, 06:13:37 PM

Came across this game on a PS2 news site, doesn't the lead character look familiar? But it gets better, read the maufacturers description:

"Half human, half-vampire, Agent Blood Rayne has superhuman strength, agility and senses that make her capable of skills far beyond the scope of a normal human. This formidable huntress works for the Brimstone Society--an underground organisation that seeks out and destroys supernatural threats. Two missions, five years apart, turn out to be connected by one man: Jurgen Wulf. For years, he's been searching for powerful occult artefacts that would bring Nazi Germany into a new age of domination during WWII. Blood Rayne is the world's only chance to defeat his elite Nazi army and prevent them from releasing untold horror upon its people. "

Hey! she's a vampire seek and destroy agent (bit close that isn't it) Not only that she can travel in time to fight Nazis, and we have another character called Wulf. C'mon, surely this has been lifted straight from the pages of Stonty Dog. Get those lawyers warmed up Rebellion.

Link: http://www.bloddrayne.com" target="_blank">BloodRayne.com

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00006G2PT.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg">

Matt · 20 January, 2003, 06:18:27 PM

Sorry, duff link, here it is again. Oh, and that bit in the title should read think!

Link: http://www.bloodrayne.com/" target="_blank">BloodRayne.com

Wake · 20 January, 2003, 06:21:33 PM

They've known about Blood Rayne for months. I may be wrong, but I think the conclusion was that that a red headed cyber-goth vampire is too generic to copyright, even if she does look like she's based on Mark Harrision's artwork.

Wake

Link: Thread 3006

Oddboy · 20 January, 2003, 06:27:06 PM

Yeah but "Wulf"???? We didn't hear about that last time.

Takin' the p* more then a little, no?

paulvonscott · 20 January, 2003, 06:29:39 PM

Should send them a letter saying that they've noticed the similarities and that if they choose to put out a game featuring a woman looking exactly the sam with a bloke called Wulf, it'll be because these characters are ten+ years old and they own the copyright.

Adding Wulf looks like they are taking the piss.

Matt · 20 January, 2003, 06:36:16 PM

Just watched the trailer for the game, it looks pretty cool. Reckon I'll be buying this one, although it's a shame Rebellion didn't get in there first, cos it looks like it's going to be a biggie. Can't believe how much of a rip off it is though, it must really piss the writers and artists off, to have a creation they've worked really hard on developing, copied and exploited by someone else. If you thought Hardware & Robocop were pretty blatant copies, then this game is just an exact clone of Durham Red.

Art · 20 January, 2003, 07:01:33 PM

I dunno, each time this comes up I can't help thinking that all the elements that make up Durham Red are just so damn generic that it's entirely possible they could come up with it without ever having heard of it. I mean the whole Durham red concept is basically "Vampire with guns and tits kills people".

Anyway, haven't they got her up against Nazis or something?

Adrian Bamforth · 20 January, 2003, 07:02:13 PM

Put this here and it's like seeing double, or should that be quadruple?

ADE

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paulvonscott · 20 January, 2003, 07:05:18 PM

Well, that decisions already been made from a legal viewpoint. However if you or I had seen that picture on a magazine I certainly would have said 'oh, it's durham red'. If it's really succesful, they should just do their own game and ride the popularity of red headed vamps. Certainly nothing that company could do about it. And I'd have Wulf in as well.

Leigh S · 20 January, 2003, 11:33:09 PM

I understand the "generic vampire" arguement. My problem with this is it's pretty much precise copy of Reds appearance as rendered by Harrison. Even down to details such as the hair ornaments and ribbons, which in my book is a bit more than coincidence and erm, genericness.

Plus, why would a 1940s vampire chick be wearing futuristic looking leather/fetish gear?

And what about that US Agent fuss, who IMO looked nothing like Dredd?

These questions and more answered in next weeks bat-installment...

Buddy · 21 January, 2003, 05:01:56 AM

While we're on the topic of similarities.
Did anyone see the Young Indiana Jones thing on Sunday last...

Indy get involved in a hunt for Romanian soldiers during WW1 who have been dismembering allied troops, turns out that the Romanians are vampires... Sound familiar?

almighty mat · 21 January, 2003, 02:46:33 PM

+I understand the "generic vampire" arguement. My problem with this is it's pretty much precise copy of Reds appearance as rendered by Harrison. Even down to details such as the hair ornaments and ribbons, which in my book is a bit more than coincidence and erm, genericness. ++

Yeah, because goth girls dressed in black with red streaks in their hair are soo rare these days, they couldn't possibly have just had the idea themselves. And what hair ornaments?
It's just lara croft with a darker twist, they've seen a profitable niche and they've gone for it, it's nothing to get worked up over.

++Plus, why would a 1940s vampire chick be wearing futuristic looking leather/fetish gear?++

Why would there be vampires in real life? Isn't that harder to believe?

mat

Oddboy · 21 January, 2003, 03:35:48 PM

I'll let 'em off on account that Durham's a ginger with big hair (Carlos style).
The Harrison artwork (while very good) isn't showing our Red.

almighty mat · 21 January, 2003, 03:41:53 PM

Right on!

Bring back big hair!

mat

Art · 21 January, 2003, 04:21:10 PM

Hmm, I think the black leather get-up kind of goes with the territory (see also: Crap British film "Razorblade Smile"), so what you're really complaining about is that they've ripped off the hairstyle.