Joystiq: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review

Joystiq:" Like some of the best video games, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow conceives its world around a hero, obfuscating illogical weirdness with empowerment and an old-fashioned sense of adventure. You might fall off a few cliffs or get trampled by a troll every now and then, but there's no doubting your eventual success. During the course of your journey, you'll get all the training, weapons and abilities you need to best the forces of evil. No jump will ever be too far and no enemy will truly be invincible.

That assured evolution has long been at the heart of Castlevania, which has struggled in recent years to update its balance of exploration and combat, instead opting to repeat it ever since 1997's Symphony of the Night. If you wanted that exact formula to return -- in stunning 3D! -- you're going to be disappointed. But if Castlevania is more than an upside-down castle to you, this will feel like an outing more traditional than you expected."

[RedPawn]

Good score, and it really deserves it.

It's great to see a CastleVania back on the consoles, that adds a better dimension of exploration, along with great action.

The soundtrack is very dynamic though not as varied as it's older counterparts, but heavily orchestrated to match the tone of the areas.

Gabriel has beautiful movements like techniques that rival Leon Belmont's and the Lore, and Western Folklore give this game unsound depth which makes you wanted for the next map section.

Kojima and David Cox, are true pioneers in there craft for the simple fact is they can put either an emphasis of Eastern or Western feel to whatever games they touch.

This game stands on 2 legs, one for it is every bit worthy of the CastleVania name, and two it holds its head high amoung the great action/adventure games that have come this GEN.

[Baka-akaB]

after 3 chapters i'm not convinced it is every bit worthy of the name . It is a great game , but as far as castlevania goes , with the exploration , backtracking and difficulty , it is a casual castlevania experience , or rather castlevania lite .

However unlike their current "rivals" from ninja theory , at least the gameplay is still very solid , and it does provide more than just the usual very short gow clone experience .

[Ahasverus]

Just keep playing, it's been said 56256789 times that the "Castlevania part" of it comes 9 hours in and believe me there's a REASON why,

[colonel179]

Ahasverus...have you played it?

Is it true that you never go to a castle? I'm in chapter 1, and I like it so far. The only complain I have is the music that plays when you die, but everything else has been enjoyable.

I just think that If it's true about the castle, it could be something for the sequel

[NinjaAssassin]

All the Castlevania games had some differences from each other, but Lords of Shadow has all the quintessential elements of Castlevania.

I have recently been playing through the original Castlevania trilogy on the NES played through an emulator on my PSP and there is no doubt that Lords of Shadows shares many, many similarities with those games. From the types of enemies you face--ghouls, vampires, werewolves, trolls, etc--to the gothic atmosphere and environments, to the use of magic, to the chain-like whip weapon, to the kind of hero the Belmont lead character is. I don't see how anybody can claim that this game isn't a Castlevania game.

Unless you were expecting a clone of the metroidvania games (which frankly I'm bored of) this game feels exactly like what I was hoping for in a modern 3D Castlevania game. You shouldn't have expected a metroidvania game anyway, since the developers made it abundantly clear that this was a fresh start for the series and would not be a rehash of older Castlevania games.

Lords of Shadows does have plenty of exploration and backtracking, and the difficulty is definitely up there. The older Castlevania games aren't even that hard to me now. I remember them being a lot harder, but we gamers have become more skilled and sophisticated over the years I guess. Lords of Shadow is actually pretty challenging. I love it so far.

[RedPawn]

Agree, you wanna know I love deeply about it, is the finding the Order Knights and reading their last thoughts. I t reminds me of the FelllowShip of thr Ring, when Gandolf is reading the book of the doomed dwarfs, in the mines of Moria.

The Combat Cross is a beast of a weapon, and it is amazing how they threw the nods o f the original CV on it. The CC starts out as a chain extend whip, then the spiked end joint, and third it gets spiked chain for more brutality, as if you were getting the original whip upgrades.

They also go as far to pay homage to portal.

[wicko]

Can't wait! Picking this game up on friday.

[CrzyFooL]

Get Some!!

[HeavenlySnipes]

I hate the comments I've seen around that it looks beter than God of War 3 (its close to it I'll give you that) but it looks like it has a better story. I would take Kratos as a main protagonist over anyone else in a hack and slash though.

[sofocado]

I will Take Ryo Hayabusa as a main protagonist over anyone else in a hack and slash game though.

[starchild]

I would take Ryu Hayabusa or any of the Belmonts over roid-rage Kratos any day. I still really like GOW3, I just think Kratos as a character is too one dimensional and kind of annoying.

Oh and Castlevania Lords of Shadow does look as good as God of War 3. Some people just deny it because they are GOW fanboys or PS3 fanboys that don't want to give the game its just dues.

[Akagi]

Well, I'd take Ninja Gaiden over Castlevania. At least that game can actually hold a consistent FPS. Some parts in Castlevania were barely playable due to the crap FPS.

[e-p-ayeaH]

This game may be a little far fetched from the Castlevania lineup but it seems very enjoyable for a bigger audience aside from the Castlevania fans and that´s good i guess and the Patrick Stewart´s monologues is what makes this gem trully shine.

Exelent job Konami! you guys are finaly returning to the AAA category after the disapointment that was 2009

[gillri]

great review, mine's coming tommorrow or friday

[saoco]

my thought from the demo is... that it's a bad ass game but not better than GOW3 game play wise. the feel of the fighting system felt genetic compared to GOW3 it really felt so-so i recomend GOW3 and BEYONETTA before this. Now that does'nt mean it is not a good game in any ways, because it its a good game and it looks fantastic God Of War is just a monster.

[Baka-akaB]

then again it would be because it's not completely a god of war nor supposed to be .

It and darksiders are supposed to be more exploration and puzzle heavy , like zelda and the "metroidvania" games .

[Ahasverus]

near the full epicness of the game, you haven't feel this real vibe before having kiled at least one of the Lords...

[Newtype]

I still don't like the camera angles in the game....I like the game...but the camera angles are annoying.

[antihiroprotagonist]

I'm on chapter 4 and I'm blown away. I can say that game is much better than God of War and the protagonist is also more fleshed out as a an actual human being with real motivations, other than killing everyone. This game is leagues beyond God of War in terms of graphics, and personally, I think the gameplay is much better and varied as well; even if it borrowed heavily from several games including, God of War.

[AKS]

"This game is leagues beyond God of War in terms of graphics"

Unless you mean the original God of War rather than God of War III, that's crazy talk, and I'm actually extremely impressed with Castlevania: LoS. But God of War III set new standards for console graphics. There's nothing that has even matched God of War III, let alone be leagues beyond it.

You can dislike God of War III or just prefer LoS. That is understandable. But the graphics claim of yours is nuts.

[starchild]

You're exaggerating. GOW3 is a gorgeous game, but it didn't even beat Uncharted 2 in my opinion. And the fact is, if you see some of the environments in Castlevania there is no doubt that the graphics are just as good as GOW3.
GOW3 had some parts that looked better, but Castlevania also has some parts that look better than parts of Castlevania. That's why I think it looks at least as good as GOW3.

[baodeus]

for once, i know GoW have flat ground texture (flat vegetative for example) this one isn't. The texture in this game seem very consistent through out while in GoW3, pretty much only a few, or mostly Kratos, has high detail texture. many can be quite plain ugly (especially during the 1st person view during zeus pownage). It is much longer game and the scale is also impressive. But one thing for sure, it doesn't seem to have as much QTE or not a main focus as in GoW (which i think it is why you guys believe GoW graphic is the most amazing out there). Even QTE from prince of persia: the two throne (back in PS2/xbox) look impressive. Eventhough fighting on giant bosses isn't anything new, it started with shadow of colossus, GoW did well in expanding that idea.

It seems like you guys don't like to admit when games like these can also be played on another platform. If it is good, does it really matter what platform it is on? It is on the PS3 you know and the game looks wise is outstanding. Better than GoW (in my opinion).

I guess you can put this into the same category as hack and slash like GoW3 cause seriously it doesn't take much skills. Both suffer from the rather stiff and sluggish movement (especially the dodging and rolling). They are no where near NG or bayoneta when it comes to fighting mechanic.

[antihiroprotagonist]

You seriously think God of War 3 blows everything else away from a graphical standpoint? Have you even played Uncharted 2? You and anyone who agrees with you is a fanboy. God of War 3 looks good - mostly, but there are still areas in the game that have some ugly. Also I'm not sure what other games you are playing, but there are quite a few games that have better graphics overall.

[ironcreed]

I agree. No offense to GOW, but this game makes it's 6-8 hour campaign look hilarious by comparison. This is a content packed beast of a game that was made with a lot of love. I still do love the GOW series, but Lords of Shadow simply tops it, as far as I am concerned.

[boodybandit]

Why cant you just enjoy the game you are playing without making comparisons that you know will just start a war?

I am at the end of chapter two and although I am enjoying the game I am getting really frustrated with it's camera angles. I keep wanting to look around. I am actually moving my head around trying to see parts of the screen not available to my FOV. I literally find myself moving around and back tracking some just to see areas not in my FOV close up.

That part of the game is very frustrating. I hate fixed cameras in games like this. Other than that I am enjoying it for what it is and not what I wish it was. I am looking forward to discovering new abilities as I progress through the game. Some of the creatures you encounter are wild.

Definitely a long game.

[Omar91]

just finished playing the demo. im impressed with the game. i dont like the camera however. it gets in the way of the action. especially when you want to regain health but find it hard to because the camera is fixed on the monsters. the fighting mechanics are good, however they are not as smooth and fluid as how say god of war or bayonetta have done. the game does have amazing graphics and the sound track as well as the dialogue is top notch. i might consider getting this game especially with the longevity it has. i still dont know why gamespot gave this gave a 7.5. a 8 would justify this game at most.

[Baka-akaB]

i have a fairly good guess when i saw the first puzzles and how little explanations and hints they gave about it .

Their brains (and their usual favorite public) must be so rotten that they didnt like being spoon fed easy and obvious guessing puzzles ... nor did they enjoy platforming with potential ... gasp.. failures and falls .

They obviously would rather praise another game for clunky button mashing festivals , almost no puzzles , and almost cutscenes platforming .

[Shield]

Castlevania fan or not this game deserves to be played and enjoyed by everyone on whatever console you choose. I'm loving this game!

[MetalFreakMike]

Castlevania is a great game and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'm also looking forward to the DLC for this game because I already felt like I got my money's worth with this title.

[ironcreed]

This is simply a fantastic game and for those who miss meaty single player campaigns like the old days, this one is for you. My only small gripe is that the camera can get a little weird here and there, but it is fine for the most part. Beyond that, the game itself is a near masterpiece.

The environments simply drip atmosphere and breathe life and detail. There are so many varying environments that you feel as if you are on an epic quest across a vast distance in which you see many different environments along the way. It is like a mix of beautiful fantasy and dark Gothic rolled into one.

Speaking of variety, the gameplay keeps things fresh with all sorts of combos and new abilities to unlock and a nice mixture of boss fights, platforming, puzzles and even some titan fights thrown in.

The purists can whine and stay in 2D land all they want, this game redefines the series for me and makes it modern and epic as hell... just like it deserves. Mercury Steam deserves huge credit for the love they poured into this game. It really puts the usual 6-8 hour affairs that have become the norm into perspective.

[starchild]

I couldn't agree with you more. I think this might even end up being my game of the year. Yes, I love it that much.

The game feels epic. The combat is highly addictive, the platforming and exploration are really fun, the graphics are stunning, there is tons of variety, and the story just strikes a chord with me.

[chriski333]

i just finished the first chapter kick ass and frist titan was intense great game so far cant wait to go on thumbs up!!

[NinjaAssassin]

Anybody that is even slightly interested in these kinds of games should just get it. It is such a great game and I guarantee that they won't be disappointed.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

A very beautiful and engrossing game....really giving God of War 3 a run for it's money! Money well spent.

[Akagi]

I've just beaten it and to be honest, it's okay. Nothing special. Nowhere near as fun as the old Castlavania games.