Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Posted: 2010-10-11 12:56pm
I expect some of you are too busy playing Civilization to notice, but a new Castlevania game was put out over the last week or so. For once we're getting a proper reboot of the series with a 3d engine that doesn't suck. So far I'm about 75% of the way through and loving it. (If you didn't like the Castlevania games and you hate QTE you should probably pass. And it's only on consoles as far as I know, so whiny PC gamers can piss off. 
)
To some degree, yes, it essentially borrows from God of War and DMC heavily (I'd say more Devil May Cry than God of War), but the art assets, the writing and new gameplay elements make it more than enough to be worth checking out. If your biggest problem with GoW is that Kratos is an unsympathetic dildo then you'll probably like Lords of Shadow. The bosses are also somewhat more challenging, and I've actually had to replay a number of them because some strategies just don't work for most bosses. Some of the puzzle elements could stand to have been improved (the "puzzle unlocked" announcement doesn't really help with immersion), and I would have preferred a Bayonetta or Darksiders style camera system, but overall it's an excellent 3d entry for the Castlevania series.
If you're worried about continuity/plot/etc., it's a complete reboot. They manage to make a few references to other Castlevania games, but the story is entirely self-contained, so no foreknowledge is really required. Overall though, I'd say it's well worth getting, and the gameplay will easily take 15-20 hours at least if you don't go back for the extras.
)To some degree, yes, it essentially borrows from God of War and DMC heavily (I'd say more Devil May Cry than God of War), but the art assets, the writing and new gameplay elements make it more than enough to be worth checking out. If your biggest problem with GoW is that Kratos is an unsympathetic dildo then you'll probably like Lords of Shadow. The bosses are also somewhat more challenging, and I've actually had to replay a number of them because some strategies just don't work for most bosses. Some of the puzzle elements could stand to have been improved (the "puzzle unlocked" announcement doesn't really help with immersion), and I would have preferred a Bayonetta or Darksiders style camera system, but overall it's an excellent 3d entry for the Castlevania series.
If you're worried about continuity/plot/etc., it's a complete reboot. They manage to make a few references to other Castlevania games, but the story is entirely self-contained, so no foreknowledge is really required. Overall though, I'd say it's well worth getting, and the gameplay will easily take 15-20 hours at least if you don't go back for the extras.