Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

by Konami

Product Features

• A brand new Castlevania game with state of the art graphics and high production standards to deliver an awesome game experience for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
• High caliber voice acting from the game?s stunning cast, with Gabriel voiced by Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart as the mysterious Zobek. Natasha McElhone and Jason Isaacs round off the talent.
• Developed by Spanish studio Mercury Steam and supervised by world renowned Kojima Productions.
• Immerse into a brand-new storyline that new comers to the Castlevania franchise will relish, while existing fans will appreciate on a deeper level with the introduction of characters and tangential side stories that pay homage to what has come before.
• Overcome obstacles using the Combat Cross multi-function weapon and hone your platforming skills in this sprawling adventure. Swing across chasms, climb sheer walls, rappel down cliffs, grip and pull away any and all things that lay in your path!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003ZJK49K
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 5, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,243 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3 | Edition: Limited Edition

Amazon.com Product Description

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a single player Action-Adventure game developed as a reimagining of the classic Castlevania mythology. An entirely modern action console game, Lords of Shadow combines fast-paced weapons and magic based combat against otherworldly enemies, with platforming and puzzle-solving gameplay, to create a fresh gameplay experience that will thrill both fans of the original game series and gamers more rooted in modern action games. In addition to the game disc, this special Limited Edition contains a variety of extras. See a list of the complete contents below.

Story

It is the end of days and ungodly powers isolate the Earth. The worlds' alliance with the heavens has been threatened by a dark and malevolent force - the mysterious Lords of Shadow. Across this shattered land, the souls of the dead wander unable to find peace, whilst creatures of evil wreak chaos and death upon the living.

Wield the weapons of The Brotherhood of the Light to combat evil.
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Platforming and puzzle-solving gameplay.
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Over-the-top boss battles.
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Tame an array of ridable mounts.
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Gabriel Belmont is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protect and defend the innocent against the supernatural. His beloved wife was brutally murdered by the evil forces of darkness and her soul trapped for eternity. Neither living nor dead she realizes the horrific truth of what is at stake and guides Gabriel to his destiny – and hopefully salvation for the world.

Gameplay

Although based on the classic arcade side-scrolling platformer and the string of games that have followed over the years, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a modern single player Action-Adventure game played from the third-person perspective. Based around the tragic past and seemingly inescapable destiny of the Gabriel Belmont character, the player engages in a mix of combat, platforming and puzzle-solving skills. To deal with the hell-spawned beasties and bosses encountered, Gabriel uses a mix of upgradable weaponry and magical powers. Weapons range from a cross that can be extended into a whip with grapple capabilities, to a gauntlet, knives and more. As players wield these they will gain access to energy orbs that reveal themselves as enemies are dispatched. This energy is stored in on-screen gauges and powers multiple kinds of usable magic within the game. Some of its uses involved improve attacks, while the other aids reflect regenerative health. It is the players choice to juggle where these energies are applied. The availability of energy can also be increased by avoiding the attacks of enemies as you battle them, with the payoff coming when they are bested.

In addition to run of the mill bad guys, the game contains loads of huge bosses, success against which requires patience, attention to screen prompts and timing. The player will also come up against many other creatures that although vulnerable to weapons can also be defeated and tamed by Gabriel. In many cases these can then be used as mounts and used either in boss battles or in puzzle-solving scenarios that may not be able to be solved without them. These potential mounts include wargs, spiders, warthogs and more. Taken together, all of these elements make for an entirely new take on the Castlevania gaming experience that is destined to satisfy new and current fans alike.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Limited Edition for PS3 Includes

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Game disc for PS3 Art book (estimated 30-40 pages) Soundtrack (estimated 18-20 tracks) Special Limited Edition packaging

Key Game Features

• A brand new Castlevania game with state of the art graphics and high production standards to deliver an awesome game experience for PlayStation 3.
• High caliber voice acting from the game's stunning cast, with Gabriel voiced by Robert Carlyle (28 Weeks Later, Trainspotting, The Full Monty and Stargate Universe), and Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: Next Generation) as the mysterious Zobek. Natasha McElhone (The Other Boleyn Girl, Californication, The Truman Show) and Jason Isaacs (Black Hawk Down, The Patriot, Harry Potter series) round off the talent.
• Developed by Spanish studio Mercury Steam and supervised by world renowned Kojima Productions.
• Intense combat action game with powerful magic system that takes the series back to its roots but with all new game play features that utilize the full power of the PlayStation 3.
• Immerse into a brand-new storyline that new comers to the Castlevania franchise will relish, while existing fans will appreciate on a deeper level with the introduction of characters and tangential side stories that pay homage to what has come before.
• Overcome obstacles using the Combat Cross multifunction weapon and hone your platforming skills in this sprawling adventure. Swing across chasms, climb sheer walls, rappel down cliffs, grip and pull away any and all things that lay in your path.
• Solve devious puzzles along your journey that unlock new items in which to improve your chances of success. Leave no stone unturned as you never know what you might find.
• Take on behemoth enemies that scale to the size of complete world environments and where special attacks and cunning speed are required for advancement.
• Use secondary weapons like daggers and holy water and combine them with light and dark magic for a wealth of powerful attacks to unleash upon your foes. Manage your spells as power comes at a price.
• Explore gothic ruins, dark castles, old forests and frozen wastelands. Discover a whole world to investigate with many routes and hidden secret places that contain items to aid Gabriel on his quest.

Product Description

Castlevania – Lords of Shadow is a dark and vivid new re-imagining of the Castlevania mythology. It is the end of days and ungodly powers isolate the Earth. The worlds’ alliance with the heavens has been threatened by a dark and malevolent force – the mysterious Lords of Shadow. Across this shattered land, the souls of the dead wander unable to find peace, whilst creatures of evil wreak chaos and death upon the living. Gabriel Belmont is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protect and defend the innocent against the supernatural. His beloved wife was brutally murdered by the evil forces of darkness and her soul trapped for eternity. Neither living nor dead she realizes the horrific truth of what is at stake and guides Gabriel to his destiny – and hopefully salvation for the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PS3 Castlevania: Lord of Shadow (Limited Edition) game review, October 5, 2010

By 

B. Frits - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Limited Edition (Video Game)

Length:: 0:42 Mins

Let me start by saying that I am only about 2 and a half hours into the game which is far from beating it. However, I feel compelled to write something as this game just was released today. I want to let others know what they can expect in case they are on the fence about buying the game.

I have uploaded a video of the packaging and it's contents (Limited Edition). I have to say that over all the presentation is a lot nicer than I was expecting. The one thing I sort of didn't like was that the art book is attached into the packaging. It made it harder to flip through and enjoy.

Getting into the game I was curious as what to expect. I read a lot of pre-release reviews comparing this game to God of Way. But was hoping for more than just another hack and slash and so far this game has delivered BIG. I have played through all 3 god of war games and can say I never honestly used the block button one time. In this game I found myself using it quite a bit. Also i think this game takes a bit more defensive strategy than just going toe-to-toe and mashing one button over and over.

There are so many incredible things about this game that stand out. I will be careful to not give anything away as I want you to enjoy all the wonderful surprises just like I have. But, the way the game intertwines cut scenes right in the middle of battle adds a whole new level of depth to the game-play. It was like battle with a real quick cut to cut-scene, than battle ,cut-scene,battle,battle,cut-scene, battle all with what seemed like no load time. Added a very high level of energy to the battles without taking the gamer out of the experience. It should be said that you have no control over the camera at any time. But, I think they did a great job with always keeping the camera at an angle that seems so natural that not once did I find myself frustrated by not having control. The levels are set up where you are encouraged to explore and in just the first few levels their are multiple paths you can go down. In the first 5 levels I not completed more than %60 of any one level and I pride myself on being an explorer. This will add to the value of the game for me as now I want to go back and replay the levels to find everything missed. Also, there are items you can see but can't reach until you have upgraded later in the game and have to come back.

Some other subtle things I thought were worth mentioning was the 3rd person perspective. the weather elements interact with the screen so you feel like you are with the character. The rain in particular is cool as the drops run down the screen after hitting. Also , when your character is stopped the screen has a swaying, bobbling effect like you are carrying a camera on your shoulder following the character. So, far every single environment I have been in has added a deep layer of atmospheric effect, whether it is rain, mist, or windy snow. It always keeps you from seeing everything 100% crystal clear but really adds another cool layer of realism. speaking of realism I thought it was worth noting that when you interact with a tree the branches move as well as when you are walking through tall grass...Don't think your efforts went unnoticed Konami! I have to say I am an artist who has drawn in one form or another my whole life. I really appreciate art and the effort that goes into creating it. I cannot count how many times in the first 2 hours I said WOW! out loud. The scenery is so well done I found myself almost enjoying the times between battles more than the battles themselves just so I could soak in the environments and scenery they created. Truly beautiful work on the environments!

The voice acting is top notch! I should mention for any adults reading this that may want to buy the game for a young child. That there was one moment in the first 2 hours of play with a full frontal nude fairy (nips and all). That may be the only moment in the game I am not sure as I said before i am only about 1/12 of the way into the game. But I imagine if it's there once it will probably be there again...(ehhhhmmm ehhhmmm Dante's Inferno.)

They also have added an RPG element. You gain experiece as you battle enemies and can use that experiece to unlock new moves or special extras like artwork in a gallery. The music is amazing! The milted edition comes with the soundtrack as you can see. I can actually see myself listening to it and enjoying it.

Hope this helped answer some questions about the game. Thanks for taking time to read my review.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Collector's Edition..., October 10, 2010

By 

Josh (Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Limited Edition (Video Game)

The game: The graphics are very, very well done. The voice acting is great and I enjoy the story even if it is a bit simple. The game takes you to many atmospheric areas and all the locations are well designed with an expert artist's eye. There's always something to notice in the background. The game has visual depth other games dream about. The gameplay at first is basic 3rd person action game fare. Then you get into the sub-weapons (dagger, fairies, holy water, a dark crystal for summoning a demon) and eventually you get into learning to use your magic. You get light magic, which when activated turns the damage you do to enemies into health regeneration for you. And you get dark magic, which makes your attacks stronger. And various subweapons are altered depending on which magic state you are in. There are loads of new fighting moves to buy and learn with the credit you gain from solving puzzles, killing monsters / bosses, and clearing levels. The game is rather large, with 12 chapters, each containing anywhere from 2 or 3 to close to 10 stages within them. And once you beat a stage / level, you can go back to find new sub-weapon upgrades and life / light / dark gems for gaining more life / magic. And when you beat a level you also unlock the trial for that level, which is just a challenge specifically for that level. For example: After you defeat the Ice Titan at the end of Chapter 1, you unlock the trial to defeat it again in under 1 minute 30 seconds. This is impossible until you unlock a dark crystal, but you get the idea. When you complete challenges, you gain credit and you also gain more completion percentage. It's possible to get 110% in each level (Beat it on all difficulties, complete the trial, find all sub-weapon upgrades and gems). The combat is more about evasion than attacking in most cases, as you will die easily if you're not careful. Thankfully there are no enemies with cheap moves and you can see all enemy attacks coming early enough to dodge. Not early enough to make the game easy or boring, but if you pay attention, you'll stay alive. The boss battles are surprisingly fun and exciting. I haven't had a problem with the camera being fixed at all. I'm currently on Chapter 10 and should have the game beat soon enough, though I'm not rushing it. I think it's taken me about 12-15 hours to get this far, but I've also gone back and done challenges and searched for missing gems, so it hasn't been a straightforward play-through.

Now about the Collector's Edition. I really enjoy the cover art. It tells you: You are playing a Castlevania game. Now, the "art" in the art book, which is inconveniently inseparable from the game case, is disappointing. It isn't art at all, but the rendered 3D models of the characters and enemies. I wanted art like the cover, hand drawn and beautifully Castlevania-like. But no. Though the game does come with a soundtrack that is actually very well done. It's the best video game soundtrack I've heard since Silent Hill 2. It's over an hour long and has a good sense of theme to it, unlike the terrible scene-based music of God of War III, which was a soundtrack I regretted purchasing and was highly forgettable. I've listened to the Lords of Shadow soundtrack from beginning to end about 9 times now and I notice little aural nuances I hadn't heard before each time. The soundtrack is just as layered as the visuals, which is a plus. Overall I'd say if you can find the soundtrack from another source, skip the Collector's Edition, as that's the only good thing about it. Other than the embossed cover art.

The game itself still stands as an incredible journey through a dark land filled with interesting characters and bloody battles. The action is fun and the game is always throwing something different at you so it never gets stagnant. A worthy purchase for anyone who is a fan of video games or even just action games.

Also, God of War II being one of my favorite games, I'm getting sick and tired of the God of War comparisons. God of War III was beautiful but highly overrated and had a terrible ending. This game is better than GoW3 in my opinion. More variety in gameplay and combat. There were games like Devil May Cry out before God of War that were kicking ass and taking names, but these God of War fanatics don't seem to realize just how much their precious game took from other, better games before it. Yes, this game has similar elements to other games, but I won't get into that, because it is irrelevant. In any entertainment medium, good ideas live on through other iterations. Bashing a game for using another game's ideas is stupid and pointless. A good idea is a good idea, regardless what color it is or what buttons you have to push to make it happen. And Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a good game, regardless of what it has borrowed from others.

And to the people who are complaining about "hitbox issues" and "poorly designed puzzles"...I just don't know how to fight ignorance of that magnitude.

Okay, I'm finished.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soundtrack and Artwork makes it worth it., October 21, 2010

By 

Devendra S. Mistry "d s m" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Limited Edition (Video Game)

******************************REVIEW OF THE LIMITED EDITION**************************************

Here are 3 reasons you should spend extra bucks to buy Limited Edition of the game. If you are interested in the review of the game just scroll below.

BOX: Clearly seen as in pictures, the box is different than standard addition, it has more art to it. The box is actually like a hard covered book with art pics, sound track DVD and game in it.

SOUND TRACK: This is the main reason, I bought the limited Edition. I loved the music, especially main theme and theme of certain boss fights. As I am assuming you haven't played the game I don't want to spoil it by giving names of perticular songs.

ARTWORK: There are 20 or more different pics of main characters and villians in the game. I really like the pics of some of the villians.

Since I am a big fan of Vampire, werewolf, necromonian genre I LOVED THE GAME and I personally thought LE was worth the price (specially because of the soundtrack). So this is 5 stars for me.


******************************REVIEW OF THE ACTUAL GAME**************************************
I have never played a Castlevania game before, so I was hesitant to buy this at first. However, each trailer I saw for this game looked great and when I played the demo, it kinda reminded me of God of War 2 (one my most favorite games of all time), so I had to give this one a shot. After I finished it once, here is what I thought.

PROS.

SOLID AND FLAWLESS ACTION: The combat system in this game is just perfect. Last time I enjoyed punishing enemies was in Devil May Cry games. Everything works just as you want to. Controls respond very well. Tactical use of dark and light magic adds whole new dimension to the combat. Once you master the different moves, the joy you get punishing the enemies using them, is just indescribable.

SPECTACULAR SUSPENSEFUL STORY: It has been a while since I have experienced a story in the game that makes me go wow. While the game does starts out a bit abruptly, things will make sense in the end. Don't want to spoil much.

UNANITICIPATED AFTER CREDIT ENDING: If you are familiar with character names than you may see this after the credits ending I am talking about, but I sure as hell did not see it coming. I was very surprised by it and quite frankly could not get this ending (LONG VIDEO) out of my head for days. Don't want to spoil much, but please FINISH THE GAME, trust me, after the credits will make it worth your while.

BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION: This game will make you go through jungles, valley, barren towers, huge castles etc. etc. Frankly, they are very nicely designed and the game looks great in 720p.

GREAT VARIETY IN ENEMY: It has been a while I have seen SO MANY different types of enemies in the same game. Different types of werewolves, vampires, goblins, deads and other creatures I can't remember names of. All of these gothically designed. I am telling you artwork in this game is just magnificent.

RIDING HUGE ENEMIES GAMEPLAY: I personally loved it. Once you weaken huge enemies such as big warewolves, spiders etc, YOU CAN RIDE THEM. Use them to unleash devastating attacks, solve puzzle etc. etc. Truly remarkable.

TONS OF CHALLENGING BOSSES: Slaughtering hordes and hordes of enemies and moving forward in the game will reward you with some really compelling boss battles. Just like levels and small fry enemies, these bosses are also very aesthetically animated. To me boss battle was the third strongest aspect of the game (after story and art). As soon as I defeated a boss, I look forward to the next one. Such anticipation and mysterious story really drives you forward in this game.

ACROBATIC GAMEPLAY AND PUZZLES: If you like puzzles there are tons and tons of them in this game. If you don't like puzzles no worries. Spend your experience points and you don't have to solve them. HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT? I salute this game for providing that option. Genius! The acrobatic gameplay, which would be hanging from cliff, then jumping from cliff to cliff, is pretty good. Kind of like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time games. What I particularly found interesting was use of the chain to do acrobats. There points in the game you can jump off of cliffs, use chains to hang somewhere, use the momentum of chain to break through weak structures etc. You have to play it to get a feel for what I am saying.

UPGRADABLES AND HIDDEN ITEMS: In this game you can buy new combat moves and upgrade them by trading your experience. While most of the moves can be purchased through the first gameplay (assuming you don't trade experience for solving puzzles), to get all moves and all hidden items, you will have to play different chapters in the game over again.

TREMENDOUS REPLAYABILITY: The game itself is long enough. If you want to go for 100% of the items, it will even take longer since you will have to revisit chapters and use your upgrades. In addition it comes with 4 different difficulty levels and a minigame. This will keep you engage for a long while.

CONS.

MINOR ISSUES WITH PUZZLES: Honestly the only con I found in this game was I was too used to God of War 2 controls. Because of that I was stuck in puzzles such as clocktower puzzle. Fortunately I figured out the difference in controls and was able to solve the puzzle. An example: In clocktower puzzle, ever time I tried to raise a platform, it would rise halfway and then fall as my character would let go of the lever contrary to the fact that I was holding the button. THE KEY IS TO LET GO OF R2(or L2 whichever is to hold the lever) once you hold the lever. The character will hold it himself without you having to hold the button. Other than this I think some puzzles are a bit too challenging. But again every one of them is solvable and if not, YOU CAN ALWAYS SOLVE THEM BY TRADING EXPERIENCE.

CONCLUSION:

I frankly am quite impressed by this game. As listed above, Pros. easily outweighs Cons. My score for this game would be 9.5/10. God of War, Prince of Persia and Devil May Cry fans, THIS IS A MUST BUY. Only thing I recommend is play it on the hardest mode possible for those of who are veteran to God of War type of games.

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