Customer Reviews

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is not a game to review until you have completed it. As I moved deeper and deeper into the game, my opinions began to deviate from my first impressions. Many times, it seems that once you play for two to three hours in a game, you get a basis for what the entirity will be like. This is an exception. It's a lengthy game. It's a game that you probably shouldn't take a month long break before picking it back up because it can be difficult. But it's a game that will reward you for playing, by getting better and better until the end.

Graphics:
Backgrounds are stunning. Character models are very detailed as well. Often the game's camera will pan out allowing you to view a large area. This is primarily the platforming portions of the game. But it will definitely cause you to stop and look at the scenery from time to time (especially when you get to the castle). You do not have an option to adjust the camera angle and 80% of the time, you won't need to. However, there are times that you will seemingly be whipping the screen not knowing where the enemies are. And it did cause me to die a few times.

Audio:
Am I playing Lord of the Rings? Most of the tracks made me think that I was in a battle for Middle Earth. The chanting and orchestrated music are very similar to the LotR movies, which may or may not be a good thing. Personally, I felt some of the tracks were way overdone and intensified for no apparent reason. It was especially awkward as I walked through a serene forest with no enemies AT ALL to have the music start blaring, trumpets, choir and all. My heart stopped as I thought I was about to be killed by some unknown demon, but what? Nothing. Must have been the wind. As I progressed through the game, the music toned down and became a bit darker and softer. It became more Castlevania-like, but still not what you might have expected. There are a few Easter Eggs in the game where you will hear some classic 8-bit tracks and those were definitely welcomed. The voice dialogue was well done. Patrick Stewart did a good job narrating and playing the part of Zobek, an ally of yours. Robert Carlyle's (Gabriel) voice sounds Scottish which is cool, but seemed a bit subdued at times. I ended up having to turn the voice tracks up to hear him speak. No spoilers, but the last boss fight and ending's dialogue were top notch. I wanted to beat the last boss twice just to watch the ending again.

Gameplay:
There is a balance between Uncharted-like platforming, Tomb Raider puzzle solving, and fighting a plethora of enemies. There are dozens of types of enemies, ranging from the easy Mummy to towering Titans. There are also two ways to fight in this game. I personally enjoyed the classic whip-slashing action. However, a good bit of the game's bosses involve button timed events, which are fun, but stressful. I died mostly during these fights and a few times, it sent me back to the start of the battle and I was flat out frustrated. The most enjoyable aspects of the game for me involved Uncharted style climbing. It felt just as fluid as Uncharted (with the exception that you can only climb certain things versus virtually everything in Uncharted). Jumping from platform to platform is somewhat flawed and can be irritating, but that is not too often as you are mostly climbing and swinging.

Replay Value:
As you progress in the game, you are rewarded with different abilities. These abilities make replaying one of the games previous levels much easier and fun. There will be items/upgrades that you can't get in your first play through of a level, but after gaining a new ability such as double jump, you realize you can now go back and acquire it. That leads me to how the game is structured. There are twelve chapters in the game, with multiple levels scattered throughout each chapter. You can go back and play any level over again on one of four difficulties. Upon completing a level, you also can go back and beat its trial, which is an added challenge. Try to 110% the game(one thing to note: You can't 110% the game until you beat each level on Paladin (the most difficult) difficulty. However, you can go back and replay the levels on Paladin with your upgrades intact, making it manageable). Konami has also thrown in some Easter Eggs once the final stage is completed as well. You can slightly change the appearance of Gabriel but I won't say how.

Closure:
I was very pleased with Lords of Shadow. I am a Castlevania fan. But I never enjoyed the 3-D games. The N64 and PS2 games were awful to me and pushed me towards having a 2-D bias. However, this game has rebooted the series nicely and has set itself up for a sequel. While the majority of the game is not reminiscent of what we've come to love, nostalgia is still there with one-third of the game being related to the Vampires and the castle (clock-tower, garden maze and all). The new ideas are very welcomed and create a game that is not dependent merely on one's nostalgia, but stands on its own as a fun and exciting action game. Were there times where I was bored? Maybe in the first three chapters. Where there times where I was frustrated? Maybe playing a timed event boss battle for the first time. But was the game fair and balanced? Absolutely. If I were scoring the game, I would give it a 9.5 for a great, 20+ hour action game with a few camera glitches along with some repetitive action scenes and music. A must have for any Castlevania and action game fan. Feel free to ask me any questions, as I am nearly 110% complete with the game.

I would need to clarify that I am not a long standing franchise enthusiast. My first and only Castlevania aside from this was SoTN. I never held a candle for the Belmont clan (pun intended) or for the franchise, aside from how awesome SoTN was. So in that regard, I am biased.

Moreover, this game is NOT perfect, so let me get the bad out of the way:

1. Camera angles. Very pretty, very engaging, very cinematic. And they have made me die a lot. Reminiscent of the Resident Evil franchise pre-4, and MGS3, static camera angles are...a love it or leave it issue. I like them. But to be honest, they can be a hindrance. Not being able to see a 2 ton Worg about to swipe me out of existence can be a setback.
2. Difficulty curve. I'm playing this on normal (I didn't want to breeze through it, but I didn't want to not get through the game either) and so far, I have lost my cool a few times. I want to call the difficulty curve merciless, but that's unfair. It is steep, though. This game will be quick to punish button mashers. There is an element of strategy in this game, having to switch around strategies according to enemies, cycling through combos, and cycling through shadow or light magic... it keeps you on your toes, and I would daresay that it is a characteristic missing from some of the titles that this game is compared to the most (such as GoW and DMC. This is just my opinion, maybe someone will argue that both franchises do have an element of strategy in their hack and slash, and I totally missed it. I welcome any disputes on the matter)


Those are, to me, the only scratches in an otherwise polished game. And I hesitate to call them a real detraction from this game.

This game is presumably a reboot of the franchise, which works for me, as I never had an attachment to the previously established canon. You are Gabriel Belmont (the name, taken from the hills from his childhood. Bel - mont. Had never put those two together) He was an orphan taken in by the Brotherhood of Light, and was married to Maria ( I forget the name now, I hope this is right). Maria was slain, so far in my playthrough, under mysterious circumstances, and so he set forth to exact revenge.

The story set up, I will admit, is a bit shallow. But the game has been accused of being light on story telling. I would have to disagree. That the story telling was relegated to sequences at the beginning and end of each stage is not the most organic way to tell a story is true. But in this particular case, the way the story is woven, namely as a fairy tale of old, I think it works. There is much to be said of the voice acting and narrating on Patrick Stewart's part. At first the story is a bit too ' in medias rex' , but soon enough the blanks are filled out, and the intrigue builds up. I keep hearing the ending is phenomenal. We shall see.

The presentation, I will say, is not pushing any envelopes, but it is setting a mark for what action games can accomplish. The look of the game, albeit not groundbreaking, is simply awe inspiring. I had never seen a prettier snowy medieval landscape. The style and the aesthetic lends itself well to the sort of gothic undertone that always accompanied Castlevania games, but this time, in a grander fashion. The desolate, the desperate, the god forsaken aspect of some of the more European settings is simply entrancing, whereas some of the more fantastic settings, such as enchanted forests, forgotten cities and crypts break up the monotony of just seeing castles and towers for 20 hours without seeming out of place. The rain effects are some of the best I've ever seen in a game. The soundtrack is, I will say, among the best I've ever heard on a game. I don't know who Oscar Araujo is, or what he composed before this track, but he is now on my radar. It has a certain quality that aims for grandiose, while at the same time remaining memorable, and just works so well with the story telling. Fans of the series might be a bit disilussioned, because it's nothing like the Castlevania theme. I've read the original theme is hidden somewhere in the game. Haven't heard it yet.

The voice acting is top notch. I thought Robert Carlyle was a bit of a strange choice for taciturn Gabriel Belmont, but he's grown on me. My main issue was the accent at first. I always thought he should have a French accent, or, I dunno. Mr. Carlyle makes it work though. Patrick Stewart makes game text intended to narrate the bulk of the storyline sing. I have no idea how he does it. Some people are complaining that it's too similar to Oblivion. I don't see it. These samples of acting are better, in my opinion. Jason Isaacs is in the game as well, but I haven't bumped into him yet.

The gameplay itself is the strong suit of this game. The control scheme is one of the best and most intuitive I've yet to find on an action game. I wondered if they would do this thing where you can control the whip with one analog stick, but that would lend itself to disaster, in hindsight. Mercurysteam made it simple: jump, area attack, direct attack, secondary weapon. Done. It seems restrictive, but I assure you...there's something about less is more, that just makes this set up wow you. The camera will sometimes work against you (happens to me anyway) when trying to time a block for a parry, but other than that, the control is great, and the whip mechanics are pretty much near-perfect. The whip is a seriously underrated weapon in video games. Seriously.

A lot of people are, again, comparing the action to GoW or to DMC. Back when Dante's Inferno came out, I played the demo first, and did not enjoy it, precisely because it felt like GoW: Renaissance style, and I couldn't shake that feeling that the game was so similar. I will admit that there ARE similarities, but the way the similarities are implemented just keeps the game feeling fresh: in GoW, you will fight multitudes of enemies at once, or a reduced number of stronger enemies at the same time, and depend a lot on dodging out of the way, and blocking in time, and absolutely brutal chain combos. Kratos is just set up that way, with the ability to keep hitting enemies throughout hundreds of hits. The chains, even though in principle are whiplike, in a sense Gabriel however will be confronted more often than not against enemies that will require more reaction than proaction I think in a sense this sets it apart, a BIT, from GoW. The platform actions of the game are somewhat less polished than the fighting, but the game never really veers into parkour action, and it is being compared more to Uncharted. I can see the similarities there, save for the presence of the whip which put Gabriel in far more acrobatic situations than Nathan Drake. Eventually you start acquiring new abilities (such as the ability to dash, and thus, do a long jump) which will break those similarities up somewhat. Some of the boss fights are comparable to Shadow of the Colossus. These are very similar, I can't say that there's something that sets Castlevania apart, save for the use of the whip to scale up the titanic bosses, but the similarity is not a bad one, in my opinion: Shadow of the Colossus was a great game, and I don't think that its brand of action had ever been repeated to say that now that Castlevania made use of the similar sequences is cliche.


Overall, this game might be a sum of other action games, and in a way, it's true. The parts that are being summed up into this game however, do not feel segmented (ie, I never felt " oh, now I'm playing Uncharted, oh, now it's Shadow of the Colossus). It always feels like playing Castlevania, and the feeling is quite epic.

So far this game has caught me off guard. This is not an exact clone of "God of War." Although the gameplay is very similar, the style and atmosphere are completely different. Rather than greek mythology you have gothic monsters and settings. I'm personally enjoying this more so than I did "God of War." I like the werewolves, vampires, and ghouls much more than I like medusas, cyclops, and cerebus. Also, so far this game seems to be more difficult than the "God of War" series. You really have to make use of that dodge button. But as one reviewer already said, don't worry it's not nearly as difficult as "Demon's Souls." I'll be updating this review once I finish the game. But so far I will say that it's turning out to be a great game. Easily as good (if not better)as god of war.

Oh yeah, and don't listen to those couple review websites who gave this game a 7.5 out of 10. So far I'm saying this game deserves no less than an 8.8 out of 10, although by the time I'm finished I'm betting that I'll feel it deserves a 9.5 out of 10. Yeah its gameplay is similar to god of war, but what game doesn't draw inspiration from other games? Practially all FPS games are alike, but you don't here people crying and complaining every time a new one comes out... do you? And practically all sandbox games are similar to the GTA series, but once again no one seems to care. Castlevania is doing nothing different here. They are using a winning formula (God of war) and improving on it. Just like "Halo" used the exact same first person perspective from "Doom" but made improvements on it. Bottom line is we can't expect every new game to reinvent the genre. Ok enough of the preaching. Anyways, so far I recommend this game to anyone looking for a gothic adventure.

****UPDATE: I wanted to share more of my feelings about this game now that I've progressed a bit further. I'm now beginning the 4th chapter (I know it's not that far, but I'm in college full-time and I'm busy with work). This game has me hooked so far. Amazing boss battles (and lots of them), great soudtrack, awesome action gameplay, it's all just great. I've just finished the land of lycans (werewolves) and now I'm heading into the land of vampires... very excited! This is one of the best games to come out for a while. If you like action games and gothic themes then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up, it's amazing so far. I will conclude this review once I finish the game (not sure when that will be since I'm so tied up with school, I hardly have time to play).

********Review Conclusion: Ok I have just completely finished this game. Castlevania LOS was a great experience all around. I would personally rate this game a 9.2 out of 10. It has a good blend of action, puzzle, and platformer. There are tons of different monsters to fight in this game, extremely varied. I don't think I've ever played a game with so many boss fights. The music here is beautiful, and at times I stopped playing just to listen to it. This game really does feel epic, and Gabriel Belmont is a character that I was rooting for the entire time. Also, I wanted to remind you that if you play this game make sure that you wait for the credits to roll when you beat it. After the credits are done rolling you get a good idea of what the sequel will be like (and it's going to be pretty crazy). Now I can hardly wait for the next Castlevania game.

Castlevania Lords of Shadow is simply put not a Castlevania game. Yes there are nods to the previous series but this is a reboot not a sequel. That shouldn't scare anyone away though as this is a great albeit flawed beginning to a new saga.

First we'll start off with the presentation. The graphics and music are top notch. The diverse and beautiful environments look amazing. The graphics are only topped by the sweeping musical score that adds a lot of intensity to the action. There is however one complaint that I have in this department and that is Patrick Stewart. I love him as an actor but he added way too much drama to his character and it was way too over the top. I hope that he can redeem himself if he is in any more games in the franchise.

The gameplay overall is solid. Yes it does play like a God of War clone but the core combat is without complaint. You unlock new powers and combos as the game progresses to keep your interest in the combat. Though it does lack variety the first few hours as the game developers kept most of the cool weapons and combos for later in the game. You have two rage modes that can be used at any time and are replenished by killing multiple enemies in a row without being hit. One of them fills your health bar with ever crack of your chains and the other simply does more damage.

Another main part of the game play is platforming. The game seems to copy Uncharted here and does it pretty well. Yes there are times when you don't know where to jump to and others when you can't seem to land on a platform correctly. These times are not that frequent but the platforming is certainly not that responsive or intuitive at times.

The Boss battles while epic are mostly your run of the mill block, dodge, and counter attack type of gameplay. If you think that sounds bad wait until you hear what the other type is. There are four or five bosses that require you to crawl on them and hit critical areas to take them down. Now this is pretty common in GOW style games but the enemies shake ever ten seconds and you have to hold the R2 button to stop from falling off. It gets really frustrating when you have almost beaten a boss just for them to knock you off and you have to do that last part over again.

The puzzles in the game range from fun and challenging to ridiculously hard. I had to look up a few myself and I normally stay away from walkthrough guides. Sometimes they simply don't give you enough information to complete the puzzle unless you use trial and error. In the end most of the puzzles feel like a road block instead of a fun distraction.

The final piece of the puzzle is the story. The game comes out of the gate quickly and you invest in Gabriel's plights, but then after the first few hours the story really drops off and not much character development is made until the final chapter. When I read about this game I thought this was going to be its strength but it turns out to be its biggest weakness. Yes I loved the ending and I wanted more after the game was over but the middle section of the game was downright boring at times and I had trouble keeping interest. As a result Gabriel was not really that developed as a protagonist, and I hope that they change that in future installments.

Overall Lords of Shadow was a fun 15 hour campaign, but it also left a lot to be desired. The story was never really that strong and the game play was not brilliant or original enough to completely save the game. If you like GOW or hack and slash type games then pick this one up when the price goes down. It is a fun game but without a story to keep you hooked I had trouble staying interested.
Rating 3.5/5

What is supposed to be a reboot of the beloved Castlevania series will leave fans confused and maybe a little angry. Disguised under the Castlevania title is a different game entirely. Lords of Shadow doesn't feature any of the common gameplay mechanics or a story you would expect from this series. What you will find is a decent action adventure game with beautiful visuals and a generic storyline.

Lords of Shadow introduces Gabriel Belmont, a member of the holy order known as "the Brotherhood of Light." The Brotherhood are sworn to protect the innocent from an evil darkness that is a constant threat to the world. Gabriel sets out to destroy this evil, but also has a more personal mission- to kill the ones responsible for the death of his lover (where have we heard this before?).


After about five minutes of this game you will no doubt ask yourself "Where the hell is the castle?!" Well, there isn't one till the very end!!. Lords of Shadow is set in an open world environment with level to level progression and doesn't allow a free roam map exploration (Metriodvania) like previous games in the series. The game does encourage backtracking to reach previous unreachable items once you upgrade your skills, but I found the benefits of doing so are not worth the time.

If you've played any of the God of War titles, the fighting mechanics are more or less the same. Gabriel is equipped with a chained cross weapon that will extend with light and heavy attacks. Killing creatures will gain you experience points used to unlock new weapon upgrades, combos and magic abilities. Even with all the combos unlocked, I found the best way to kill mini bosses and small creatures is by spamming light and heavy attacks while using the roll ability to evade enemies. The magic system is broken down into light and dark magic, with light magic being heals and dark increasing your melee damage.
Marlyn Manson?

Boss encounters vary - some are extremely fun and others are just stale. This game features a lot of mini boss encounters in which you must use the environment around you to defeat them. Bigger bosses (just like Shadow of the Colossus) have you climbing around to hit weak spots on their body while they try to shake you off. These fights would have been more exciting if we hadn't experienced similar encounters in so many other games. I was also very disappointed with the last boss, SATAN! Not only was it not Dracula, but I couldn't help but laugh that he looks like a singer in a heavy metal band that isn't wearing any clothes!


Lords of Shadow features some of the best graphics I've seen in any game. Developers did a spectacular job creating a dark environment with such high level of detail. Each level will feel entirely different from the last, ensuring your eyes wont be bored through level progression. In addition, climbing on walls and using your cross as a grappling hook was an enjoyable addition to the game, this really made me appreciate the level design and architecture used in each level.

Captain Jean Luc Picard
Lets not forget the appearance of Patrick Stewart as Zobek, Gabriel's Brotherhood companion who is also the narrator though the game. Stewart does a great job with the narration but gets a little melodramatic with his acting.

If you're a fan of the old Castlevania titles, I wouldn't suggest this game. You wont find anything related to the franchise other than the games title and the family name Belmont. I would suggest this title if you enjoy action adventure games such as God of War or Shadow of the Colossus. What this game really lacks is identity. Developers did a great job with level and graphic design but failed to take any innovative steps with the gameplay. Castlevanias' 3D titles have been severely lacking. I hope in the next installment they go back to the 2D landscape with castle exploration that made the original Castlevania what it is today- a CLASSIC.


Presentation: 7
Not associated with other installments of the franchise but a fun action adventure title.

Graphics: 9
Stunning visuals with some frame rate hiccups.

Sound : 7
A great performance by Patrick Stewart but a little too melodramatic.

Gameplay: 6
God of War gameplay with Shadow of the Colossus Boss fights.

Lasting Appeal: 7
A very long game that encourages backtracking for unlockable treasures.

Violent Score: 7 (out of 10)

more over yonder. [...]

There is so much to like about Castlevania-Lords of Shadow. It's a game that sold me from the start on its trailer, especially the musical score that accompanied it (as in my opinion that can make or break a good trailer). It started out fun, got a little tedious and confusing after a couple chapters in, nearly elicited an angry old fashioned beat down in one particular boss (Lord of the Lycans, I'm looking at you) and subsequently picked back up right after I bought a new controller after the aforementioned Lycan frustrated beatdown. In short, Lords of Shadow is a totally immersing, at times confusing, but mostly epic action/adventure title that has much to offer fans of the genre and those who didn't jump on the Castlevania boat before (I'm looking at myself for this one).

First off, the graphics in this game are quite impressive. They're not as polished as, say, God of War 3's or a soft looking as, say, Lost Planet 2's (both of which were some of my favorite games from 2010); but they're good nonetheless. Like some reviewers have pointed out, I was slightly caught off guard from the look of the opening cut scene since some elements were rendered beautifully while others (notably hair, facial animations) were slightly less than spectacular. But the forest level that followed shortly thereafter truly put any doubts in my mind to a rest. Overall, it's one of the best looking games around and presents some of the most varied levels (in terms of scenery) that I've seen in a game (much more so, in my opinion, than God of War 3).

The voice acting is topnotch and it's easy to tell how far above a slew of its competitors because it was done with a professional cast. Gabriel is convincing, powerful, but also timid in a sense, a lover whose loss of his wife has haunted him since the moment it happened. Patrick Stewart is the most instantly recognizable voice as Gabriel's companion and fellow Brotherhood member, but the highlighted performance -in my opinion- was Claudia and Marie. This is probably the biggest aspect of Lords of Shadow that sets it apart from most other titles in the action/adventure genre; hands down, it rocks it here.

The sound of Lords of Shadow is immense. It has a lovely score and accompanying soundtrack that really draws the emotional side of the game out, especially since *spoiled alert* the ending ends how it does. It's eerie, creepy, foreboding, dark, epic, orchestral...all of these things. Sometimes a score helps a good game become better and that's what Castlevania-Lords of Shadow's does. One word: epic.

Unfortunately, game play was where I found this title to be most lacking. First off, I noticed how "harsh" Gabriel moves (hell, even the way he walks and sprints is awkward and at times downright humorous, like a baby with a full diaper), especially in the midst of button-mashing galore when you're battling enemy. Unlike, say, God of War's fluid motion and perfectly executed take-downs (that possess an almost graceful arc), Lords of Shadow's feel clunky and outdated, like the developers failed to fine-tune them before release. I also found occasional aspects that annoyed me more than anything else, like not being able to tell precisely where I'd grapple next while platforming because the grab-on piece blended too perfectly in with the environment at times (and unlike Uncharted you don't get a camera position to orientate you eventually). In one particular boss fight (Cornell, Lord of the Lycans), I also found this to ring true to critic reviews that this was the hardest boss of the game; I mean, seriously, I died so many times trying to take this bastard down right as I was about to that I can't even tell you how long it took me to get past it - and then, part 2-3, I breezed through this in under 10 minutes. My recommendation: USE WEAPON UPGRADES. This, too, proved annoying since I wasn't made aware of the upgrade option since it's not completely clear.

Overall, Castlevania-Lords of Shadow is all one could hope for in an action/adventure title. It plays on the longer end (15+ hours...not many games can achieve that nowadays) and it's immersing and epic. That being said, it isn't perfect, but it's almost there and is a must have for fans of the genre and newcomers to the Castlevania series alike.

I've never purchaced / played any of the previous Castlevania games, but I must say, I had an absolute blast playing through / finishing Castlevania "Lords Of Shadow". The story was very cool, the gameplay was excellent / smooth, and the graphics are some of the best I've ever seen on the PS3 system. "Lords Of Shadow" is quite similar to God Of War in many ways, but at the same time, it's got it's own style. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you're a fan of the GOW series, you should love Castlevania "Lords Of Shadow". Very cool game, long / epic journey, awesome mazes / puzzles, and certainly well worth the price. "Lords Of Shadow" is one of the best games out right now in my opinion...

~MJ~

This is the first Castlevania game I have played and also my first review on Amazon.com. After obtaining the platinum trophy and spending some time on reflection, I felt compelled to write about how my perceptions developed from the start to the end of my experience. I hope this provides useful information to the potential buyers and reviewers of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Enjoy!

IN THE BEGINNING:

On the first day, I was online the PlayStation Network. Literally, within a few minutes I paused gameplay to reply to incoming text messages. It went something like this...

Friend: So, what do you think?
Me: This game is gorgeous! I hope you have a large screen, some details hard to see.
Friend: I'm playing on a 32" screen.
Me: Then sit real close for this one!
Friend: What about the gameplay?
Me: Controls seem very responsive. The "dodge-roll" reminds me of Demon's Souls.

IN THE MIDDLE:

About a quarter of the way through my progression on the default (Warrior) difficulty setting, as is my customary approach to playing through games on my first completion, I encountered my first serious challenge at a lightning quick boss battle. I won't spoil it for those who haven't played it, but quick reflexes are definitely required (although I should mention that replaying later on with upgraded skills, this same part and other difficult areas were significantly easier). During the remainder of the story chapters, I was filled with amazement at the beauty, variety, length & intrigue of the plot as well as character interactions.

IN THE END:

This is where some negativism began to develop. At this point, I was going back to collect previously unobtainable items, finish all chapters on the highest difficulty setting (Paladin) & attempt the Trials. A few items were extremely hard to find and/or obtain, even after knowing where they were, due to platforming & control issues such as sprinting, etc. The trials...well, I'll just say they ranged from being very easy to annoyingly difficult, again mostly because of control type issues. The ending to the story left me a little confused and disturbed, but certainly gave me a strong curiosity to see what might continue in a sequel or DLC.

FINAL REMARKS:

I am aware that some critical reviews for this game were fairly low, but the majority were high. It seems to me that the lower scores have mainly come from reviewers influenced by other games in the Castlevania series or similar ones in this genre. In addition, it is hard to ignore some design imperfections such as a few control problems & fixed camera issues (which I didn't even discuss here, but often complained about). However, even with its flaws and frustrating moments it is equally hard, or more so, to ignore the positive aspects of this game and ultimately I give it a high rating. I view games/developers like relationships...all of them have their flaws, it's just how willing are we to overlook their bad qualities and praise their good ones if we feel strongly enough to defend them?

Despite some review sites pummeling this game (unfairly, imho), it is a masterpiece. The first 2-3 chapters start very slow, and are basically an extended tutorial. Once you are able to buy combos and get both types of magic, Castlevania LoS has a very deep fighting system that surpasses every other AAA game in the same catagory. It doesn't tie in to any other Castlevania games, and that is a minus for some gamers, but the story is so great that i didn't care whether it was tied to previous games. Also, the first few levels have invisible walls aplenty, and take place in open areas that you'd think you could openly explore, but you can't. This turns many people off, but i assure you the game doesn't continue this type of deception. It gets extremely fun, as the environments, normal enemies, bosses, trials, etc. are plentiful and surprisingly varied (which is very different than other games in the genre). Mercury Steam's first game is everything i hoped it would be, and has surpassed many other developers' (ex. Team Santa Monica) 2nd, 3rd and 4th tries on making a great action game. This game is a must have for any action game fan. You will not be disappointed if you give it a legitimate chance.

Judging from the reviews it seems like there are strong opinions on this game from both sides. I for one personally loved this game and very glad I finally decided to give this game a chance.

I grew up in the 80's/90's so I am very familiar with many of the old school games like Metroid, Zelda, and Castlevania; probably my three favorite franchises of all time. Though I never played every Castlevania game, I did like Castlevania 64 which many people hated. I was on the fence with this one but decided to take my chances a few months after the original release.

I found the graphics amazing. From pressing through the misty swamps to hiking through the crumbling ruins of past civilizations I felt as if I were actually there. I can tell by the sheer amount of detail in each level that the graphics team obviously spent a lot of time in getting these environments just right. In addition to the beautiful scenery, the bosses and NPC's also were done very well. Some of the smaller enemies are not as well done, but that doesn't take away from the overall look of the game.

The sounds are great as well. The voice acting is spot on and the background music goes very well with the gameplay and the background story. It is quite reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and many times I found myself thinking of that movie while I played through the game especially since this game seems to play as a movie itself.

Gameplay is good and the controls are very smooth and responsive. At first I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of combo moves and powers you could purchase, but after a while I was pretty used to them and while I eventually ended up buying all the combos I only used a handful of them on a regular basis. Speaking of combos, you will need to learn some of them because while some of the weaker enemies can easily be taken down by just mashing buttons some of the stronger and smarter foes require strategic attacks and defensive maneuvers to advance or you will find yourself dying often (i.e. Greater Lycans). One small complaint I have about the combat is the QTE which requires you to press a button (any button), before 3 on screen circles converge. It was cool the first few times, but after a while it gets pretty monotonous. I would have liked to see a God of War type QTE which required a specific rotation of your thumb stick.

One thing I absolutely loved about this game was the many puzzles. While I was able to solve all the puzzles without the help of a guide I did enjoy the challenge and more importantly I found them fun especially after I solved them. Unlike some other games that either make the puzzles way too easy or just bombards you with puzzles the entire game, this game has a good balance of puzzles and difficulty to challenge you just enough to get your creative juices flowing. Of course if you REALLY don't want to be bothered with the puzzles then you can always just unlock the solution, but you lose the puzzle solving bonus as well as the pleasure of figuring it out yourself. The favorite puzzle for me has to be the music box puzzle which you encounter later in the game followed by the chess-like Vampire War game that occurs earlier. The puzzles add a nice touch to the game and without them I probably would have felt that the game was missing something.

The difficulty of this game may be a bit harder than many video games these days, but honestly after playing it and keeping at it, I didn't find it as difficult as I originally did as I got further in the game. For comparison, its not as hard of the original God of War and I would say it's probably right on par with God of War III in terms of difficulty. If I were to play through it again on the same difficulty I probably could easily zoom through it, so if I do end up playing it again it will be on a harder difficulty.

Also different from many games these days is the sheer length of this game. I don't know how many game hours I spent playing this game to completion, but I started playing in March and didn't finish until a couple of days before I wrote this review. That is nearly 3 months of playing on an off. Now keep in mind I spent a lot of time backtracking to pick up missed items so I could get 100%, but still it's a long game even if you don't go back. I got this game for half of the original price but even at the full price I would say this game is one of the few games that warrant such a high price tag.

The storyline while not that original was greatly told and narrated by Patrick Stewart. Basically we have Gabrielle Belmont looking to avenge the death of his wife and seeks the power to bring her back from the dead. While this story is nothing new, the path Gabrielle goes on to achieve his goals and the many different people he meets during his quest makes the story very enjoyable. The final moments of the game before during and after the final boss fight was brilliantly done, I don't want to spoil it, so all I will say is that I was staring at the screen in amazement as I watched the final events unfold. Hopefully this is just a start of the story and I will be very interested in seeing how things continue from here.

All in all a great game all across the board, there are some few issues with not being able to control the camera, but it did not affect me much during the game. Many of the times I fell to my death is because I mistimed a jump or purposely jumped down from a ledge because I wanted to see if a secret was down there, but this had nothing to do with the camera.

If you are one that is used to easier games, then you may find this game a little frustrating at first, but if you stick to it I really believe you will find it enjoyable the more and more your progress. I have beaten the game and already find myself wanting more.