Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

by Konami

• 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: B002GPPPS4
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 5, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #949 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #93 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Games > Action

Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360 | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com

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.

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.

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 Xbox 360.
• 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 Xbox 360.
• 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.
• 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Special Ending makes it worth it October 22, 2010

By Dev

Platform for Display:Xbox 360|Edition:Standard

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

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.

OH DID I MENTION FREE CASTLEVANIA SOT GAME WITH THIS GAME?

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.

57 of 67 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good October 6, 2010

By There's No Stopping Space Vikings T. Edwards! VINE™ VOICE

Platform for Display:Xbox 360|Edition:Standard

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Graphics:
Opening with some cut-scenes as many games do, I was slightly disappointed with the graphics. While for the most part they were beautiful, great scenery and fine details, there is a sub-par looking rendering of water, hair, cloth, and facial definition that took it down a couple of pegs. After putting several hours in with the game though I was greatly pleased to find that the actual gameplay is gorgeous. The environments are rich and imaginative, comparisons to Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth have been mentioned periodically to which I'd agree. For the most part many of the areas fit the feel of Castlevania despite a couple of stinkers, but if you took the more traditional Castlevania castle and simply spread its locations around then the better half of the game feels appropriate.

Sound:
Lords of Shadow has been knocked here and there for not feeling much like Castlevania, a sentiment I don't personally share at large, but I'd so far have to agree with in regards to the score.

The music is, as far as I can tell, high quality orchestrated music. My personal 'problem' lies in what I feel is a failure to maintain the heart of what Castlevania music was. There were no cheesy electric guitar symphonies, no eerie choir, and really not a lot of blood boiling music. The music never once stood up and demanded attention. There are most certainly songs recycled from the past but they have been re-tooled to what I would call a more generic sound. This will probably go both ways for fans of the series, some may appreciate the progression of the music, and others may find themselves waxing poetic about the good ol' days along with me.

The voice acting is good; you get typical Patrick Stewart along with some serviceable performances from everybody else. Generally you're only going to be dealing with it in cut-scenes and I think the storytelling there is good enough. Again I think the not-quite-right character models mar the delivery more than the actors themselves. There is however sporadic occurrences of NPCs nagging you through the levels which can be nerve grating when all you're trying to do is explore.

General:
The game unfolds in chapters and stages. Individual levels present themselves in different ways, some are longer combat areas, and some are really short with only a boss fight, and so on. Each individual level has a completion percentage which can ultimately be maxed out by playing the level on max difficulty, finding all of the hidden objects (which is tracked, nice), and completing a trial for that level. Out of the gate you can access 3/4 visible difficulties (don't know if there's any 'secret' difficulty) and switch them on the fly so as you progress and backtrack you can flesh out some of that completion if that tickles your fancy.

It took me roughly 15 hours to beat the game on normal with relatively minimal backtracking. I'd say I skipped probably Ľ - 1/3 of various unlockables and skipped over the challenges entirely. I'm thinking I probably have 5-10 hours more of gameplay to get the missed items and probably much more than that in challenges. The game has its hairy moments on normal but a person looking for a challenge could probably start off on Knight difficulty without too much added frustration.

The camera can be highly problematic at times. Nine times out of ten it's going to be fine but in the one time when it isn't the frustration can be high. Some of the more minor things are a constant jitter to the camera and a poor correction to the analog controls as you switch areas but the single most irritating to me were enemies hanging out of your field of view. The enemies being out of view typically wasn't a problem but there were a couple of boss fights which forced me to play conservatively because of the camera which kind of took my head out of the fight. It's not game breaking, and turning on enemy life bars helps a lot, but it's certainly what I'd call a problem with the game.

Achieves/trophies aren't too crazy, basically finish the game 100% (or 110% as the games suggests). I personally have no desire to play on higher difficulties unless I uncover some incentive for doing so but it looks like even a normal play should be able to get the majority of them.

Combat:
The core of the combat is Gabriel's weapon, the combat cross which I'm just going to call a whip. With your whip you have direct attacks mapped to a button and area attacks to another which you can string together in various ways as you unlock combos to execute... er combos. It's very straight forward, a little button-mashy, but since the two attack types perform in very different situations you'll generally be methodically timing one or the other. Many of the combos manifest themselves in a situational sense such as direct attacking after a grab, charging an area attack, and so on. I feel this contributes greatly to avoiding an indiscriminate faceroll of the controller since most combos have a pretty particular use and using it is mainly a matter of timing and positioning.

In addition to Gabriel's whip you have secondary weapons and magic. All of the secondary weapons have a primary function but can also unlock additional abilities and combos. The magic is used sort of like combat states; you can hop in and out of light mode or dark mode provided you have enough energy to use attacks while in either. In their raw form light mode causes your attacks to heal you and dark mode causes your attacks to do more damage but their use doesn't end there. Each school has its own unlockable skills, which are quite powerful, but they can also be combined with certain secondary weapons. As an example you get fairies as a sub-weapon which serve as a distraction tool but when used in light magic mode they become seeking kamikaze fairies. The secondary weapons have limited uses and require occasional replenishment from kills and the environment. Your magical energy is replenished either from kills, fighting well and filling out your focus meter, or refilling at neutral energy wells. It's also worth noting that you can over-charge your magic up to an additional full bar but this bar will deplete itself over time regardless of whether you use it or not.

In addition to the magic and sub-weapons Gabriel gets a small handful of additional relics. Some of these also serve as weapons or lend more combat abilities but they have more nuanced uses and can be a little difficult to effectively use in combat at times. They generally grant you some very cool moves but I personally found it difficult to find much reason to use them over the whip but it was nice to have them available for situational opportunity.

Certain enemies also open up opportunities when weak to execute them via a simple button sequence while others can be ridden which is generally a progression tool. Riding a troll for example will let you smash walls, and you can certainly fight with it, but you're pretty caged in with the creatures you're allowed to ride making them have limited use as a mount. It's fun, it's there, but as I said it's mostly used as a tool to access new areas.

Platforming:
It's about what you'd expect I guess, lots of climbing and swinging. To me it feels mostly like a segue from one combat to another, which is fine because finding your way around is fun, but there doesn't really seem to be a lot of danger in doing it which adds to a sense of going through the motions. So far the majority of my failures in getting around have been to poorly defined barriers of where you can go or jumping in a pit because I didn't see a really obvious exit. Failing in the platforming isn't instant death, you just respawn at the last solid point you were on and take a bit of damage. Only if you repeatedly fail or find yourself low on life already will you actually die from a failed jump.

Periodically you will be fighting titans which are really big bosses done Shadow of the Colossus style. You enter these fights and you're tasked with scaling the creature and attacking specific weak points. One could almost consider the platforming before these guys to be practice of sorts. You'll be using all of your jumping/swinging/climbing skills in conjunction with quick time events to methodically disable the titan as you traverse its body. It's quite a bit of fun but again it feels more like a game of memory and less like there's any real risk of dying.

Story:
It wasn't New York Times Best Seller material but I was certainly engaged from start to finish and towards the end my desire to unfold the next chapter ramped up so I'd call it a success. The ending wasn't what I expected at all, and I'm still gathering my opinions on how I feel about it, but it will certainly have Castlevania fans talking I believe. Be sure watch through the credits (assuming there's an option to skip).

Pros:
Gorgeous gameplay
Good voice acting
Fun to play

Cons:
The camera can be weird at times

In closing I'm a big fan of Castlevania and I enjoyed the game a lot. It's a genre that doesn't find its way in to my house much but I had a blast playing this. If you're coming in to this game after having played the numerous similar games to come out this year it may be prudent to find a more discerning opinion on how this compares to other games in the genre but I assure you this was a very well done and fun game right out of the gate. I'd strongly recommend this game.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Don't you see Gabriel? You can bring her back!" October 26, 2010

By JT

Platform for Display:Xbox 360| Edition:Standard|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

CONCEPT:
Lords of Shadow is a third-person action-adventure game.
You are Gabriel Belmont, a widower member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protect and defend innocent people against the supernatural creatures.
3D Castlevania Reborn, although there are remnants of influences from modern 'hits', LOS sets itself apart with "classic" Castlevania mythology, powerups, enemies and plot.

GRAPHICS:
Richly detailed immersive environments, and meticulously designed enemies bring the 1047AD "end of days" era presented in the LOS to life. Some of the human characters aren't as well designed during certain cut scenes.

SOUND DESIGN:
Epic orchestral arrangements replace the old school castlevania tunes. The voice actors add a nice element too. Not really a lot of ambient noise within environments though...

CONTROLS:
The controls are quite simple and satisfying during combat... there are over 40 unlockable combos executed with various button tapping sequences.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The games first 2 chapters may start slow, but once it starts rolling it snow balls into a fury that is surely one of the most memorable endings in the franchises history if not from any game this year.

REPLAY VALUE:
High
With four difficulty settings (difficult can be an understatement), unlockable battle moves, multiple hidden power ups, and challenge "trials" for each of the 50 levels, LOS is loaded with hours of action beyond the playthrough.

OVERALL
Castlevania Lords of Shadow is a beautiful looking Rebirth for the castlevania franchise. This game is big, and playing it becomes more and more satisfying as the story progresses. I would've prefered to have some control over the camera angle, but overall the view is never entirely lost within the action.

FINAL RATING : 9/10