12.10.2010

To like this game or not to like it is really to be honest- going to be, as always, a matter of opinion. Konami may not have pleased long term fans of the series with open landscapes and lush environments (no real castle environments- well not like the older titles) but what they have done is brave to reinvent the series in such a way that your either going to love this game or hate it.GraphicsGraphics are crisp and environments are lush- ranging from forests to ice caverns to swamps- there really is a eye candy world on offer here and set your hd tv to full hdmi capability and your doing a little "hell yeah" dance inside- ok well maybe thats just me- but my point is it looks real nice.The voice acting and orchestral score is spot on as well, with dramatic scenes matched superbly with the soundtrack and voice acting from the likes of patrick stewart and robert caryle. To be honest the gameplay flows so well with the cinematic sequences and qte events that you feel really attached to the story and it becomes like a movie that your fully engaged in.GameplayFans of games like prince of persia, shadow of the colossus will notice here some gameplay elements will have been (ahem) taken and put into this game. You can do one of two things here...You can either let it massivley bother you and say the developer didnt really invent for themselves and should have done this and that.... or you can actually just enjoy the superb mixture of gameplay mechanics that have been created, even if ideas have been borrowed. Just play a game for what is was designed to provide- FUN. And thats what castlevania does- provides loads of it. Fast paced action.Gameplay mechanicsThe only gripe that some may have here with castlevania is it can be a tad linear with the option of just one path (sometimes two) to your destination/goal. However, downloadable content has supposedly been promised for this title from the developer, so we wait in joyful hope for that. The camera is also fixed throughout the game with no player control. This didnt really bother me too much throughout to be honest and it seems pretty intelligent- repositioning itself when needed. One playthrough on normal difficulty is going to take you around 15-20 hours but the beauty of this game is after each chapter completion you get a special TRIAL- with asks you to do a task to get a special acheivement. This may be from beating a boss in under 2 minutes or destroying an environment quickly- i dont want to spoil things here but the TRIAL mode basically warrants a second playthrough of the game so value for money is pretty decent.Controls are simple and effective, allowing you to power up your characters special attacks later in the game with simple control combos that work very nicely. You should ever be having any difficulty pulling off combo moves or battling the undead with the simplified controls here.Sound/ StoryThis is real simple- it is awesome. A superb orchestral soundtrack backed with superb superb voice acting. Story is very strong with plently of twists and turns and a very good ending. Keep watching after the credits for more!!!!!!!OK THE negatives...The only negatives you may notice in this game are sometimes it can suffer from the occassional drop in framerate. I did discover if you change your hd setting to 1080i it can reduce this A LITTLE but you'll really want it set to 1080p for picture clarity. Frankly the framerate drop isnt that frequent so its all good- but its really something konami should have rectified before the game going gold. The camera as mentioned before, may be a gripe for some, but to be honest its not that bad at all.All in all, in my opinion Castlevania was really worthy of the £40 i spent on it on its release. It wasnt really a game I was looking forward to or excited about I must admit, mainly because of it being massively overshadowed by other games around its release (i.e medal of honor, forthcoming call of duty etc etc) . But seriously dont miss this one! It just goes to show that if you look hard enough you find a gem once in while amongst all the crap that gets released.In a nutshell Castlevania is = devil may cry meets prince of persia and shadow of the collossus came along for the ride.98/100

6.3.2011

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an action adventure game, combining combat with puzzles and adventuring and it does everything so well. It's a reboot to the original series. The combat is excellent, fun and bloody. The more puzzles you solve and the more enemies you kill then the more XP you earn and with this XP you can purchase new combat moves and other upgrades for Gabriel. The puzzles aren't exactly hard but they do prevent this game from being just a hack and slash which is good. If you do get stuck with the puzzles, you can access your travel book (contains information about characters, monsters, weapon upgrades and from here you can purchase new moves and abilities)and click on "solve puzzle" to get the answer to a puzzle at the cost of losing an XP reward for completing it. Then there's the adventuring where you must climb, repel with the combat cross (Gabriel's weapon) and jump through exotic and beautiful environments accompanied by an epic score of music. It's truly wonderful. The game may not be like the originals but it's a great and almost perfect game in its own right.The boss battles are pretty good as well and always accompanied by epic music which just makes the battles even more amazing. There are 12 chapters and it'll probably take you 20 hours to finish them all and maybe 40 hours to finish everything (i.e, replay on different difficulty levels, complete level trails, find all weapon upgrades). What with Lords of Shadow being quite cheap now, you'll get more than your money's worth.The story is quite average at the beginning and begins slow with Gabriel seeking to resurrect his beloved wife, (this story has been done so many times to death now. It's too generic.) however it gets more interesting in further chapters as you see that Gabriel has a dark destiny ahead of him and then during later near-end chapters it gets deep until it reaches epic. Everything compliments one another. The areas that Gabriel transverses, the music, the atmosphere. As Gabriel progresses to defeat the final evil in the game, he travels completely alone in desolated and almost forgotten places. Dark, tragic and forlorn music plays in these areas and all of this goes hand in hand to show Gabriel's decent into darkness. Combine that with the narrator (Patrick Stewart who plays Zobek) speaking before every quest and the story truly does end up being amazing. The ending isn't bad (far from it!) in my opinion but I did find it rather odd.It is a Castlevania game despite what others say. Combat requires thought, timing and skill on harder difficulties and enemies all have their weaknesses. It simply lacks the non-linear exploration of some other Castlevania titles but many of the older CV titles had linear progression through levels like Lords of Shadow does (although LoS is actually more open in its levels but you practically advance through the game stage by stage like the old games). However the game is a reboot and the series needed this. Obviously, as a reboot, it's going to be different to the original games in that it introduces new gameplay mechanics.With that said, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has many memorable moments - fighting the ice titan, scaling the castle walls (yes, the castle is in the game for 5 chapters and the expansions bring it back for another two), fighting advancing forces of vampires and travelling through beautiful environments.If you're looking for a good game that will last you some time, then this is it and it was most certainly the best action-adventure game of 2010 and could even still hold this title for 2011.

27.10.2010

It is so refreshing to see a game that has said "no" to multiplayer and really got back to basics.A nice solid story line, with the odd cliche here and there, but I suppose that is hard to achieve these days when pitting good against evil as its all been done before. However, Catlevania has some good references to myth and story with characters like "pan" and "frankenstien" giving parts of the story a familiarity as you embark on a epic quest across the land. Which will see you into the 20 hour region (as single player games should be, not 5-6 hours like other similar titles)One let down to the story is the voice acting. Even with actors such as Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle the dialogue seems to be a bit flat and without feeling.I wouldnt say the voice acting is bad, I just expected a bit better from the talent behind the mic.The gameplay is fast paced hack'n'slash adventure much like god of war. The more enemies you kill/puzzles you solve, the more points you earn to buy upgardes for your primary/secondary weapons and magic abilities. There is light and dark magic. Light magic makes your attacks return health points to you with every sucessful strike, dark magic makes your attacks more powerful. Also, you can link together blocks, dodges and successful hits to gain "focus". Whilst in focus every succesful strike will offer up and orb to help refill your magic. This gives the combat a nice mix of tactics as if you are low on health and light magic you really need to get your focus which means slowing down and getting your blocks and dodging perfect. As the game takes you on a large scale adventure you will come across plenty of differnt enemies in all shapes and sizes from little forest goblins to giant titans and everything inbetween.The visuals in Castlevania L.o.S are stunning. The detail of the lands and structures, the lighting effects, the crisp textures. This is one very asthetically pleasing game. With the story being an epic journey across the map, the scenery is constantly changing from lush forests to snowy ice capped mountains, bubbling misty swamps to grand castle libraries. When it comes to tales of old/lord of the rings style scenery, Castlevania has pretty much got it covered.This game does have its flaws however. Many people have experienced crashing and glitches. The only thing I witnessed was a few times during cutscenes the dialogue would mute for the odd sentance or two. Also, while the cameras fixed path does give you some breath taking views it can also be a bit of a pain when trying to negotiate a small ledge or balance beam as it decides to swing round to get a better view meaning you pushing forward is now you pushing up and off of the ledge your making your way across.This is a big game, it comes on two dvd's. So to get the best performance from installing make sure you have alot of free space.However, the experience and enjoyment of the game far outwiegh these teething problems.If you like the god of war/devil may cry style of fast paced gameplay, then I highly reccomend this game. If you have never experienced one before, then this is a good place to start. Its not a sequel (so the story is fresh) and will give you plenty of hours gaming.

26.9.2011

Castlevania LOS is pretty much what you would expect nowadays from Konami. It's basically a mixture between Devil May Cry and God of War. Like DMC, the games takes place in a beautifully designed world, where, unfortunately, nothing is interactive. There are beautiful landscapes and intricate details to the surroundings but you are stuck on a predertermined path which takes you through each level; so not much exploration is necessary. Like GOW, there are a lot of epic battles involving all levels of combat from button bashing to complex combos to huge quick time set pieces.The story is ok, not great, again a very typical Japanese take on things. The Japanese tend to like to sacrifice plot complexity for large-as-life colourful action,

5.9.2012

The sense you get while playing this Castlevania is that it is made by people who have something to prove. Mercury Steam were still smarting from less successful titles and needed this to work. A 3D Castlevania had yet to be a hit and many saw the portable Metroidvania titles as the series' lifeblood.The gameplay is quite conservative, some might say plagiaristic. Much of the core mechanics are very similar to God of War. And when the game isn't borrowing from God of War it is taking elements from Shadow of the Colossus. I can sympathise with the creators playing it safe but I just think that a series as mighty as Castlevania should resist standing on the shoulders of giants.

1.5.2011

Just replayed this after 1st playing it on PS3 game a year+ ago. Now re-played the 360 version!.Casltevania is a great action/adventure game added with a good mix of platforming and the odd puzzle solving. Graphics are certainly some of the best I seen both on PS3/XB360 to date: Great effects, atmosphere, quality animation, excellent texture and lighting. The variety of graphical effects are vast and of high AAA standard that can easily equal or even surpass Uncharted 2 graphically in many areas. Castlevania certainly outshines UC2 with platforming, puzzles, action and boss battles!!!...The orchestral soundtrack is nothing short of quality. Always hitting the right mood with pace and ambiance perfectly.

20.12.2010

Taking a classic franchise in a new direction is always dangerous, but Konami should be praised for giving free reign to European developer Mercury Steam who came up with `Castlevania: Lords of Shadow'. The game is based on the same mythos as the classic franchise, but sits separately. You play as Gabriel Beaumont and must travel the lands of werewolves, vampires and warlock (singular) to gain access to the ultimate power and prevent evil inheriting the Earth. The game is a 3rd person action platformer with more than a smattering of `God of War' about it, with a sprinkling of `Shadow of the Colossus' thrown in for good measure.Incorporating ideas from two of the best game franchise of the past 10 years is no bad thing and `Castlevania'

9.12.2010

Let's start talking about games that are around and you might have played.I can compare this game with Dante's Inferno, it will be the same style of game (you are not able to change the view camera, combos to unlock, excellent graphics etc) with a bit of Devil May Cry 4.So if you liked these type of games you MUST get this one.The graphics as I said they are amazing, the stages are beautiful and full of details, the cut scenes are stunning. There is nothing to complaint about here.The game play is very much like Dante's Inferno/ Devil May Cry (or God of War - PS platform), I kill monsters get EXP points to buy new tricks and etc.I have seen people complaining about the lack of exploration and on that bit I have to agree and disagree,

13.5.2012

Lots of people have called it a God of War set in europe, i haven't played God of war but if its anything like this I'm buying a Playstation. one of the most enjoyable story lines i have played from an Xbox 360 game, with great voice acting and a really cool methodical europe setting (vampire werewolf's etc). The gameplay is very linear and being a man who enjoys open world games this put me off at first with the lack of exploration. but that is not what this game is about. The graphics are insane with a variety of different environments from mountain peaks to bleak sewers and flipping epic woodlands and castles. Sooo much better than the originals and yet it keeps very true to them with original music and such.

22.4.2011

This game doesn't bring much new to the video game market - we've all seen the hack & slash games over the past few years - the hugely successful God Of War series, Dante's Inferno, the Devil May Cry series - and this has more in common with the God Of War games simply due to the huge scale of some battles. Although unoriginal, the combat is good fun, and as you gain experience you can purchase new combos which you'll have a time trying to remember when you're in the midst of a brawl. You can also upgrade the two magics that you learn as the story progresses, which aid you in different ways with your fight to find the Lords of Shadow. On that journey,

8.11.2010

After a long history of very awful 3D games on the N64 and PS2, Konami have finally gotten it right. It does however feel alot like GoW - but that's no bad thing.The combat is pretty brutal and bloody, the enemies are varied and come in varying degrees of challenge - from fodder to tough. Add to that some great boss battles, reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus. The musical score is well put together and adds to the "epicness". The voice acting, including Patrick "Picard" Stewart, is top notch. The campaign is huge and there is certainly replay value in the hidden unlockables, etc... .My only gripes mainly stem from the camera.

17.11.2010

It is often said that imitation is the ultimate form of flattery; well if this is the case, JRR Tolkien and/or Peter Jackson must be very proud men indeed.Castlevania LOS is a fantastic game with some beautiful level design; some top notch voice talent, a very stirring musical score and some brilliant creature design to boot. The only place where the designers seemed not to have strived for 110% is with originality. There are some glaringly obvious nods to a certain fantasy book or film trilogy including Wargs, Giant Spiders (not unlike Shelob) and even vampires that bear more than a passing resemblance to the Uruk Hai. We even have a main narrative character called Gandolfi!

19.1.2011

All in all my first Castlevania game and I am pretty happy with it.There is a good flow to the storyline with the main characters superbly voiced by Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart.The challenges and puzzles are well thought out with a wide variety of differing enemies to be pounded into a bloody pulp. The "quick time" events were well thought out and sometimes unexpected!I suppose it can get a little repetetive but I think there is enough content and variation to keep fans of the series interested (though I am told not enough "castles")If I did have a gripe it would be that some of the camera angles when your trying to find life, light & shadow gems are crazy (you can get into a real mess when your fighting as well being off camera as well!).

14.8.2011

I loved the good old castlevania side scrolling games from the snes days and I was really looking forward to the next gen attempt at this series.Boy did Konami nail it. This game has got it all, the graphics are so vivid I thought I was playing through a movie. The controls are as complex as you want, you can stick to basic moves for the newbies, or you can master cool combos, either way you'll still enjoy this masterpiece.The game is absolutly massive, I usually rent games and complete them in a weekend, this game however could not be completed so fast and is definitely worth the purchase.I can't understand the negative reviews,

18.11.2010

Good Points:I quote liked the part where you fight the bosses because they are quite scary at times during the game. I especially liked the battle with the Black Knight. It just makes him angry seeing Claudia's death. The battle against him was excellent.The voice acting is really impressive especially with Sir Patrick Stewart as Zobek. I liked everything he says e.g. "Back you demons" or "You will all meet the same fate. It made me laugh.I quite like the graphics because it almost sounded you are inside the game itself. I was delighted with the background music. Some of them are mysterious and some like action-packedBad Points:It is strange really with Gabriel armed with only a cross.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Xbox 360) - Reviews

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