Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

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localflick
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by localflick »

Has anyone played this yet? It seems like in reviews people absolutely love it, or can't stand it.

Personally I like it, but not as a Castlevania game. There's a lot of mountain climbing like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider where you're shimmying across ledges, using the whip to grapple and swing, and in some areas there's a lot more of this than fighting. The ps2 games were mostly combat focused so that was kind of an odd thing to get used to. And the Shadow of the Colossus style bosses are good, just unoriginal.

Yamane left Konami in 2008, so the music is this generic orchestral stuff that's atmospheric, but also not feeling like Castlevania. They threw in references to Castlevania games like the Veros woods, Wygol village, Cornell and Brauner, but they seem like the names were just thrown in to please long time fans. It's a fun game, and it's supposed to be a reboot of the series, but unlike Silent Hill's Shattered Memories reboot, this is a completely different game than the series it was based off of.

So has anyone else played it? Do you like it?

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Ardent Fox »

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The One True Castlevania.

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by DragonmasterDan »

localflick wrote:Has anyone played this yet? It seems like in reviews people absolutely love it, or can't stand it.

Personally I like it, but not as a Castlevania game. There's a lot of mountain climbing like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider where you're shimmying across ledges, using the whip to grapple and swing, and in some areas there's a lot more of this than fighting. The ps2 games were mostly combat focused so that was kind of an odd thing to get used to. And the Shadow of the Colossus style bosses are good, just unoriginal.

Yamane left Konami in 2008, so the music is this generic orchestral stuff that's atmospheric, but also not feeling like Castlevania. They threw in references to Castlevania games like the Veros woods, Wygol village, Cornell and Brauner, but they seem like the names were just thrown in to please long time fans. It's a fun game, and it's supposed to be a reboot of the series, but unlike Silent Hill's Shattered Memories reboot, this is a completely different game than the series it was based off of.

So has anyone else played it? Do you like it?
I played the Demo, it's another Devil May Cry over the God of War game. It doesn't feel like Castlevania just like the PS2 Castlevania's. I wasn't impressed.

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by whitedragon_nall »

My feelings for the game are lukewarm. Ardent Fox pretty much summed it up . I felt like Mercury Steam just took several popular franchises, smashed them all together, and gave it a bunch of Castlevania references. The first half the the game didn't even feel like Castlevania. It wasn't a bad game by any means....just not a good Castlevania game.

I guess it was a decent attempt, but I'll take any IGA Castlevania or another Rebirth game over LoS any day.
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Dark_Fairy »

Everyone has pretty much summed up my opinion, but whatever. I'll still say what I think. ^^;

It's more or less Prince of Persia/God of War/Shadow of the Colossus/Devil May Cry combined into one game. It's a fun game though. I actually really like the game. Now is it Castlevania?

NO. This game just wasn't Castlevania to me. Yeah, it seemed more Castlevania as you progressed, but...meh. I know it was an attempt to bring the old-school styled Castlevania games into 3D, but I don't think it really worked. It seems like all the 3D Castlevanias just can never be 100% correct.

I totally agree with whitedragon_nall. I would take another IGA Castlevania or Rebirth anyday. That is, as long as IGA doesn't make another Harmony of Despair or Judgment. :x

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by whitedragon_nall »

It's really kind of sad. I was expecting this game to be THE 3d Castlevania I've been waiting for. I enjoyed my time with LoI and CoD, but never got the chance to play the N64 games.

This game seemed to hype itself as the definitive 3d 'vania. I would read interviews with Dave Cox where he would state his love of the older games, especially SCV4...which is one of my faves. Quotes like "SCV4 is my bible" excited me greatly. My hype meter was through the roof....then I played the game. What I got was something that felt like several other games I had already played, but not Castlevania.

I haven't touched the game since I've beaten it....something that has never happened to me with a Castlevania before. Usually I milk them of all they have to offer and still continue playing them. I hear a sequel is already in the works and I'll probably still pick it up, I just hope they make it more of a Castlevania game. Maybe bring in somebody that worked on previous games in the series to offer advice.

Oh, and how bout that ending....... :roll:
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Silver Phoenix »

Let me just say this. I returned the over-priced P.O.S. collector's edition to Amazon because I felt wallet-raped paying $80 for such crap.

I can't stand the defenders of this game because they have unrealistic views against what made Castlevania such a revered series. It's not that they don't have a right to their opinion, but don't try to force your opinion on others by saying how wrong they are if they don't like the game.

The game for me was so over-hyped, and when I got it and started playing I was like "WTF" the whole time. I was just waiting for it to get better and it never did. The camera is horrible, the forced input lag on the control at times is infuriating, and for such a lengthy playtime the music is repetitive and better suited to an action film.

The subweapons suck and the upgrades are pathetic. Ooh, you gained 2 more fairies! I hated having to replay the levels over from start to finish just to get whatever items you unlocked to save. It artificially extends the game, and it's not like there are any secret areas to explore once you gain new abilities to increase your percent of completion. You just have to play on every difficulty and complete ridiculous worthless trials. I hated that damn Music Box, and it's the only time in the entire game where a classic track appears in a minimal form.

The frame rate in this game is unstable, and in some areas it looks really grainy and crappy. Then in a few areas it is magically sharper (chapters 3 and 4) then it drops again. The cutscenes are the only sharp part of the game, and not even all of them are crisp. The best graphics appear during the Eagle Pan + Gabriel cutscene.

I hate the Titans because of how sluggish the controls become when fighting them. The end boss is just ridiculous as is the ending. The epilogue is even worse, and that's entirely Kojima's messy doing. Konami Japan needs to stick to making their own damn games.
Last edited by Silver Phoenix on Mon Nov 01, 2010 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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whitedragon_nall
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by whitedragon_nall »

Tell us what you really think. :lol:

I really don't believe Mercury Steam when they say "This game has been Castlevania from the start." To me, it felt like a different game that tried to shoehorn Castlevania into it midway through development.

However, I did enjoy the game despite all it's shortcomings.
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

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Shiva Indis
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Shiva Indis »

^ Castlevania: Boards of Plywood. :lol:

If a game is made up of derivative elements you enjoyed in other games, why not enjoy it, right? I won't say it's a great Castlevania, but...it's pretty, right? People look shellacked when they're out in the rain, and that's one of the current heights of graphical capability, right?

Also, why does this Gabriel dude seem so bored with his life? It's like he's gone so far beyond grim that he's broken into mentally deficient.
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Ardent Fox
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Ardent Fox »

It's not difficult to make a game look good these days honestly.

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Silver Phoenix »

I still found God of War 3 to be graphically superior to this game and at least look "polished" regardless of LoS' more artistic look. Oh, and you can successfully block in God of War 3 unlike this game which is more stop, drop, and roll. Did I mention the camera....

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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by whitedragon_nall »

Yeah, the game is pretty. Too bad you can't run around and look at the all the prettiness because there's probably an invisible wall stopping you. I agree with SP on the combat too. I found most of the combos in the game to be pretty much worthless since every time I tried to do anything more than 3 hits, an enemy would jump in off camera and hit me from behind. Or a Warg would launch his unblockable at me....also off camera.

Simon needs to come and show Gabe how a real Belmont does things. And Sir PatricK Stewart....you're great and all, but please just shut up.
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Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Post by Silver Phoenix »

Yeah, I don't think this game is a good example of Patrick Stewart's talent. The way he read the stage introductions didn't always flow properly, and most of the time it lacked a certain something. I also hated how his narrative seemed to be one of the loudest in the game, which needed tweaking in the audio options.

The lack of control customization sucked ass too. Pressing L3 and R3 to absorb magic was like stopping to poop in the middle of a fight scene.

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