Review: Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow

Dark Times Need A Dark Hero

Story

The glimmering new addition to the some what popular franchise has been given a dramatic make-over to give any Castlevania fan a run for their money. Firstly, Konami have decided to scrap the whole castle idea (which in general is the base of the franchise) and instead have thrown you into the wide open world to fend for your self. You play as the dark and gloomy Gabriel Belmont, a knight of the Brotherhood of Light, who has begun his own journey of vengeance and self redemption to save his recently deceased wife, Marie, the victim of a bloody and brutal murder..I guess that would the explain the gloominess.

The game pretty much starts you off during Gabriel’s somewhat questionable aim to save his beloved wife from the clutches of death in which you soon find that there is a definite way to bring her back, with the obvious quest of perilous danger and hardship to in order to reach this ultimate goal. During the early stages of the game you run into an experienced knight of your order who offers to battle along side you during your quest.

At this moment in the game you are pretty much handed your overall quest objective in which you must start alone in the ancient Lycan city while Zobek, your fellow brotherhood knight, travels to the land of the vampires where you both must destroy two of the three lords of shadow where you then must both battle the final Necromancer lord to finally gain the three pieces of the ancient God mask that contains the power to bring life from the dead.

Gameplay

As with most Castlevania titles, the basic combat throughout each game may seem quite familiar to some, but extra creativity has definitely shun through here as most of the combat has been dramatically refined to offer the best in fast paced hack and slash action you would only come to expect from one of today’s top sellers. The unlockable combat moves and upgrades including additional sub-weapons is also a great feature within the game as it helps keep the gameplay fresh and dynamic but also keeps feeding you little tasters of the past with such items as holy water from previous titles. The added features also give you other things to think about while button mashing your way through the story which you are guaranteed to be doing.

Special light and dark magic’s Gabriel can use in the game play quite a large role when in combat as they both give you additional perks like healing or extra strength while you focus on ripping your foes to bloody pieces. However like any gamer, constant slaughtering of your enemies may seem old after a while which is why LoS also includes a vast array of puzzle solving intertwined within the story which should keep you on your toes.

Design

As you would have guessed by now, LoS has replaced your castle with the lush open wild which has indefinitely given Konami the chance to expand their digital empire by providing stunning scenery throughout the game, from giant engulfing forests to beautiful amethyst encrusted caverns. The many cut-scene are also a feature to catch your eye as the character design has been carried out in great detail, showing off every little face expression and body language providing each character with a heightened amount of naturalism.

Not only do the main characters look great, but the bad ones do to. Alot of the time you will notice that the many bosses found throughout will make you want to evade the oncoming threat to just take a little more time to take in the atmosphere the fight gives off. Such bosses as the 50 foot stone titan do give you a sense of the game’s beauty as you must scale to the top of the beast which will ultimately provide you with some epic visuals not only of the gargantuan beast (I always wanted to use that word in a sentence) but the stunning open environment below.

Overall

Castlevania’s past hasn’t been a huge deal, with underdeveloped 3D instalments here and there to the recently released Castlevania Judgement on the Wii which any fan would agree isn’t exactly great. However, LoS has surprisingly overcome all it’s predecessors and has almost reinvented the whole franchise with it’s dynamic combat style, stunning views and gripping story line.

The only minor annoyance you may find when playing is the limited use of camera angle which can sometimes distort your view on the surrounding are causing you to aimlessly run around pressing every button on your controller in the hope to progress further. However, the camera can also provide stunning shots of the game while playing through it’s 12 brilliant chapters that keeps reminding you of the game’s open beauty.

Like many other classics, LoS has stayed within the guide lines of it’s past, keeping such things as similar combat styles, but unlike other games, the elements that have given Castlevania it’s popularity over the years have been carefully focused upon to not only ensure the past is still there but to also give this new title a chance to grow and expand to ultimately change the face of Castlevania for future title’s to come.