Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow

This comes out next week, and a couple of early reviews are promising. (Eurogamer gives it an 8.) Rather than another "Metroidvania" style in-house Konami entry, this is a big, beefy (20 hours, apparently) action-oriented Castlevania game from Spanish development house MercurySteam with significant involvement from Hideo Kojima. Which could mean the cutscenes are 40% of the game, but it's certainly looking lovely.

I've got it pre-ordered. It's obviously borrowing liberally from God Of War, but as I'm sick of the Metroidvanias and GoW was basically what Castlevania should have been in 3D, I'm not complaining.

Also starring Patrick Stewart, Robert Carlyle and Jason Isaacs!

I'd consider Eurogamer major, but regardless it seems like the embargo has only lifted on European reviews.

Well this is certainly an epic epic of epic epicness. I finished Chapter One (of twelve) after about two hours and it already had enough sweeping vistas and gigantic set pieces for three games.

It's bursting at the seams. There is definitely a bit of jankiness to the whole affair so far--Gabriel moves about twice as fast as you'd expect and I'm hoping both he and the game stop and take a breath eventually. The fixed and nearly stationary camera means you get a lot of Resident Evil-style transitions where you just about run off camera before the angle switches. Don't really have an opinion on the combat so far, it's ok. Like Gabriel, it feels a bit too light.

But damn. Talk about playing just to see what's coming next.

The combat has gotten surprisingly deep, actually. I'd even say it's closer to Ninja Gaiden than God Of War on the action-game spectrum. You eventually get two magic meters that you can turn on and off at any time--one that boosts your health as you fight, and one that boosts your damage. You really need to juggle these along with absorbing power orbs to keep them filled, which only appear when the meters are turned off, and ties into a combo meter that produces more of those orbs for each successful hit.

Was just about to post if anyone else had picked this up yet. I'm on Chapter Nine. It's got a couple of infuriating design decisions that keep it from being a game-of-the-year tour de force, but it's $60 worth of game, for sure.

Unfortunately I can't unsee Gabriel's tiny head after Xion mentioned it.

Wellllll... occasionally I want to do terrible things to the camera programmer. The reverse angle shots went out with Resident Evil 3, fighting offscreen enemies is no fun, and it sometimes stays pulled too far back in fights.

I *love* the light/shadow mechanics, but sucking up orbs with L3/R3 blows. The whole system could probably be streamlined a bit.

I like how the levels have secrets tucked away here and there, but I'm not a fan of alternate paths being closed off until you go through the level again. I don't mean secrets that require later items to get to, I mean choosing the left path and getting thrown into a cutscene that doesn't let you go back to check out the right path. Especially when there are like six hundred upgrade items hidden in the game.

The game looks freakin' amazing, but I would have accepted a few less bells and whistles for a smoother framerate.

And now I'm just basically whining, but they gave everyone and his werewolf brother an unblockable. And an area attack. Come on!

So there are too many caveats among everything I like to completely spooge over the whole game, but there's still a whole lot of love put into it. Nearly every damn frame is a work of art, I'm engaged in the story and Patrick Stewart's Totally-Not-Suspicious narration, and there's just so much game. When you get into a zone with the combat system, and you're countering everything and orbs are popping out everywhere and you are just violating those goddamn wraith swordsmen, mmmm so good.

Haaahahahaaha, holy shit. THAT'S where Kojima was hiding. In the post-credits sequence!

Heh, I'm half-joking of course--I would actually guess that Mercury Steam had that ending in mind the entire time, although I'm sure Kojima highly approved. One thing he definitely consulted them about was Gabriel's design--he was initially a burly, barbaric character, and Kojima suggested they tone him down to suit the story.

And shrink his head, presumably.

I knew or figured out you could do that when the ability was introduced, but I have read other people not knowing about it either. Regardless, it's a symptom of one of the game's significant flaws in that it is highly inconsistent in the information it gives you. Sometimes it holds your hand through glowing ledges; sometimes you just have to guess between a safe landing and an insta-death.

Protip along similar lines: LT+Y (I think) is a direct ground punch. This would have saved me a lot of rage at later puzzles that I was trying to solve with a freakin' diagonal jumping earthquake punch.

Ha, how'd you miss that? I actually figured that revelation was coming for a while, but I certainly didn't expect the events after they crashed through the window.

There's a neat Easter Egg or two in that epilogue, by the way, like the remains of this guy.

If the next game follows directly, that's going to be one wacky sequel, and really, really stretching the definition of a "Castlevania" game. But they left themselves plenty of room to do something more traditional, too.

There's plenty to fill in there although I kind of assumed that span of time also includes every Belmont Castlevania game. Honestly, as entertainingly nutshit as the epilogue was, I would have emitted a little fanboy squee if after revealing Gabriel/Drac on the throne, it pulled all the way back to show Simon Belmont approaching the castle gates, a la the original game's intro.

It's arguably the worst level in the game (and worst-performing, technically). The game has its fair share of issues, to be sure, but the demo is a little weak, especially regarding the combat.