Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Castlevania game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun if they can excuse a lot of mindless button mashing and a couple technical issues. The developers have successfully adopted ideas from several popular games (God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Uncharted, Resident Evil) but that also means this isn't a very original effort. In the end, I'd rather play a more traditional 2D Castlevania game, but there is no denying that this is a beautiful and enjoyable change of pace.

The combat is great and the boss battles are quite memorable, but it degenerates when those core ideas clash--when Castlevania ignores what it does so well (action) for the sake of creating a more diverse experience. The problem is that diversity ultimately adds nothing notable except for shallow adventure elements and frustration. It's a good start for a series in need of some new blood--so to speak--it's just unfortunate so much of it comes from other games and not an original source.

While it takes some time to find its own identity, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a solid Gothic action game that is competent in all areas - but never outstanding in any of them. There are occasional moments of brilliance, but they are few and far between. It's never really bad (except for the Titan's Graveyard level), but it's never really great, either. That said, it looks really, really nice.

Lords of Shadow does feel fresh for a Castlevania game, but much of it will be familiar to anyone who’s played God of War, Bayonetta, Tomb Raider, and/or Uncharted. Oh, and Shadow of the Colossus. If ever a game could fit the term pastiche, LoS jumps in and wears it like a glove. It does bring some new ideas to the table, and it does everything – from the graphical details, to the music, to the ludicrously epic boss fights – with passion and finesse. One bandwagon it hasn’t jumped on is the trend for games to be easy these days.

Not only is the game completely unoriginal, it doesn't even manage to be seamless and competent with its copying like an unoriginal game needs to be. There's no justification for Lords of Shadow. It's simply a second-rate title that might have been good a decade ago, but doesn't need to exist in this day and age.

Castlevania takes a few hours to get rolling, but once it sinks its fangs in you’ll be absorbed. After putting nearly 20 hours into Lords of Shadow I emerged satisfied and ready to play again. This polished, action-packed adventure has me ecstatic to see not only what’s in store for the next 3D Castlevania, but also what talented developer MercurySteam does next. Don’t let the deluge of fall releases or the 3D Castlevania stigma keep you from this amazing quest.

Calling CLOS a surprise hit might be a little unfair, as the game looked impressive throughout development, but it's fair to say that I simply didn't expect to enjoy it this much. With a combat system that cleverly overcomes button mashing, wonderful design work and a story that spans far longer than your average video game, Lords of Shadow is exactly what the Castlevania franchise needed to find popularity with a new generation of gamers - and us oldies too.

For the first time in 25 years of Castlevania, the franchise is wiping the slate clean and heading down a path which is unfamiliar for the series. Touted as a reboot, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a 3D action adventure title, opting for more of a hack and slash style of gameplay rather than the 2D platformer we've all become accustomed to over the years.

One may argue that Castelvania: Lords of Shadow's gameplay borrowed a lot form the God of War series. After all, it was Kratos who introduced flailing chains to the hack and slash genre. Nonetheless, despite the similarities, Castlevania is able to maintain a certain charm about it. It’s a solid, all-round game, offering a little bit of everything in healthy doses whilst also preserving the essence of the Castlevania series. Exploration and puzzles keep it from getting monotonous, and the compelling yet emotional story makes this game an experience to remember.

While Lords of Shadow initially feels like a blockbuster knock-off, the game is anything but a generic action game.

Like Mary Shelley’s gothic creation, you’ll come to discover that Lords of Shadow is no monster, even if its ubiquitous quick-time events will occasionally see you reaching for your pitchfork.

Mercury Steam consigue resucitar las series Castlevania en tres dimensiones y, al mismo tiempo, hacer que la IP debute con éxito en la Next-Gen. Con fantástico pulso y muy buen ritmo, Lords of Shadow nos lleva de la mano durante sus 15 horas de campaña con un nuevo ejemplo para consolidar el 2010 como el año del Hack and Slash por excelencia.

El resultado es muy satisfactorio y la partitura de Óscar Araujo no solo cumple sobradamente su cometido, sino que acompaña a la perfección el juego y contiene temas identificables que oscilan entre los más contundentes y las piezas nostálgicas como el bello lamento de Gabriel. El estilo recuerda mucho a la música de Howard Shore para El Señor de los Anillos, si bien algo más de referencias a la música de la saga hubieran hecho enloquecer a los fans hasta el extremo.

Un titre beau, long et doté d'un système de jeu incroyablement malin, ce n'est jamais de refus, surtout s'il porte la marque du vampire. Certes, le sentiment de déjà-joué ne se dissipera jamais vraiment, et on a encore du mal à y retrouver la mythologie de la série, malgré un final qui tente bon gré mal gré d'assurer la liaison. Mais ce nouvel épisode récite ses gammes avec une telle application qu'il est difficile de le prendre à défaut.

Alors qu'on pourra taxer Castlevania : Lords of Shadow de simple pot-pourri vidéoludique, force est de reconnaître que, paradoxalement, le mélange d'influences sied à merveille au renouveau de la série en lui offrant une véritable cohérence et surtout une touche plus démesurée que jamais. Multipliant les clins d'oeil à Devil May Cry, Shadow of the Colossus ou God of War, ce nouveau cru de Castlevania opte pour une évolution, certes plus grand public, mais aussi et surtout une vision romancée et hollywoodienne à la fois d'une saga légendaire.

Ho voluto quindi premiare Lords of Shadow perché era un progetto "pericoloso", forse l'ultima chance che noi fan di Castlevania avremmo concesso a Konami per portare questa serie nel mondo 3D. Le possibilità che qualcosa andasse storta erano nettamente superiori a quelle che facevano intravedere un risultato positivo. Invece, alla fine di tutto, ci troviamo di fronte a un titolo splendido, appassionante e mastodontico.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is een zeer toffe ervaring geworden die bedoeld is voor de fans van de franchise alsook nieuwkomers die aan de slag willen met een uitdagende platformer. Het spel is niet altijd even makkelijk, maar dat is juist goed. Door uitdaging wordt een gamer beter en haalt daarmee het beste in zichzelf naar boven. Met een singleplayer van ongeveer 20 uur is Castlevania: LoS absoluut zijn geld waard.

Jag är mycket nöjd över att de inte föll i multiplayer-fällan eller petade in en massa onödigt samlande för att förlänga spelets livslängd. Likt Resident Evil 4, Half-Life 2 eller Metroid Prime är det helt enkelt bara så stort. Det har sina brister och kunde ha polerats ytterligare en aning rent tekniskt, men på det hela taget är detta det överlägset bästa tredimensionella Castlevania och tillika ett av årets maffigaste actionspel.