Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

[DickDalewood]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

AWESOME! Thanks Flawless.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Castlevania and NBA 2K11 on the same day? I think my head will explode.

[MarvellousOne]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

I got high hopes for this title, it really looks good and it's been awhile since I have played a Castlevania game so I'm expecting good things here. Can't wait to see how it turns out

[Cyros]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Hideo Kojima directed trailer. Sleeper hit of the year?

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That's a ****ing hype video.

[Flawless]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

GamesMaster and Xbox 360 World Reviews

The game has been given GamesMaster's Gold Award, along with Xbox World 360's Star Player accolade. Both are only bestowed on games that crack the elusive 90% barrier.

'Water Castlevania's roots and a rollicking adventure sprouts forth," writes Xbox World 360. 'Brilliant, bloody fun... Lords Of Shadow feels like 16-bit design filtered through 20 years of innovation. there is passion here for the old ways - all buffed to a 2010 gleam.'

GamesMaster adds: 'A strong contender for action game of the year. The triumphant reimagining the series has always deserved.'

LOS, which features 50 levels and a campaign that lasts 20-plus hours, is set in Southern Europe during the Middle Ages.

You play Gabriel Belmont, voiced by Robert Carlyle, who is looking to bring his wife back from the dead - by defeating the titular Lords and piecing together the magical God Mask.

The game wears the obvious influence by God Of War, Devil May Cry and Shadow Of The Colossus. It's been developed by Mercury Steam and overseen by Hideo Kojima.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Lords Of Shadow feels like 16-bit design filtered through 20 years of innovation. there is passion here for the old ways - all buffed to a 2010 gleam.'

So, so happy it went back to the roots.

[Admiral50]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Played the demo.

It's good but not great I'd say.

The graphics are pretty jaggy and don't have the same polish as God of War 3 but still look nice.

The general fighting isn't quite as responsive, smooth and varied as GOW but again, pretty good. The demo shows a lot smaller, enclosed areas than I expected and not many enemies on the screen at once.

Their version of QTE's are a bit basic and some cutscenes you'd expect to have some sort of QTE control just play out without any interaction at all.

There's an on-rails horse riding part which isn't great unfortunately.

I guess I've been spoiled with the quality and brilliance of God of War 3 and and in comparison Castlevania seems like a little brother but it's still got a lot going for it. I am still gonna buy it.

Note: I know the game isn't a GOW3 clone but the demo stages are very similar, hence the comparisons.

[DickDalewood]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

^ All I need is solid gameplay. What really has me excited for this game is the story (20+ hours) and the world in which it will take place... Neither of which a demo will truly let you get a feel for.

But hey, if the reviews come out and this is terrible, I'll definitely be disappointed, but I'll just get Enslaved instead.

[Flawless]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

More Magazine Reviews:


EDGE - 8

15-20 hour playthrough. The 3D spin is a greater success than anyone could've reasonably expected. It's a vehicle that will win over more action fans than true-bloods.

OPM UK - 9

OXM UK - 9

There are a couple of niggles, not least that LOS 'sometimes fails to effectively communicate where you should be going'

However, that doesn't stop OXM from calling LOS 'a huge and stylish collision of influences' - including God Of War, Shadow Of The Colossus and Pan's Labyrinth.

Tellingly, the game is labelled 'an **** and slightly unexpected triumph'.

PSM3 - 94

It executes all its ideas with surgical precision, wrapping them up in a presentation so polished - yet so tastefully understated - it could easily have been crafted by Kojima himself."

"All the more credit to Dave Cox and Mercury Steam."
...

"Some puzzles travel through the realm of challenging and end up at the annoying - largely because you're lead towards one solution and then expected to do something completely different,"
...

"There's a fine line to be walked between excessive hand-holding, and providing a genuine challenge: and most times Lords of Shadow gets the balance spot on. Just not every time."

[Flawless]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Another hype trailer:

http://g4tv.com/videos/48935/Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-Gameplay-Trailer/?quality=hd

...

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Another hype trailer:

http://g4tv.com/videos/48935/Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-Gameplay-Trailer/?quality=hd

...

I have this feeling that this game spells sleeper hit of the year just from all the videos.

[Flawless]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

Eurogamer - 8

So even though the wait continues for a 3D Castlevania that truly matches the elegance, complexity and spatial intelligence of the 2D games, this is a polished and enjoyable blast of musty Gothic action in its own right. In the future, we can only hope that a developer finds a way to deliver more of the core series components – of buildings that you piece together through exploration, of back-tracking that never seems like a chore. For now, though, even with a missing piece of that magnitude, MercurySteam has managed to deliver a game that's heartfelt, handsome, and quietly distinct. It's nice to see Robert Carlyle getting a bit of work, too.

Videogamer - 9

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.

Gamesradar - 9

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow reinvigorates the franchise by borrowing from other games, adding its own wonderful magic system, and ratcheting up the **** factor to ludicrous degrees. It’s huge in scope, length, and depth, and it’s polished with obvious love and passion.

[Tha_Kid]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

I read a review that said the 360 version spends quite a bit of time on the wrong side of 30fps. I've got this preordered but you'd think they'd lock it in at 60, nevermind 30.

[Flawless]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

I read a review that said the 360 version spends quite a bit of time on the wrong side of 30fps. I've got this preordered but you'd think they'd lock it in at 60, nevermind 30.

So does the PS3 version. With an average frame rate of 24, and drops to as low as 17.

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[LingeringRegime]

Re: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows (PS3/360)

If this was running at 10 FPS, I would buy it immediately. Of course I am a huge fan of the series.