Game Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Castlevania: Lords of Shadows whips in with a BusyGamer 2
First Glance:
The latest installment of Konami’s most popular game franchise next to the Metal Gear series.
Short Story:
You play as Gabriel Belmont, a knight in the Brotherhood of Light, a society of good assembled to make sure that evil is kept away from the innocent people of Earth. There is a separation between the Heavens and the Earth, and because of it, evil creatures of every type have begun tormenting innocent villages and killing those who get in their way. Gabriel’s wife is among those who have been killed by this evil, and because of that, her soul is stuck in limbo. The higher ups of the Brotherhood believe that an evil society known as the Lords of Shadow is responsible for what has happened. The higher ups believe that there is an item known as the “God Mask” that can be used to defeat all of the evil in the world and it’s also believed to be able to revive the dead. Gabriel has been chosen to retrieve the God Mask and bring peace back to the Earth.
The Score:
This game had tons of potential. Visually, it’s absolutely gorgeous, and the overall plot is quite good as well. The main thing is that the game is two discs long, so it will take a while to beat. Not to mention that you can go back to different levels after you have acquired a certain skill and do something you weren’t able to do previously. I do have a problem with how the game ended, but I will get to that in a little bit. For the Busy Gamer, Castlevainia: Lords of Shadow gets a 2.
Body of Review:
For the most part, I really enjoyed playing this game. There were so many good things about this game. First and foremost, the overall look of the game. Castlevania is a beautiful game to look at. There was little to no difference in the graphics between the in game cut scenes and the pre-rendered cinematics of the game. This. Game. Is. Gorgeous! The details on the levels are a sight to see as well. In the third or fourth level of the game you are running around in a forest, and the colors are so vibrant and you can see the detail of almost every leaf on each tree.
The Castlevania series has always been best known as a 2D side scrolling adventure game. In the past, Castlevania has never had any luck with going 3D (anyone remember Castlevania 64?). But Lords of Shadow has changed that quite a bit. The overall controls and gameplay are very much the same as Dante’s Inferno and Devil May Cry. Although the game is 3D, you are pretty much on a set path and not really allowed to do much exploring of the environments. Similar to Dante’s Inferno, there is no roaming camera, the camera will either stay right behind you, or pan out to where you are almost a small speck on the screen, I believe this is done to show off the incredible environments that Konami has constructed.
...and then he exploded.
Gabriel has a pretty simple arsenal of weapons to choose from when it comes to defeating the evil in the world. For those of you who are familiar with the Castlevania series know that a Belmont cannot take on the legions of the underworld without his trusty whip, and Gabriel is no exception. This installment of the Castlevania series utilizes the classic whip so well. The whip is made of a crucifix and the tip of it is a retractable chain. As the game goes on, you will encounter upgrade stations that will add a new ability to your cross. For example, the first upgrade is to be able to use your whip as a hook shot so that you can grapple to certain edges and be able to rappel to different areas. And another upgrade makes the bottom part of your handle into a stake so that you can quickly take care of vampires. Overall, your whip is your best companion in this game. You don’t have many secondary weapons in this game as compared to other Castlevania titles. Your main secondary weapon is just a silver throwing dagger. You will also get holy water, which will explode upon contact and burn any enemy. Another weapon will also be fairies. These can be used to distract enemies long enough for you to get a quick one hit kill. Probably the strangest and most powerful secondary weapon you can get is a dark crystal. These come in very handy during boss fights. You use this item to summon a huge monster that does major damage to every nearby enemy. What makes this strange is that I’m not really sure where it came from.
Along with the secondary weapons, you will also acquire what are called relics. These are usually acquired after major boss battles and come in quite handy. The first two you get and the light and shadow medallions. Each absorbs what is called neutral power orbs, which are dropped by defeated enemies and there are also fountains around parts of the level to fill up your meters. Gabriel can activate either medallion at any time and use its power to his advantage. When the Light Medallion is activated, each successful hit on an enemy that Gabriel lands will refill his health meter. And when the Shadow Medallion is activated, Gabriel does more damage to his enemies. You can increase the amount of Light and Shadow Magic, as well as your health meter, by collecting gems during the levels. Along with the medallions, you will also get a gauntlet, which will allow you to charge a powerful punch. You will also get special boots which will allow you to sprint and wings which will allow you to do a double jump. All of your relics can be combined with your whip to make some pretty impressive combos which you can buy with experience points you get from defeating enemies.
The voice acting in this game was wonderful. I really enjoyed the cast of characters as well. From a fellow knight of the Brotherhood of Light, Zobek (voiced by Patrick Stewart) to the Satan himself (voiced by Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies). The voice acting was done quite well by the actors hired to play the various parts.
"Bad news. I've got a whip and you're tall enough that your crotch is the only viable target..."
Like I said before, I really enjoyed playing this game…for the most part. The thing that ruined it for me was a cut scene that happens after the credits, mainly because there was nothing explaining the basis of said scene. Since I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who wants to play this game or for anyone currently playing it and haven’t finished it yet, I will not tell you what happens at the end of the game. But it is quite confusing to me. And to anyone who knows what I am talking about and can explain to me what that cut scene was all about and why the characters were the way they were, please, tell me! Simply, there was a big twist in this scene, and no explanation for it. Hideo Kojima produced this game, so I think he probably had something to do with that. For those who do not know, Hideo Kojima is the man who created the Metal Gear series. I consider him to be the M. Night Shyamalan of the video game world as he likes to put a big twist in at the end of his games, so I think he might be reason behind the strange scene. After watching this scene, I felt like I just wasted three days of my life.
Overall, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a good game. The graphics are great, the game play is great, and although the story had a few plot holes and despite that confusing after credits cut scene, it was also a well written game. The replay value is pretty high, especially with major boss fights, (think Shadow of the Colossus) and also that you can go back to any level and explore places you couldn’t before because you didn’t have a certain relic or weapon ability. So Konami started something good with Lords of Shadow, they just needed to work on the plot a little bit more. It had aspects of many different games: Dante’s Inferno, God of War, Devil May Cry, and Shadow of the Colossus, which isn’t a bad thing. This was a very good game to play, and I would suggest playing it, but be prepared to spend a lot of time with it, and if you understand that final scene, please let me know.
Until next time Busy Gamers, happy gaming!
M-Dawg out!!
Tags: Belmont, Castlevania, Jason Isaacs, Konami, Patrick Stewart
