Gameplay
If I could describe LOS, I would say God of War meets
Assassin’s Creed meets Zelda. This is
definitely a hack-and-slash, with quick-time events, wall climbing, and
platforming thrown in for good measure.
The game consists of gaining experience, using magic, and purchasing new
moves to add to your skillset. The combat
is fluid, but is much faster than God of War.
Dodging can be done instantly, even mid-combo, whereas surprisingly I
felt blocking was a bit delayed at times.
You’ll probably find yourself using the same subset of moves, but that
seems the same for most games in this genre.
That being said, the acquisition of new abilities keeps things interesting, and they’ll be used pretty
evenly throughout the campaign.
Quick-time events mostly involve pressing ANY button at a certain time,
which worked well. Wall climbing and
scaling of buildings is alright, although there is a bit of hand holding
involved…ala Assassin’s Creed. Everyone
thinks those games are the best thing since sliced bread (I, for one, do not),
so I’m sure a majority of people will love it.
The platforming on the other hand, is my biggest gripe with the
gameplay. The jumping and maneuvering of
Gabriel is too “quick” and isn’t precise enough for some of the situations you
face (and you don’t get the awkward double jump until late in the game!). Granted, I managed my way through the game
just fine, but there were plenty of times I got frustrated trying to jump from
platform to platform. What really
bothered me is that you can grab onto some ledges while others you can’t…this
was the difference between me living and dying many times. They can make it either one or the other, but
it should be consistent throughout.
Graphics
Ok, this game is pretty.
There haven’t been a ton of games that have made me say “wow,” due to
the graphics, but this is one of them.
The environments here are absolutely gorgeous looking and range from lush,
vivid jungles, to looming, snow-covered castles. The variety in level types really helps keep
the game fresh. You can really tell the
developers took their time with making sure no levels looked like graphical
“filler”. The game has a unique “wet”
look to the graphics, which is a little different than most games, but works
just fine. A few of the larger enemies
could be a bit more detailed, but this is minor complaint when taking the rest
of the game into consideration.
Sound
There is a ton of voice acting in this game, and normally
that might make a gamer cringe. However,
here it’s very well done and actually to the story. Patrick Stewart lends his voice to Zobek, an
in-game character who also serves as the narrator. I listened to every level introduction on my
first playthrough and they were all pretty good. The other sound effects sound great, from the
tings of picking up daggers, to the crack of Gabriel’s whip. The enemies all make their own noises, which
are very crisp and distinguishable. The
soundtrack however is nothing special and lacks the standard creepy-organ
music. Even though I’m not a devoted series
follower, that’s a staple, especially when in the castle! Someone over at Konami dropped the ball there.
Campaign
Say goodbye to a large sprawling map and trying to figure
your way around. I’ve played other
Castlevania games, including the beloved Symphony Of The Night, and while I
liked them well enough, I never was driven play them through to 100%
completion. I didn’t want to scour all
over the map to find objects and upgrades. The progression through LOS is much more
linear, which I’m perfectly fine with.
Each level has a collectibles count; making it very easy to go back and carefully
search to find missing items. The
campaign spans multiple regions and environments, keeping repetition to a
minimum. Bosses in almost every chapter
are fun to fight, although the strategy for a few of them is pretty
similar. However, the pacing leaves much
to be desired. The first 2 (of 12!)
chapters have many levels, none of which are very thrilling…they don’t pull you
in. Because of this, there was once a
time when I thought I may never finish the game, simply because it wasn’t much
fun. I decided to stick with it, and I’m
glad I did. Halfway through the game the
pace really picks up and the levels are exciting and fun. Those first two chapters can really be a
barrier though, and I recommend you push past those to the real meat and
potatoes. Also, the conclusion is very
satisfying and cool, so hopefully you can get there.
Lasting Appeal
When there’s no multiplayer, I’ll always grade a game’s
lasting appeal. Is it worth coming back
to? Does the first playthrough take a
decent amount of time? The answer is yes
and yes with Lords of Shadows. I almost
guarantee you won’t find another game in this genre that lasts this long. The first playthrough is easily 15+ hours,
and after playing each level, you unlock a trial, which is a special objective
to achieve when playing the level again.
Some of these range from stupid easy to pretty difficult, but they have
enough variety to keep you trying “just one more”. The hardest difficulty setting won’t even
open until you’ve beaten the game, and going through again with all your moves
and magic is quite a good time. The
maybe could’ve included an additional chapter or alternate ending for those who
achieve 110% in the campaign.
Summary
Castlevania: Lords of Shadows represents a vast
departure from the standard series of Castlevania games, and in my opinion,
it’s for the better. It combines
multiple gameplay styles, including a fluid fighting engine, the progression of
abilities, magic, puzzles, and platforming.
All of these work pretty well, except for the platforming, which can
cause frustration. The campaign is
lengthy, offers a lot of replay value, and is varied enough to keep things
interesting. Trudge through the first
two chapters to really get to the best parts of the game. Although I’m not sure I would recommended
this game at its release date price tag, picking it up for $20 or $30 is definitely worth it if the aforementioned gameplay elements are up your alley. 
