Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Review

Lords of Shadows takes the Castlevania franchise in a different direction, mixing series staples with elements borrowed from other games.  This departure might make hardcore fans scorn in dismay, yet at the same time, attract a new following.  Regardless, let’s see if it’s worth your time and money.


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 abilitieskeeps 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. 

Rating	Description
8.0	Gameplay Third person hack and slash, with a cool moveset, magic, and other abilities that are mostly fun to use.  Puzzles make you think, hidden collectibles aren’t overdone.  Platforming needs help.
9.5	Graphics I haven’t been this impressed by graphics in a game since Modern Warfare 2.  I can’t really complain about much, maybe other than a lack of detail in larger enemies and bosses.
9.0	Audio Good sound effects, awesome voice acting throughout.  Generic soundtrack hurts a bit.
8.5	Campaign Vast and long, you’ll be going through the campaign for a while.  It’s varied with fun levels and bosses.  The first two chapters really drag though.
9.5	Lasting Appeal For a single-player game, it really doesn’t get much better than this.  The campaign is pretty long, in addition to the trials and harder difficulties.  You might tire of playing the levels multiple times though.
8.5	Overall (Not an average of above scores)