Topic: Castlevania Lords of Shadow

[KDR_11k]

Well, reviews are hitting, it's a good game but I don't care at all. I don't like combat systems that are more complex than one attack move and I don't like platforming that's more complex than one jump button so there's zero appeal left in the game for me.

[broodwars]

Well, reviews are hitting, it's a good game but I don't care at all. I don't like combat systems that are more complex than one attack move and I don't like platforming that's more complex than one jump button so there's zero appeal left in the game for me.

So why did you create a topic about it if you "don't care at all" about it?   
 
As for the game, I might check it out when it's on sale a few months down the line.  I've had just about enough of God of War-type games this year already, even if some of the boss gameplay looks heavily inspired totally ripped off of Shadow of the Colossus.

[Adrock]

I'm super excited about Lords of Shadow. I pre-ordered the Limited Edition (I know, I know... I have a problem) on Saturday. It comes with a free download for Symphony of the Night though I'm not sure if that's only for the Limited Edition. Not that I need another version/copy of that game. I have it on PS1 and PSP.

[Morari]

It looks like another God of War clone... Where's my Castlevania?!

[KDR_11k]

Probably still the best we're going to get out of 3D Castlevania until they make Judgment 2.

[Caliban]

I watched the video review from IGN, and from what I saw I still want to play this game.

[Dirk Temporo]

I don't like combat systems that are more complex than one attack move and I don't like platforming that's more complex than one jump button

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/Shralla/NoEmoticon.gif

That's the best I've got.

Turning Castlevania into a weird sort of hack and slash action platformer is an interesting idea. I say if it works, more power to them.

[broodwars]

Hmm...I have to admit, for all the problems I'm hearing in these video reviews, I'm a lot more interested in the game now than I was.  I might pick that game up sooner rather than later.

[DAaaMan64]

Its cool that its a good game and all, but its obvious its not Castlevania anymore, it's God O' War + Shadow O' Teh Molasses.  Castlevania being one my favorite series', this is stupid.

[broodwars]

Its cool that its a good game and all, but its obvious its not Castlevania anymore, it's God O' War + Shadow O' Teh Molasses.  Castlevania being one my favorite series', this is stupid.

I suppose it helps that I'm not really a hardcore Castlevania fan.  I played a bit of the first one; the two N64 games; and then the GBA/DS games.  To me, Castlevania is wandering around large environments slaying a wide variety of nasty Western horror monsters with some light exploration and kickass music.  I enjoyed the Metroidvanias, but by Order of Ecclesia that style of play was really feeling tiresome and formulaic.  I wish this game were more original, but if it's a good action game I think I can enjoy it for what it is.

[DAaaMan64]

Well I actually really only enjoy the Metroidvanias in the Castlevania series and I actually I think Ecclesia is easily the best in the series.

[broodwars]

Well, I have a nasty feeling I'm going to regret this (I'm disappointed by LEs far more often than I'm impressed by them), but I went out today and put down a pre-order on the PS3 LE.  I know...I know...I'm a sucker for buying into the whole Limited Edition thing, but unfortunately soundtrack CDs are something of a weakness for me and given how gorgeous the game looks, the artbook could be really cool.  Plus, I've heard on other boards that there's a code in the LE for Symphony of the Night on the PSN.  Yeah, I could play the copy my friend downloaded, but it would be nice to have my own copy on my own download list.

[Adrock]

Well, I have a nasty feeling I'm going to regret this (I'm disappointed by LEs far more often than I'm impressed by them), but I went out today and put down a pre-order on the PS3 LE.  I know...I know...I'm a sucker for buying into the whole Limited Edition thing, but unfortunately soundtrack CDs are something of a weakness for me and given how gorgeous the game looks, the artbook could be really cool.  Plus, I've heard on other boards that there's a code in the LE for Symphony of the Night on the PSN.  Yeah, I could play the copy my friend downloaded, but it would be nice to have my own copy on my own download list.

I'm super excited about Lords of Shadow. I pre-ordered the Limited Edition (I know, I know... I have a problem) on Saturday. It comes with a free download for Symphony of the Night though I'm not sure if that's only for the Limited Edition. Not that I need another version/copy of that game. I have it on PS1 and PSP.

We should carpool to rehab.

[Stogi]

Yeah I'm bout to rent this. Looks great.

[ThePerm]

anything more complicated than zelda turns me off

that being said, i have a love hate relationship with the 3d n64 castelvanias..they really suck until you get used to the shitty controls and get into the game, usually his is helped along my catchy music. It probably would have been a good game had they just skipped it to dreamcast.

[KDR_11k]

Well, I just heard that the whole Player 1 Podcast crew loved the Enslaved demo (which I found boring) so Castlevania will probably find success too.

[broodwars]

Just picked up my copy from my local GS, and overall I'm satisfied with the LE though a little disappointed. The LE is done up like Funimation's release of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie LE: a plastic slipcover housing a hardcover "book" with the artbook as the "pages" inside and a sleeve for the OST (boo!). The actual game disc does have a proper plastic holder, though.  It's a pretty classy release in general, though I would have liked a real plastic holder for the soundtrack.  I do have my own folder where I keep my soundtracks, though, so it's not a huge issue.

As for the soundtrack, I've listened to a bit of it, and overall I do really like it...but it's nothing like any other Castlevania soundtrack I've ever heard. It's more like a WarCraft-style soundtrack: a lot of choral voices; violins; and horns, but not a lot of melody. And if "Vampire Killer's" in here (and supposedly it is), I haven't heard it yet.

And the Gamestop employee, true to form, forgot entirely to give me my pre-order T-shirt. I had to remind him strongly, and thankfully they still had an XL.

[broodwars]

I'm about halfway through the second chapter (sheesh, the reviews weren't kidding about how long this game's looking to be), and so far I really like the game.  However, it's ironic that the reviews have made so many comparisons to God of War, because I'm not finding the combat all that similar.  Sure, you're wailing on groups of enemies with a long chain weapon, but if you think you can just button-mash your way through this game like you can with Kratos, you'd be very much mistaken because this is a fairly difficult game.  There's a great emphasis on timing and blocking, which both protects you and helps fills your "Focus meter."  When your Focus meter is full (and it reverts to 0 if you get hit), every hit you perform on an enemy causes Magic Orbs to appear to refill your magic.  I also find the platforming so much more enjoyable and interesting in this game than in God of War, especially the grappling feature of your Combat Cross.  And while God of War may still have the bragging rights on the sheer scope of the larger battles, I'm finding this game to be much more consistently eye-pleasing.  The camera can be a nuisance from time to time and it can be easy to accidentally perform the wrong platforming move because of it, but generally I find that if you take your time it really isn't an issue.

The game also has a lot of little details here and there that really add to the polish, such as a pretty exceptional soundtrack; all your moves shown in sketch book animated form in your skills menu; and even the game showing your last moment in-game as an image in the "book" of your pause menu.

And for those concerned about a certain lack of exploration, I've done quite a bit of it so far (seriously, a map would have been nice) and my combat cross has had a few useful upgrades so far that have opened up new areas of exploration.

[KDR_11k]

Supposedly GoW isn't mashy on hard.

[Adrock]

Having finally put in some time with the game, I don't think Lords of Shadow is too much like God of War. There's very little use of QTE (praise Jebus) and grabbing is far less useful (no instant kill moves, unless you count the dagger for wimpy enemies). Dodging is mapped to L2+left analog stick though unless something uses the right analog stick later in the game, I'm not sure why Mercury Steam didn't just map dodging to the right analog stick. Was that too similar God of War? Regardless, controls suffer which ultimately is a bad thing. If it controlled the game or something, I would understand. So far, the right analog stick does nothing. Anyway, I see some similar elements to God of War (which, honestly, borrowed from Devil Mary Cry before it), but I'd hardly call it a clone. Dante's Inferno was almost a Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V of God of War, but not so much Lords of Shadow.

God of War 3 on hard is still pretty button mashy. Square, Square, Triangle still goes a long way. You just have to dodge and block more and by "block" I mean the timed Golden Fleece thing which cancels most attacks in the game.

[broodwars]

Having finally put in some time with the game, I don't think Lords of Shadow is too much like God of War. There's very little use of QTE (praise Jebus) and grabbing is far less useful (no instant kill moves, unless you count the dagger for wimpy enemies). Dodging is mapped to L2+left analog stick though unless something uses the right analog stick later in the game, I'm not sure why Mercury Steam didn't just map dodging to the right analog stick. Was that too similar God of War? Regardless, controls suffer which ultimately is a bad thing. If it controlled the game or something, I would understand. So far, the right analog stick does nothing. Anyway, I see some similar elements to God of War (which, honestly, borrowed from Devil Mary Cry before it), but I'd hardly call it a clone. Dante's Inferno was almost a Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V of God of War, but not so much Lords of Shadow.

As far as I know, the only use the Right Analog Stick has is using its click functionality to draw in Neutral Orbs and funnel them into your Shadow gauge, just as clicking the left stick converts nearby neutral orbs into Light energy for its gauge.  Yeah, I'm not sure why they didn't just use the Right Stick for dodging, especially since I'm finding blocking with the L2 button to be pretty difficult due to the precise timing required.

Anyway, I've completed Chapter 2, and I'm stuck on the first Lord of Shadow: Cornell, yet another "reimagined" version of the character (the other being in Judgement).  I didn't have too much trouble with his first form, but the second kills me fairly easily because I'm low on health and magic by the time I get to that form.  Plus, blocking and trying to pull off counters doesn't seem to work on him for some reason.  There aren't enough Life Gems left in the levels I've already done to bring my life gauge up another level, but there are plenty of Light and Shadow Gems.  Hmm...guess I'm going to be spending some time backtracking to buff up my character.

[Halbred]

Supposedly GoW isn't mashy on hard.

It's not. Each move suddenly has specific context.

[broodwars]

Supposedly GoW isn't mashy on hard.

It's not. Each move suddenly has specific context.

Perhaps, but most players are never going to play the God of War games on Hard.  If the developers intended that to be the way the game felt, they would have made it that way on a lower difficulty setting.  By contrast, most players are going to play Castlevania on at least "Warrior" (Medium) and find it's pretty brutal.

[Halbred]

Sorry to go off on a tangent here, buuuut...

God of War games are usually not that difficult on Hard. In fact, after playing through Hard (and God) on the original game back on the PS2, Hard mode became my standard difficulty for those games. The only real difference is that you take a little more damage from enemy attacks. Your attack power isn't nerfed yet.

God Mode, Titan Mode, and whatever it's called in GoW3, however, are brutally difficult. The game becomes a really painstaking, almost strategic fighter in which you have to know the strengths and weaknesses of all your attacks. Each enemy encounter is approached a different way, dodging and countering become hugely important to success, and you really have to think about when to use your magic attacks. GoW3 really changed up the magic/alternate weapon systems, so I haven't touched God Mode yet, but I do want to try it out.

[broodwars]

On a similar tangent, I am very impressed by how good the chain whip feels; sounds; and animates (especially the "heavy" attack, where Gabriel continually pulls back and slams the whip down on the ground in front of him) compared to Kratos' Blades of ______.  It always bugged in the God of War games how Kratos' blades always sounded like someone' jingling change in their pocket, but Gabriel's whip actually seems to sound like how I'd imagine a chain whip sounding.