An entertaining hack n' slash game that did not get the credit it deserves.
GAMEPLAY - I'll be upfront and say that the combat does not have a whole lot of depth, but that's not a bad thing. There is not the multitude of attack combos such as you'd find in games like Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. At times it felt like Dynasty Warriors in that your character is battling what seems like an endless horde of monsters by simply slashing your sword as fast as possible, which can still be satisfying. However the key to battle is the ability to summon legions, each of which has unique abilities that will make them particularly effective against certain types of enemies. There is further strategy in that you are only allowed to use 2 out of the 7 legions for each stage, so you might start a stage and then go back and get a different legion once you see exactly what you are going up against. Your character increases in health, attack, defense etc. by obtaining the particular orbs left by defeated monsters, while your legions level up by obtaining experience points in battle as well as by finding experience orbs. There is some depth to this in that you pick the different abilities of your legion that you want to use the experience points on. One aspect I liked was that eventually you have the option to go back to previous levels if you just want to gain more experience and stock up on some more orbs.
GRAPHICS - A bit of a mixed bag. In order to put a multitude of enemies on the screen at one time without having the game slow down Capcom used the "fog" effect such as seen in Turok. This does get a bit tiring to see the fog over and over though I understand why it was used. However, what you do see is very good. Drab yet detailed beautiful Gothic architecture really creates a great atmosphere. Most monsters were also detailed, though some were more interesting than others. The movie scenes were very good, at times using lighting for startling effects.
SOUND - Not bad, not exceptional. The English dubbing was not the best I've heard. At times it felt like someone rapidly reading his lines off a cue card. The monster tend to not make much noise, other than the chitterlings of insects or occasionally crying out when hit. Sound effects were adequate. I enjoyed the typical Goth-Heavy Metal music that seemed appropriate.
VALUE - As usual, I picked this up as a used copy for a low price ($10), so it would have had to be a really short game to not be worth the price. Gamespot stated it would only take 5 hours, but that seems much too quick for me. As it was, the first play through took me about 10 hours, which wasn't that bad. After completion you have the ability to watch all of the beautiful movie scenes, which I feel every game should offer. Of course the game can be played at higher difficulties as well.
SUMMARY - In the end I felt that this was certainly worth my time and money (all $10 worth!). Just don't go into this game with unrealistically high expectations and you will have a good time!