Castlevania lament of innocence is a very solid experience for fans anticipating the series in the 3rd dimesion. I bought castlevania for the playstation 2 fairly recently as i am a personal fan of the series, however did not own a PS2, and so could not purchase the games earlier. I was a bit hesitant at first about the this game however found myself to be quite pleased about how it turned out. I owned the original castlevania games which were brillient on the old snes sytem, however its jump to 3-D on the Nintendo 64 was not so reassuring. Many people did not like the original castlevania on the N64, i didnt find it bad personally, but i wasnt convinced that the game was made to the best of its ability in the 3rd dimension. The PS2 version showed me that the castlevania can work in 3-D. I enjoyed the experience however there is room for improvement in C:lament of innocence. You'll start by racing into the castle with a brief on the main plot, they keep it very short and simple. Next you'll meet Rinaldo who gives you the powerful whip made from alchemy, then its off to the castle. The castle itself is also set out very simple, there are 5 stages in which you access by stepping on platforms in the main hub, you can attempt them in any order. The levels themselves are also set out extremly simple, usually corridors followed by rooms, then more corridors, the sequence is noticably repetative. The repetitiveness may seem very tedious to many, especially as its rare you'll come accross any platforming element, which is usually what the castlevania formula is revolved around. You'll never really encounter any enemies dangerous enough to deninish your health, and even so you can purchase potions and find plenty laying around the castle. The boss battles are quite good, but yet again suffer from the same problems you'll face with normal enemies, not dangerous enough to give you a good challenge. The only boss that you should find a real challenge is the death himself at the end, it took me a few attempts before actually defeating him, he posses quite a challenge, but probably not the most exciting boss you'll fight. I am not sure how much the armour actually helps but i found that upgrades did seem to make a difference and throughout the game will definately make your life easier. Overall castlevania lament of innocence is a really well structured game, it seems kanomi kept the blueprints for the game to a very simple level, maybe in fear that it may end up being as displeasing as previous attempts, however i would definitely say this is a great start for the castlevania series in 3D and i hope the next gen castlevania game takes the foundations of this game into consideration for its construction.
In this game you control the fate of Leon Belmont, a knight of the church who has relinquished his title in order to go and save his betrothed from a powerful vampire. Having been given word by his loyal friend Mathia... Read Full Review
Castlevania - Lament of innocence Everyone that has interesting in the videogames history knows very well the name "Castlevania" and certainly knows what castlevania is about, even if you don't care videogames history... Read Full Review
