For all the nostaligia surround the Castlevania name - one would think the game would have been better than this.
With that said - the game is SOLID, just not great.
The game is presented with good camera angles, only a few sloppy times does it get confusing. My wife actually enjoyed simply watching me play this game and the storyline is presented in an interesting way that makes you want to keep playing.
While I have not played all the castlevania games, or even a majority of them - I feel like based on this game it is very average. There isnt a lot of reasons after beating this game to want to rush out and buy another in the series.
The action is fun, relentless and the maps/areas are very well done. The graphics arnt stunning but it is still easy on the eyes.
Basically - if you are looking for a really solid action adventuge/button masher and you like castlevania...it probably wont get a lot better than this for you.
If you are looking for a GREAT action adventure game and the castlevania title doesnt mean much to you - you can defintley do a lot better.