Raise That 7.5 to an 8.9...And Let Me Tell You Why

User Rating: 9 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow PS3
Not every game can garner a perfect score, and not every game should. However, when a company like Mercury Steam receives less praise than its efforts demand I am COMPELLED to offset the press. Like a film paying homage to a legendary director, Castlevania strives to create a unique identity by interweaving radically new concepts within the scope of the genre's hardest hitting greats. Lords of Shadow may not be the Castlevania we expected, but it is undeniably a labor of love. So raise that 7.5 to an 8.9, and let me tell you why!

FIRST...THE NEGATIVES:
-Facial Expressions are minimal, lip synch is decent but not perfect.

-Chupacabra sections seem forced. Chupacabras remove all powers and artifacts and tell you to find them and recover what you lost. Seems detrimental to the storyline in that the little bastards can take away all the powers even the Dark Lords cannot. "Yoda" style voicework is annoying at best.

-Zobek (Patrick Stewart) narrative sections are necessary within the separate level construct, but seem somewhat overacted.

-The character transformation of Gabriel is clearly stated in the scripted text but is not quite believable within the gameplay or video sequences.


THE POSITIVES:
+Art Direction is Outstanding. There are LOTS of different enemies, a HUGE assortment of bosses (only one minor boss is repeated), and PHENOMENAL background detail within levels. It seems to push the PS3 graphics engine to the limit (Not quite as polished/smooth as less detailed levels in games like God of War).

+Music is Original, Epic, and Varied. Always works well within the context of the environment. Orchestral score easily blends with gothic atmosphere of game.

+Combat is Intense and Requires Strategy. As a note, whoever wrote the IGN review playing on the easiest setting truly misrepresented the combat. Each battle requires you to carefully execute a combination of DIFFERENT moves without being hit to refill your magic gauge. Your magic gauge then refills your health IF and only IF you can land successful hits within different combo techniques. There are rarely any health fountains, and you are forced to regain your own health through combat. A button masher game??? Maybe if you play on Ninja Dog. I utilized almost every different combo throughout each fight and had to learn each boss to proceed. Combat system is almost as rewarding as Demons Souls if you play on a hard enough setting.

+Only a few Chupacabra scenes which are over relatively quickly (Mercury Steam- TAKE THEM OUT OF THE SEQUEL!!)

+Sound Production/Effects are Top Notch. Belmont's whip has a truly distinct feel and every magic power/combo feels powerful and unique.

+Using the Whip feels remarkably different than any weapon in other action games. Platforming using the chain whip is a fantastic and surprisingly well-realized combination. (Consider Indiana Jones stuck in a dark fantasy novel)

+Quick time events utilizing a dual-overlapping sphere method (press any button when they overlap) is a HUGE improvement over God of War quick time events. All finisher events can be seen as they are executed. Player's attention can be focused on the entire screen when executing these buttons. Reaction time is tested over button familiarity.

+Every enemy has a background story that fits within the setting of the story. Almost all enemies are extremely fun to fight, require different strategies and are interesting to read about.

+Extras include a TON of artwork broken down into each level.

+Storyline is strong and does not borrow directly from any other games. Epilogue truly sets apart Castlevania as unique and places the reasons for the story into context.

+Physics system is excellent. Camera is fixed but works very well. Other press reviews have stated the camera can be problematic. I found it to be no worse than any other action adventure title out there on par with the fixed camera God of War series. Fixed camera sections for Titans are a HUGE improvement upon the constantly readjusting camera on Shadow of the Colossus.

+Replayability is high due to levels being divided into short stages, and upgrades being scattered similar to Metroid upgrades (must return after gaining new powers). Each stage offers a specific challenge.

+Polished game with little to no bugs

+Puzzles never feel forced. With the exception of magic infused rune puzzles, the majority are very well executed. A few puzzles later in the game are actually quite brilliant! As a sidenote, the game always lets you choose to purchase the answer to the puzzle with earned experience points. Why is this a negative on IGN/Gamespot reviews? If the player ever becomes stuck, you could just look up the answer online anyway. I don't believe a game should be criticized because it knows that if you aren't smart enough to find the answer you will still want to proceed. In addition, I never found any puzzle that required me to use a skill I hadn't used in 5 hours (as a review stated). This is probably because the reviewer was playing on easy and never had to use any other combos like somebody playing on normal or hard settings.

So why did this game not achieve a higher score? I think that in part it has to do with bias towards the shift from a 2d series. This may not feel like other Castlevania games, but I can tell you that the atmosphere truly carries over even if the gameplay does not. I believe this game has an identity all its own. It borrows from other games, but only in an effort to pay homage and to improve upon what is already great. Mercury Steam truly deserves recognition for the work they put into this title. The ending sequence for the 2nd Lord of Shadows is truly one of the best sections for any game I've played. If every game got a 9/10 +(which is what I thought they were getting for a while) then it would be hard to compare them. However, compared to the other 7.5 games out there, this game TRULY outshines the competition. It may not be a 10/10, but decide for yourself if it deserves at least the 8.9 I would give. Playing a game is supposed to be fun, and that is exactly what this game does right.