Cleared Castlevania Lords of Shadows 2 earlier, but first things first:
Who gave this game a 4/10? Wow! Why? No, just no, that was so wrong, it's not a bad game.
It really is a gorgeous game, gameplay is fun, boss battles are great, soundtrack is fantastic and the story is a classic sequel story if you ask me. Now, I would gladly like to discuss what LoS2 could have been story wise, I have some ideas as well, but as a matter of fact, it is what it is and really isn't too bad. Definitely enjoyable. It certainly strikes quite different chords than the first game but you must consider that this game plays in the future, a lot of things have changed and then there was Mirror of Fate which also influenced the overall plot.
One thing I really liked were the various blood effects. Blood arrows, blood whip, blood slide, blood vomit, blood familiy. Blood really is everything in this game! You really feel like a vampire in this game, all sorts of funny vampire tricks throughout the game.
Another thing that struck me halfway through, was that this game felt a lot like God of War 3. More platforming on big things in exchange for less scenic and atmospheric landscape platforming. I can see that some could have really missed this but the pace is alright. Also more subsequent boss battles. I feel like 60% of this game is boss battles whereas LoS1 probably was around 30%.
Overall skill set is pretty the same as LoS1, one thing that is really different is that you can't grab enemies anymore.
And those stealth section everybody cried about? Gimme a break, those were really basic riddles, classic games had a lot of these sections were it wasn't quite obvious at first what to do. Nothing overly frustrating except you are a total Metal Gear pidgeon(no offense intended).
And besides, the stealth section are the most challenging thing in the game really, the game is pretty straight forward most of the time regarding where you must go and what to do. That's maybe also a bit of flaw but not a big one.
Let me get into the story now, I will put this into spoiler tags:
The atmoic blast when he sends the brotherhood knight to the heavens was hilarious. Fade out the the universe, hahaha. The music bit when Dracula is still weak and walks outside the church and there is woman asking for some money was really cool incredibly atmospheric scene. Also like how when you go away from Trevor, he calls you.
Zobek's lieutenant was badass from the start and Zobek as well. Smug as fuck, both of em'. Did you notice that Zobek removed his ash in a portable ashtray just as Snake in MGS4? It even looked like the same ashtray.
I was sad when I realized they removed the sound whick kicks in when you collected 5 upgrade shards. Maybe you could say it is because Dracula is not as heroic as Gabriel and pretty much does not care for a minor mortal upgrade of powers.
Chupacabra's cutscenes were amazing. Loved his "you won't regret it face" when he asks Dracula to release him. And damn, first thing Dracula does is to kick the poor guy away.
One thing I didn't get was why he was fighting monsters in his own castle to begin with, they were like "Lord" all the time, why would he have to do it? Maybe all of them were Satan's minions, that would explain it.
One thing that really needs a discussion is probably the inner Dracula and this whole story about Marie, Trevor etc. Sadly, really underdeveloped stuff. Why, how, from where and if young Trevor isn't really, why does Dracula whine so much about him?
Hah, the Argeus part was pretty easy after a few tries, I expected the first honestly. Some classic trial and error, really.
You can shoot down the bird who protects one shard of the mirror and he turns into chicken. I was like, wtf, such an out-of-everything moment. xD
Toymaker was a cool ass boss, I wish he had more relevance to the actual plot. Really heartbreaking how he kept crying when Dracula left.
That scene when Dracula takes a little rocket ride would make a good gid.
One of the best moments in the entire game, and it was really good was the fight against Victor Belmont. Holy shit, this is how you do a fight. He can parry like Gabriel, use light magic to protect him, use shards to summon monsters, angel wings, just fuck yes! This is how you play the nostalgia card, right in your face! He got the same skills as Gabriel with a few new tricks here and there. I'm not a Castlevania expert by all means, but I thought this moment is what Castlevania must be about, the eternal struggle of Belmont versus Dracula, new versus old. I wish they had given more background to Victor as well, but that's probably what to expect when Victor is not the protagonist, flawless moment, really. One thing that bugged me was that Dracula didn't kill Victor, I thought that wasn't really consequent story wise. Well, in a sense it was, given that the Belmonts usually win in some form.
For the ending scenes, Trevor being Zobek's guy was a cool surprise.
Finally, loved that Satan was trolling Dracula in the boss fight "Don't hit me Father.. hahahaha" Perfect. I liked the ending shot, there could have been room for more, but Mercury Steam will go on.
Zobek's lieutenant was badass from the start and Zobek as well. Smug as fuck, both of em'. Did you notice that Zobek removed his ash in a portable ashtray just as Snake in MGS4? It even looked like the same ashtray.
I was sad when I realized they removed the sound whick kicks in when you collected 5 upgrade shards. Maybe you could say it is because Dracula is not as heroic as Gabriel and pretty much does not care for a minor mortal upgrade of powers.
Chupacabra's cutscenes were amazing. Loved his "you won't regret it face" when he asks Dracula to release him. And damn, first thing Dracula does is to kick the poor guy away.
One thing I didn't get was why he was fighting monsters in his own castle to begin with, they were like "Lord" all the time, why would he have to do it? Maybe all of them were Satan's minions, that would explain it.
One thing that really needs a discussion is probably the inner Dracula and this whole story about Marie, Trevor etc. Sadly, really underdeveloped stuff. Why, how, from where and if young Trevor isn't really, why does Dracula whine so much about him?
Hah, the Argeus part was pretty easy after a few tries, I expected the first honestly. Some classic trial and error, really.
You can shoot down the bird who protects one shard of the mirror and he turns into chicken. I was like, wtf, such an out-of-everything moment. xD
Toymaker was a cool ass boss, I wish he had more relevance to the actual plot. Really heartbreaking how he kept crying when Dracula left.
That scene when Dracula takes a little rocket ride would make a good gid.
One of the best moments in the entire game, and it was really good was the fight against Victor Belmont. Holy shit, this is how you do a fight. He can parry like Gabriel, use light magic to protect him, use shards to summon monsters, angel wings, just fuck yes! This is how you play the nostalgia card, right in your face! He got the same skills as Gabriel with a few new tricks here and there. I'm not a Castlevania expert by all means, but I thought this moment is what Castlevania must be about, the eternal struggle of Belmont versus Dracula, new versus old. I wish they had given more background to Victor as well, but that's probably what to expect when Victor is not the protagonist, flawless moment, really. One thing that bugged me was that Dracula didn't kill Victor, I thought that wasn't really consequent story wise. Well, in a sense it was, given that the Belmonts usually win in some form.
For the ending scenes, Trevor being Zobek's guy was a cool surprise.
Finally, loved that Satan was trolling Dracula in the boss fight "Don't hit me Father.. hahahaha" Perfect. I liked the ending shot, there could have been room for more, but Mercury Steam will go on.
Final Verdict: Don't alway listen to reviews, play this game if you enjoyed the first one. It's fun!