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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is one hell of a fuck up.
- Thread starter Corpsepyre
- Start date
It's dead already.
I agree 100%. Might as well have brought him out and thrown pies at his face for 10 minutes.
This pissed me off as well - the narrative they build up for the entire game is dropped completely. The treatment of the final boss was pretty dumb as well.
What's the matter, never saw massive cars or chairs before? Oh wow.
Yeah, the game does have several problems and I say that most of them were caused by a rushed development cycle. All the story bits were in place, the boss battles were consistent and it mostly worked, but all the "extra" stuff was just horrid. The stealth sections were soul-crushingly bad and a lot of sharp corners were felt throughout.
noomi
Member
It's still not as bad of a fuck up as
really? I heard the 3ds version was actually very good, it got some great reviews.... didn't it?
Not really. It's a really bad game.
They should have gone full Dark Souls with this one (which itself is pretty much the best SOTN style game ever made in a 3D world) and the thing is Konami, had the best possible team for the task (outside of FromSoft itself) since Mercury Steam are the guys who made Blade of Darkness, but inept management and a compulsion to check every modern AAA trick in the book completely fucked the adventure. Both Belmont's and Mercury Steam's. Oh well.
Orniletter
Banned
LoS 1 was released in 2010, the same year as Bayonetta 1.
LoS 1 is definitely not the best action game of 2010.
Caffeine
Member
It's still not as bad of a fuck up as
still really bad lol
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
I found the first LoS to be a HORRIBLE game, even if I do like the art direction the game went with, everything else was terrible.
To even hear that they somehow made LoS2 worse blows my mind, I might play it someday just to laugh.
To even hear that they somehow made LoS2 worse blows my mind, I might play it someday just to laugh.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
AoS never even attempts to do anything outside of the castle, though.
I'm okay with a Castlevania game taking place in present time, I'm not okay with a Castlevania game running around in factories and parking lots.
Don't remind me. A disjointed clusterfuck of a game that completely shit on the promise of the first one. Ugh.
At this point, the only developer that I can see pulling off a true 3D Castlevania is FROM. Somebody needs to get them and Konami together on this because it is just too perfect of a fit for it not to happen.
At this point, the only developer that I can see pulling off a true 3D Castlevania is FROM. Somebody needs to get them and Konami together on this because it is just too perfect of a fit for it not to happen.
Neff
Member
The biggest crime I think the game commits is the much-talked about non-linear structure, which when it comes down to it, isn't very exploratory at all, without ever being clever or logical like a Link to the Past or a SoTN or a Metroid Prime Echoes is able to pull off. You literally open gates and jump between alternate timelines to end up back where you started. It's arbitrary and seemingly complex merely for the sake of it.
Otherwise, it's not bad and the beginning was great. The prequel nukes it from orbit, though.
Otherwise, it's not bad and the beginning was great. The prequel nukes it from orbit, though.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
I loved the first one, so this was a planned day 1 purchase for me, but I decided against it. Glad I did. I'll play it if it's given away on PS+ or something, but that's it.
It's still not as bad of a fuck up as
I liked this game (played on STEAM) ....
but then I played the newest Strider after that and boy was that AMAZING!TheSpoiler
Member
It does, but it's pretty obvious that it's in a modern setting (you get to use a pistol as a sub weapon IIRC!).
Are you sure about that? Most people rag on SotN style games for being too easy (besides OoC), more focused on the grinding, and lacking in level design/enemy placement when compared to the older games of yore. SotN games also, to me, feel more same-y due to their nature.
Now, that isn't to say a lot of CV's success didn't come from pioneering that style, but it's not like it jelled completely with everyone.
Which proves my point - CV fans are very divided on what they want. One side, the one you are on, sees just SotN. It's not so cut and dry.
Nope. And I played them all. It didnt have the best of anything but came together better than all the rest.
Same. I prefer the 2nd LoS over the first LoS by a good amount tbh.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I think LoS2 would make a great post-mortem sometime down the line. All the post-game interviews and tidbits we've heard made the development sound like a real mess. Producers arguing over the vision of the game, suits requesting weird stuff, just this expensive hodgepodge of ideas that doesn't come together, despite a few good moments spread around.
N
Noray
Unconfirmed Member
I watched a supercut of all the cut scenes of this game on youtube. It was like 3,5 hours. That's time I'll never get back. And the story wasn't even good!
It was enough to make me wonder if there was anything they could've done to live up to the super awesome ending to LoS 1. But boy did this game seem like a total fuck-up.
It was enough to make me wonder if there was anything they could've done to live up to the super awesome ending to LoS 1. But boy did this game seem like a total fuck-up.
Barakov
Gold Member
I really liked the first one. But I suspect after the first one had some success the leash loosened a bit and all kinds of bad ideas made its' way into the two other games. I think you're better off pretending those two other games don't exist and LOS begins and ends with the first game.
It's a bit of a shame since there was definitely potential there and it was squandered.
It's a bit of a shame since there was definitely potential there and it was squandered.
Pilgrimzero
Member
I am DRACULA! I command the dead and drain the blood of the living! I can turn into a DRAGON!... oh shit its a guard better sneak by cause if they see me they kill me one punch....
Or even better than nature god thing. If he sees you, you'll die! Until you reach the end of the maze THEN you can fight him.
I'd just like to point out that the Revelations DLC for Lords of Shadow 2 is legitimately superb. If you slogged through the main campaign, but didn't play the DLC, you really, really missed out. I'd be someone who thinks the first Lords of Shadow is a fantastic game when it opens up and gets more focused, but I think the Revelations DLC is actually even better than the whole first game. It's a condensed little quest, but everything from combat to puzzle design is masterclass. I couldn't recommend it more.
I enjoyed both LoS1 and 2 for different reasons. But will admit that LoS2 had a lot of disappointments. I was one who was genuinely excited about Dracula in a modern day setting and the initial previews and hype by Dave Cox made it seem like the MercurySteam team had a good idea on how to implement that.
Sadly the execution was just not good. After an impressive tutorial level. The first actual place you visit is a modern day laboratory. This wouldn't be so bad if the lab didn't look so damned generic, which was frustrating because it should have been Hell/Demon kind of lab, and so underwhelming especially compared to the stylized technologies we'd already seen in the previous games from Frankenstein and the Toy Maker. To add to that the layout and connectivity of the Castle and the Modern Day city is just poor and none of it makes any kind of sense. That unfortunately is because they chose to put the Castle in a kind of pocket dimension without much thought into how it connected to the City.
BTW. There is no "Time Travel" in the game. The Castle is a construct of Dracula's powers (remember he's sort of a God after all he went through in LoS1 and absorbing Satan, Laura and the Forgotten One) as well as resurrecting those old characters back from the dead (aka. Marie and Carmilla), which is confirmed in the DLC, as well as Young Trevor just being Alucard in disguise. It's just poorly explained.
That said, the game is technically flawless, at least on the PC. It runs at a constant 60fps on relatively moderate hardware and the art style in the Castle is still superb. The action also feels a lot faster-paced than in LoS1 and the Boss Battles were great (aside from the final one, )
Still, I'll never lose a chance to pimp the amazing soundtrack of LoS. It's always sad to hear people knock it because "It's not MIchiru Yamane/Castlevania/etc" when in any other action game it'd be amazing:
LoS1:
Belmonts Theme
The Hunting Path
The Ice Titan
Waterfalls of Agharta
The Mechanical Monstrosity
The Evil Butcher
Carmilla
LoS2:
Dying for a drop of Blood
The Siege Titan
The Paladin of God
Descent to the Castle Dungeons
Return to the Castle
Next Stop, Castlevania
Raisa Volkova Grand Battle
Carmilla's Final Battle
The Toy Maker's Heart
The Toy Maker's Grand Battle
Enough Talk, Have at you!
Death Grand Battle
The Leviathan
Satan Final Battle
Sadly the execution was just not good. After an impressive tutorial level. The first actual place you visit is a modern day laboratory. This wouldn't be so bad if the lab didn't look so damned generic, which was frustrating because it should have been Hell/Demon kind of lab, and so underwhelming especially compared to the stylized technologies we'd already seen in the previous games from Frankenstein and the Toy Maker. To add to that the layout and connectivity of the Castle and the Modern Day city is just poor and none of it makes any kind of sense. That unfortunately is because they chose to put the Castle in a kind of pocket dimension without much thought into how it connected to the City.
BTW. There is no "Time Travel" in the game. The Castle is a construct of Dracula's powers (remember he's sort of a God after all he went through in LoS1 and absorbing Satan, Laura and the Forgotten One) as well as resurrecting those old characters back from the dead (aka. Marie and Carmilla), which is confirmed in the DLC, as well as Young Trevor just being Alucard in disguise. It's just poorly explained.
That said, the game is technically flawless, at least on the PC. It runs at a constant 60fps on relatively moderate hardware and the art style in the Castle is still superb. The action also feels a lot faster-paced than in LoS1 and the Boss Battles were great (aside from the final one,
)Still, I'll never lose a chance to pimp the amazing soundtrack of LoS. It's always sad to hear people knock it because "It's not MIchiru Yamane/Castlevania/etc" when in any other action game it'd be amazing:
LoS1:
Belmonts Theme
The Hunting Path
The Ice Titan
Waterfalls of Agharta
The Mechanical Monstrosity
The Evil Butcher
Carmilla
LoS2:
Dying for a drop of Blood
The Siege Titan
The Paladin of God
Descent to the Castle Dungeons
Return to the Castle
Next Stop, Castlevania
Raisa Volkova Grand Battle
Carmilla's Final Battle
The Toy Maker's Heart
The Toy Maker's Grand Battle
Enough Talk, Have at you!
Death Grand Battle
The Leviathan
Satan Final Battle
Oh shit.. that was such an annoying section just to get him into a boss fight, and then the actual fight itself wasn't anything special.
Cyber Caesar
Member
I followed your other Lords of Shadow threads OP. I have enjoyed reading them.
So you got around to LoS2? SMH...
I will defend LoS 1 till my last day on this Earth. I really enjoyed that game. It wasn't perfect but it was a good to great game.
My expectations were so high for LoS 2. I played the demo of LoS 2 and I knew it was bad. It was just all wrong. Even the art was bad. The camera turned even the art to shit.
So you got around to LoS2? SMH...
I will defend LoS 1 till my last day on this Earth. I really enjoyed that game. It wasn't perfect but it was a good to great game.
My expectations were so high for LoS 2. I played the demo of LoS 2 and I knew it was bad. It was just all wrong. Even the art was bad. The camera turned even the art to shit.
Gambit 1138
Banned
I still haven't beaten the first one its just so fucking long and like it goes in a different direction every few levels with completely different characters, enemies, etc. It almost feels like 10 different games cobled together.
CambriaRising
Member
Lmao what in the fuck.
Discotheque
Banned
the castle looked great and the soundtrack was still damn good (better than the last game's).
...that's about it.
...that's about it.
Eudaemonium
Member
The Revelations DLC basically goes back to the structure of LoS1. It essentially has three 'Chapters' each set in a new set-piece based area, with cutscenes at the start and end. The third one being a big boss fight. Lots of puzzle mechanics instead of fighting waves of shite goons. Alucard also actually has some interesting abilities that help puzzles and moving about. Dracula could have done with some of them, I'll say.
Onto the OP:
I really enjoyed LoS1. It was the first Platinum trophy I got. I thought that while far from the best action game, it had its own style and brilliant art design. The Chapter structure with Patrick Stewart's hilariously hammy opening narration was fantastic, and I really missed it in LoS2. It meant I had to deal with a terrible story that actually took itself seriously, as opposed to a terrible story that I could pretend was in on its own joke.
LoS2 improved the combat mechanics of LoS1 (IMO), but basically failed with everything else. The more metroidvania style actively hurt the game, and art direction outside certain specific areas was horrific. The game spends like 70% of its run-time in what should have been the first third of the story, and everything after it is horribly rushed. Agreus and the Puppeteer's areas, for example, were literally 2 rooms each.
Pandora012
Member
I actually liked LoS2. Granted it is not the best game out there, but it was still fun.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Hey, without Lords of Shadow 2, we never would've gotten that Alucard DLC that was better than LoS1, 2 and MoF. Played through that shit a few times. Beautifully paced but brutally short. Easily my favorite part of the trilogy.
Really wish they would've made a full game with that structure.
Really wish they would've made a full game with that structure.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
Having been in the politics part of spanish game development it doesnt surprise me on te slighlest. Really, spain game industry is a fucking mafia, at the end of the day this country has the shitty politicians it deserves, because when the same country citizens get a little power, they do the same shit they hated when they were just workers.
matrix-cat
Member
Other people have already mentioned the awful stealth sections, bland environment that looks exactly the same wherever you go, terrible ending, etc etc, so I want to talk about something that really bugged me: the combat.
It should have been pretty cool. The three-weapon/magic setup was a neat idea, and it was a huge step up from Lords of Shadow 1, but it feels like they botched it right before the finish line. There are no invincibility frames in the dodge move, and all the bosses' attacks are just variations on big horizontal sword/claw slashes. To avoid taking damage you have to dodge waaay away from every attack, often having to dodge twice before you're out of range, and with no Stinger-type move to get back in close again just end up having to dodge twice towards the enemy before you can hit them again. I found it really, really frustrating. Those fights could have been pretty fun with a proper i-frame dodge move to keep you in a nice, snappy back-and-forth brawl, but instead it all just feels needlessly slow and cumbersome.
It should have been pretty cool. The three-weapon/magic setup was a neat idea, and it was a huge step up from Lords of Shadow 1, but it feels like they botched it right before the finish line. There are no invincibility frames in the dodge move, and all the bosses' attacks are just variations on big horizontal sword/claw slashes. To avoid taking damage you have to dodge waaay away from every attack, often having to dodge twice before you're out of range, and with no Stinger-type move to get back in close again just end up having to dodge twice towards the enemy before you can hit them again. I found it really, really frustrating. Those fights could have been pretty fun with a proper i-frame dodge move to keep you in a nice, snappy back-and-forth brawl, but instead it all just feels needlessly slow and cumbersome.
Astral Dog
Member
I liked MoF, it reminds me of the older Castlevanias(more than LoS 1) but with a modern twist, while i would take an IGAvania over it any day, MS did a god job making a portable LoS .
LoS 2 was interesting, the stealth sections were awful and never made any sense, level design was tedious to navigate but simple, bosses and combat were improved over LoS, and i liked the art direction more, flaws and all. story was a mess, but iGabriels character is better than before.
LoS 2 was interesting, the stealth sections were awful and never made any sense, level design was tedious to navigate but simple, bosses and combat were improved over LoS, and i liked the art direction more, flaws and all. story was a mess, but iGabriels character is better than before.
Ricky Ricardo
Member
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
How can such bad games have such great artists, I drool everytime I look at pieces of art from these games.
Night Hunter
Banned
There is one good thing that came from all of this. Due to all the drama the LoS Art Director left Mercury Steam and went to Tequila Works, and I mean just look at Rime.
drotahorror
Member
Loved LoS (except the DLC) Bought it day 1 on 360 and on PC. LoS2 was pretty mediocre and I didn't bother to finish.
TacosNSalsa
Member
I really liked LoS1 ..but pretty much stopped playing part 2 when I started fighting Metal Gears and shit..will watch the rest of the story on Youtube or something ..
Corpsepyre
Banned
Started playing the DLC, Revelations, with Alucard, and it's actually pretty good. have read that it's quite short, but I'm digging it a lot. It's a shame the main game couldn't be this fun. Alucard's moves are incredibly fun!