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[zlatko]

Lords of Shadow was one of my more anticipated games last year, but with all the big releases at the time, a new gaming PC, and the fact I rarely buy games without multiplayer or BIG rpgs I decided to rent it. Unfortunately, my two video stores here never got the game. I decided I'll be patient till the price drops to $20.00 or less, but that day STILL hasn't come.

Skip to a week ago that I stumbled into the smaller video store here in town that I had already checked for Lords of Shadow before, but to my surprise this time, so many months later and after so much checking, they had it!

Going into it I had only beaten one Castlevania game, which was back on the Gameboy Advance. I forget the lead character's name, but I did complete it and I loved it. My knowledge of the series was somewhat limited, but I had high hopes since Kojima Productions was involved. The games I was going to stack this up against were God of War 3 and Bayonetta. My expectations were set pretty low I guess, but even I had set them high I would have walked away blown away.

Lords of Shadow floored me. I played on the second hardest difficulty and clocked in around 20 hours. The art design, the music, the story, the voice acting, the combat, and everything in between just dazzled me. I can't believe this game wasn't in more GOTY discussions last year... WTF?!!?! My praise could go on forever, but the only shortcomings I came across is that it was maybe a bit too heavy on the quick time events, and that part of the ending was super predictable... while what played after the credits was a mind fuck.

If there are people out there on Gaf who missed out on this and are fans of the third person action genre... you need to get on this game. The pacing of the game is also something praise worthy, because it keeps building upon itself and ends right when it should.

MercurySteam if you are out there on Gaf, thank you for one of my favorite games this generation. I hope they bring another Castlevania soon.

Which of the DLCs are worth playing fellow Gaffers?

 

[brandonh83]

Which of the DLCs are worth playing fellow Gaffers?

Neither. They're really short. They should have been combined into one $10 DLC.

 

[Sinatar]

I'm actually playing through this at the moment as well, price dropped to $30 Canadian at Futureshop so I figured what the hell.

Not as floored as you so far, it's not a bad game by any stretch, but it's been pretty ho-hum so far. I think I'm like 1/2 through chapter 2 or something, so maybe 3 or 4 hours in.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Loved the game, but the DLC's are pretty shit. I was hoping at least the last DLC would be good, but its not and just as short as the other one. They missed the ball on these. Plus they are $10 a piece. Way to expensive.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

It was alright.

In retrospect, it was not as bad as I remember it being (though the DLC definitely was).

If it had run higher than 20FPS, the visuals might have done more for me. Anyone can paint a pretty picture, it takes really talented developers to make that picture run well.

 

[zlatko]

I'm actually playing through this at the moment as well, price dropped to $30 Canadian at Futureshop so I figured what the hell.

Not as floored as you so far, it's not a bad game by any stretch, but it's been pretty ho-hum so far. I think I'm like 1/2 through chapter 2 or something, so maybe 3 or 4 hours in.

The game keeps ramping up, so definitely stick with it. The things you'll see and do later on will be bigger and better, plus fights will start getting harder.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

I thought that the game was awkwardly paced and that the main character had no weight to him. It also managed to overstay its welcome with many sections being either too long, tedious, or both. Here's hoping that they learned something from their experience developing the game and make something special in their next effort.

 

[zlatko]

It was alright.

In retrospect, it was not as bad as I remember it being (though the DLC definitely was).

If it had run higher than 20FPS, the visuals might have done more for me. Anyone can paint a pretty picture, it takes really talented developers to make that picture run well.

Which version ran at 20FPS? Was there a patch for it? My 360 version ran silky smooth and didn't have hiccups even on the epic large boss fights or tons of enemies in a room at once.

 

[revolverjgw]

It was OK. The gameplay was competent, nothing more. It barely felt like Castlevania, especially since the soundtrack was as boring as a soundtrack could possibly be, but the art direction was absolutely beautiful at times. Some of the vistas and architecture is burned into my memory, gorgeous stuff. Not worth 60, wish I'd waited.

 

[Grisby]

Replayed it about a month ago. Was one of my favorite releases last year. Gameplay, music, and presentation this game had it all. I mean, all of the little touches from the way Gabriel picks up items (doing the little cross sign) to the hand drawn skill buying menu.

Game got shafted for media. Giantbomb, my favorite site, didn't even bother reviewing it.

Everyone harped on the framerate, and while it wasn't a smooth 30 I didn't have any problems with it whatsoever. Not nearly as bad as most say.

 

[Atolm]

Finished the game recently (with platinum), loved it. For me, it's one of those cases where the apprentice (Castlevania) beats the master (GoW). Castlevania did it right by adding more exploration and some of his own touches to the combat (like the perfect blocking & counterattack and the secondary weapons). The music was wonderful and the graphic engine is pretty good as well.

Also, assets-wise the game just kicks the ass of most games from this gen.

 

[Heysoos]

I felt like it started dragging on way too long, personally. It's not really the length of the game, it just felt like a lot of the things served no purpose, and the pacing felt really off to me.

 

[Persona7]

I was looking at this earlier today, which version is better?

I need some single player.

 

[Atolm]

I was looking at this earlier today, which version is better?

I need some single player.

Apparently, PS3 ver has slightly better framerate, 2-3 fps better on average iirc.

 

[zlatko]

So judging from the few comments here it's either a love it or indifferent to it? Better than love it or hate it I suppose. There's always room for improvement sure, and like I said I hope we get a second one out of MercSteam soon. No E3 announcement this year was actually strange to me as I expected it would be there for some reason.

@Persona7

I had the 360 version. It has 2 discs and the first 6 chapters are on disc 1 while the other 6 are on disc 2. There will be reasons to go back to previous chapters and stages to unlock previously unreachable upgrades, so you will have to do disc swapping later on in the game near the end when you have the "double jump" ability in the game.

I'm not sure if there was a patch for the frame issues mentioned here, but I had no problems with my 360 version in that regard, so as long as you don't mind a little disc swapping, then 360 version is good to go.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

So judging from the few comments here it's either a love it or indifferent to it? Better than love it or hate it I suppose. There's always room for improvement sure, and like I said I hope we get a second one out of MercSteam soon. No E3 announcement this year was actually strange to me as I expected it would be there for some reason.

@Persona7

I had the 360 version. It has 2 discs and the first 6 chapters are on disc 1 while the other 6 are on disc 2. There will be reasons to go back to previous chapters and stages to unlock previously unreachable upgrades, so you will have to do disc swapping later on in the game near the end when you have the "double jump" ability in the game.

I'm not sure if there was a patch for the frame issues mentioned here, but I had no problems with my 360 version in that regard, so as long as you don't mind a little disc swapping, then 360 version is good to go.

ps3 version is the best, it's the one with the better framerate.

 

[zlatko]

ps3 version is the best, it's the one with the better framerate.

Was there ever a patch do you know ?

Edit:

Google says there was a patch for both versions to fix some issues, but the 360 patch was never detailed oddly in to what all it entailed in its fix. People noted some freeze issue was resolved and text scrolling was added, but that was all people could find.

Maybe someone who still has it and played it on release for 360 could see if the frame rate is sketchy, but if the PS3 version is the better one then definitely go for that.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

Was there ever a patch do you know ?

there was a patch for both versions, but i believe it was to correct a savegame glitch, where on ps3 it would delete your save, and on 360 it would just give an error or something. i don't believe they touched the other aspects of the game tbh, so the ps3 version still stands out as the best between the two. not saying that 360 is bad by any means, just pointing it out.

 

[bone_and_sinew]

I liked it for what is was but a PC version was definitely needed.

 

[Sinatar]

I liked it for what is was but a PC version was definitely needed.

Yea it's a shame this games great level art never gets a chance to truly shine, it's be a real stunner at 60 FPS with some AA/AF.

 

[AppleMIX]

I can't believe this game wasn't in more GOTY discussions last year... WTF?!!?!

Unfortunately most people wrote it off as a God of War clone and tried to belittle it by saying it wasn't a "true" Castlevanaia game.

It certainly has its faults, but I enjoyed it immensely.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

I like it on the whole, but my god dem amateur mistakes.

Please fix the hitboxes, camera, framerate, and inconsistent "platforming" for the sequel.

Oh, and make Holy Water not break the bosses this time.

 

[Kurtofan]

I just finished the Chapter and even though I find it solid, it doesn't really feel like a Castlevania , where are the remixes?

 

[Erasus]

Demo seemed great, but the framerate made me ill. PS3 version, still like 25fps

 

[ToyMachine228]

Funny that this thread popped up. All of the sudden I've had a sudden urge to pick this up, and I was never really interested in it when it got announced. Downloaded the 360 demo yesterday and I'm going to play it today. That said, with Shadows of the Damned and Child of Eden right around the corner I'm not sure if now's a good time to jump in or not.

 

[the chris]

This is my favorite game of the generation so far, I keep doing playthroughs of the game even though I platinumed it a couple of months ago.

 

[kinoki]

I bought the Limited Edition two weeks ago. Got to the first boss and got tired of the game. I really should start playing it again. Nothing really pushing me. But the LE was so good looking.

 

[Aurarian]

I bought it over the holidays last year. I enjoyed my time with it and hope they will make something even better in the future.

 

[Galamauth]

I like everything about how this game looks except its suspicious aversion towards the little thing that kept castlevania cool and familiar for me. If there were dancing skeletons I'd bite but not one silly little animation like that seemed to cross over and that is just heartbreaking.

 

[The Praiseworthy]

I wasn't sure about the game at all.... I didn't even buy it till two months after the release and oh god I was so wrong for not getting this game sooner!!


One of the most memorable game in this generation.. such a beautiful adventure.

 

[Captain_Spanky]

I just finished the game the other day. Now I'm a huge Castlevania nut and I absolutely loved this. The combat felt great, loved the enemy and move variety, the different strategies, the level artwork, the platforming, everything. The only disappointment game wise was the music which lacked the Castlevania oomph in my opinion.

However the thing that I would complain about is the story. Firstly it broke what I consider a major rule in story telling: show don't tell. We're told about Gabriel's darkness, of his lost sanity, of his guilt, of his loss of of faith. We don't really see any evidence of that though. The evil acts he commits he's no more guilty of than a knife is guilty of murder, he was literally used as a tool.
His loss of faith was equally ham fisted, the first time he hears the truth of the Brotherhood of light it's a shock for us, he kinda accepts it. It's only when he kills Carmilla and she restates it that it suddenly causes him to angst over his quest. A bit of consistency would have been nice.

The twist at the end was so obvious, a total cliche (especially in Kojima's work, every MGS has

Spoiler

an evil mentor

) and then they tried to make up for it with a post credits sequence that, while cool, certainly had no build up prior to it's appearance. The most frustrating part is it COULD have, it was so close. All the foreshadowing, the Shadow Of The Colossus style plot about a doomed quest to resurrect a loved one with unintended consequences. Heck every time you killed a Lord Of Shadow and gained their power Gabriel gained part of a really sinister looking set of armor. If this had built up over the game, eventually encasing him, a visual representation of the hardening of his emotions and his loss of humanity...it really seemed like that's where they were going. I don't often like to criticize what something should be but I really feel like they missed a trick there.

 

[Leon Belmont]

I was looking at this earlier today, which version is better?

I need some single player.

Buy the PS3 version, Castlevania Lords of Shadow was natively programmed for the PS3, so it runs better.

 

[Muzzy]

Which of the DLCs are worth playing fellow Gaffers?

Both are not really good. But if you still want to play those DLC, buy it between March 13 and 19 as there will be a Konami discount sales (50% off), offering each DLC for 400MSP.

 

[Ahasverus]

The game was amazing. Breathtaking art direction, good storym fun platforming, varied (like REALLY VARIED) stages and level design (Wrap you head around this: you start in an Eurpean village, then go to a ffairy forest, then to a mayan temple, then to the Alphs, then to Romania countrysidem then to the f***ng demon castle, then a somewhat Spanish/RE4 forest, then a cave of crystals, then a giant stone robot graveyard and then, well, hell) I think the game REALLY started with Cornell's battle, after that it was just going up until the orgasmic climax.

Can't wait for the inevitable sequel to be shown (not even announced) at this year E3.

 

[~Kinggi~]

You gots three types of peoples

-the old school castlevania fans that want this shit to burn

-the god of war fans who cant stand this being a gow clone.

-the people that arent blinded by those things and really like the game, they really really like it.

Game is awesome. It nailed pretty much everything.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Beautiful game, excellent combat, abysmal frame rate.

I think with some work it could steal the crown of best western action game from god of war.

But they have to fix that fucking framerate, work on the camera more and put more thought into the combat chaining between enemies.

A few different weapons wouldn't hurt either.

I don't know how it is as a standalone castlevania, but as a pure action game it's pretty amazing.

 

[Ahasverus]

You forgot the Old Schools fans that really really like it, like me. Playing every CV since Dracula X on SNES. Couldn't be happier with this new direction.

 

[Joei]

I liked the game until I got to the Shadow of the Collussus boss then I went, *puke*, and stopped playing. Well, that and I had about 2 or 3 other games I really wanted to play and ended up picking up when I got to that boss. I wouldn't mind giving the game another go, but I'm just too busy and have other games on my backlog that I'm more interested in. :/

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

Playing every CV since Dracula X on SNES.

I picked it up on Vita yesterday. It's so damn good.

 

[~Kinggi~]

You forgot the Old Schools fans that really really like it, like me. Playing every CV since Dracula X on SNES. Couldn't be happier with this new direction.

Yeah i'm the same.

I liked the game until I got to the Shadow of the Collussus boss then I went, *puke*, and stopped playing. Well, that and I had about 2 or 3 other games I really wanted to play and ended up picking up when I got to that boss. I wouldn't mind giving the game another go, but I'm just too busy and have other games on my backlog that I'm more interested in. :/

You missed out on the next 85% of the game.

 

[Solid07]

I still have my copy in wraps... I should get to it... What should I be expecting?

 

[alr1ght]

Was a good game except for the st st stuttery framerate.

 

[~Kinggi~]

I still have my copy in wraps... I should get to it... What should I be expecting?

Game that plays like God of War, has amazing graphics, is very very long, has a ton of environments and enemies. Solid combat systems. Has all the dark gothic tones the Castlevania games are known for. You should play it.

 

[revolverjgw]

Solid game but not at all what I want from a 3D Castlevania from a presentation standpoint. It's too damn "Hollywood".

 

[Joei]

Yeah i'm the same.



You missed out on the next 85% of the game.

I'm aware. I know it was incredibly early in the game, but it immediately turned me off, plus there were a few other games out and coming out that I wanted to play. I'll pick it up eventually since I liked the gameplay otherwise. My backlog consists of Dark Souls and Uncharted 3 so I'm not sure when I'll be hooking this game back up tho, lol

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Castlevania fan. Loved it. Only problem I had was the early bit felt more LOTOR themed than classic vampire stuff. That could just be me as I prefer vampire and werewolves stuff to be set in 1700 and 1800s.
Once you hit that snow cliff with the village in the background it far surpassed my expectations.

 

[Jhoan]

I enjoyed it for what it was and I've been a faithful Castlevania fan since Symphony of the Night (I like the old school hard games too don't get me wrong). I mean sure it was dumbed down into God of War style combat and level design mixed with Shadow of the Colossus but the draw distances were amazing. And there were a few levels that were drop dead gorgeous to look at (the forest in the first chapter where you collect the glyphs comes to mind). The hand drawn animations for all the combat/abilities was a marvel to look at as well.

Plus the puzzles were cool too even though there were several duds. I absolutely loved seeing the creepy, lonely castle on the cliff in the distant in an earlier level only to finally reach it in a later level. That was fantastic; the game has a tremendous sense of scale and adventuring. I never noticed the framerate dips that everyone keeps talking about.

While the story was pretty predictable, I loved all the references to Castlevania games such as the sub weapons. I didn't get a few of them though; particularly the Vampire Killer's creator (I didn't play Castlevania: Lament of Innocence) which I had to look at the wiki page for. I don't know how the modern day setting is going to get pulled off, but as long as it doesn't have invisible walls (a glaring flaw of LoS) and more interesting combat, I'm all for it. I'm definitely going to check out the two DLC's for 50% off.

 

[Danny-Boy]

I found the game as terrible as Dante's Inferno....a poor mans God of War.

I gave up on the game halfway through the first time, but went back to it after watching the ending, and forced myself to complete it.

I tried to play again recently but gave up after the first few stages.

The fixed camera placement is bad, so bad that you get hit by enemy's who aren't even on the screen. The camera also hides where you are supposed to be going, which makes some platforming sections very frustrating.

The right stick isn't used, you block with L2 and roll with L2 + left stick. What the? I lost track of the number of times I went to block but rolled instead. Talking of blocking, the enemy doesn't usually flag their attacks, so blocking becomes a bit of a guessing game.

Makes for a very frustrating game.

 

[Ahasverus]

I found the game as terrible as Dante's Inferno....a poor mans God of War.

You're so high.

LoS and DI can't be in the same sentence, it's just not humanly possible, like night and day, one was a hand crafted homage to a legendary series with high production values sense of style deep combat system long and varied levels and stunning graphics. The other one was a poor but a veryyy poor almost starving-poor man's god of war, and was published by EA.

 

[dr3upmushroom]

I'm not sure if it's at every Target, but my local one has this on sale for about $15 right now if anyone's been waiting to get it.

I've been considering it myself. It seems really divisive, I've heard and read both that it was one of the better games of the year and that it sucks. $15 is a good price but I just got a 360 after not owning a console for a couple years, so there's plenty of cream-of-the-crop titles I can grab for a similar price. Still though, I like God of War fine and the Shadow of the Colossus inspired bosses seem interesting.