Introduction
Castlevania is a very strong contender for my favourite video game series. Since the fiendishly hard Circle of the Moon for the GBA (unlike a lot of fans, I didn't play Symphony of the Night until it came bundled with the PSP's Dracula X Chronicles) I've been addicted to the series. So, when the mysterious "Lords of Shadow" was given the title of "Castlevania", you can probably imagine my reaction...and how painful the year-long wait between the announcement and the release was.
Despite the statements that it was going to be a reboot of the series, and that as time went on it was painfully obvious that they'd changed the gameplay considerably to appeal to a generation of gamers who adored the likes of God of War, I never once doubted that this latest instalment in the Castlevania franchise would live up to my expectations. After all, with the possible exception of Lament of Innocence on the PS2, they'd never let me down before.
Its nice to know that some things never change.
Storyline: 7.0/10
Lords of Shadow (henceforth known as LoS) is set in the year 1047, in which the alliance between the Earth and the Heavens is being threatened by (surprise surprise) the Lords of Shadow. Its not a very nice time to be living in - life is filled with attacks from vampires, werewolves and all other manner of dark, unholy creatures, and death is no escape, since a powerful spell is stopping the souls of the departed from leaving Earth.
Anyways, the story opens with Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light - your standard holy order of good guys - travelling towards the forest to seek The Guardian of the Lake. Apparently his Brotherhood dreamt that a message from his recently departed wife, Marie, awaits him at the Lake of Oblivion, where the living can conveniently communicate with the dead. In any case, after obtaining the guardian Pan's consent, he travels there. It turns out that she IS waiting there for him. She tells him that the power of the Lords of Shadow is the key to saving the world.
After a further chat with Zobek, another member of the Brotherhood, who informs him that the power can not only save the world but resurrect the dead, Gabriel's goal becomes fairly clear: travel to the lands where the Lords of Shadow reside, kill them, and take their power, which comes in the form of the God Mask. You're given all this to digest in the first chapter of the game.
After the initial onslaught of information, the story comes to you in small snippets, in the form of Brotherhood scrolls that you can loot off dead bodies (these provide something of a backstory) and wonderful little pieces of dialogue narrated by Zobek before the beginning of each stage, which give insights into Gabriel's present state, the condition/history of the location he is travelling to, as well as Zobek's own thoughts. This game has very little in the way of cutscenes unfortunately, and between chapters where you are immediately close to battling a Lord of Shadow, things become very quiet, which is perhaps the story's biggest failing: inconsistency. There are also many unanswered questions throughout the game and, whilst many of these questions (and then some) are answered in the final chapter, the epilogue itself raises more questions than it answers, and that the final twist in the tale has been used in a previous Castlevania game dampens its impact somewhat.
However, LoS tells an interesting tale, and has that "surprise ending syndrome" a lot of video games these days seem to have. It has a rich beginning and end, with a middle that is, at best, more diversionary than it is absolutely essential to what you're doing at the time.
Like a lot of action-adventure games (and, indeed, previous Castlevania games) LoS spends the beginning hour or so giving you an idea of what you've got to do, and then letting you get on with it, punctuating it with grandiose speeches from villains and the occasional encounter with allies.
This isn't a BAD approach by any means, but its not exceptionally praiseworthy. When the story does decide to kick in, its a very enjoyable and entertaining experience, but it is the inconsistency in its delivery and, at times, predictability and lack of originality that prevents it from getting a higher score.
For Castlevania fans, this is more than is expected. For everyone else, its about average.
Characters: 6.1/10
Castlevania games have never really had much in the way of a cast - a hero, and perhaps a few add-on characters he meets along the way. LoS is no exception to this rule.
Gabriel Belmont is the protagonist and, having lost his wife recently, he is a man dedicated to his goals. This is a nice way of saying "he's a drone whose personality died along with his wife", really. If Gabriel is going to talk, you can be sure he's going to talk about one of three things: his dead wife, his lack of purity, or how the enemy is an abomination to God and needs to die. The main problem with Gabriel's characterization, though, is his lack of dialogue. Zobek (who I will come to in a moment) does most of his talking for him. Even in cutscenes, Gabriel will tend to let other characters do the talking for him. His characterization comes solely from Zobek's narration on his mental state. It isn't difficult, however, to feel sympathy for Gabriel. His empathic portrayal by the end of the game makes up slightly for his initial lack of depth throughout the story.
The other "main" character (that is to say, one who will appear more than once) is Zobek, a fellow member of the Brotherhood of Light. Whilst Zobek doesn't get too much in the way of development through the story - although he, like every other character in the game, has his secrets - his narrations of the story (as well as his excellent voice actor) make him quite a complex and enjoyable character.
Other characters include the spirit of Marie (Gabriel's deceased love), Pan (the Guardian of the Lake), Claudia (a telepathic mute girl with an animated suit of black armour for a protector) and, of course, the Lords of Shadow. These characters, whilst they all have secrets to reveal, are all very minor, and get little in the way of lines, and absolutely nothing in the way of character development - particularly in the case of the Lords of Shadow, whose appearances are restricted solely to their boss battles.
Whilst the cast is a vast improvement over previous Castlevania games, Gabriel will remain a faceless figure on a quest for the convenience of the player for much of the game, and the only real character intrigue comes in the form of Zobek who, whilst he narrates the game, won't show up in person very much past his initial appearance. This slips just above mediocrity due to the fact that other games of the same genre and series don't do much better - and in some cases, they do considerably worse - but there is definite room for improvement here.
Gameplay: 9.2/10
LoS really shines in terms of gameplay, being a highly enjoyable and surprisingly varied experience that gives it a slight edge over its competitors.
The game is split up into 12 chapters, each of which is comprised of a number of stages of varying length (for the reference of Castlevania fans, its similar to Order of Eccelsia on the DS in terms of layout) which, playing as Gabriel, you travel through, killing everything that stands in your way. Some stages present you with a large area to explore, whilst others will see you travelling a linear route to your destination. Some will have bosses at the end, some in the middle, and others will be dedicated entirely to fighting bosses.
Combat is similar to the likes of God of War, Dante's Inferno and Darksiders - armed with his Combat Cross (later re-christened by Zobek to a name all Castlevania fans will recognise) and later with Light and Shadow magic, Gabriel will wade through a variety of enemies, from vampires to werewolves to trolls, to reach the end of the stage. There are two types of attack: pressing the square button will yield a concentrated "heavy" attack, whilst pressing triangle will yield a "light" attack which damages enemies over an area for less damage. Killing enemies will yield experience, which will accumulate just under your health bar. At first, Gabriel will have precious little available to him in the way of combo attacks, however, you can unlock combos by purchasing them with experience from the travel book menu. As well as acquiring upgrades for your Combat Cross - including the infamous whip spin, of course - you can also purchase new light and shadow magic attacks, as well as attacks that utilise your sub-weapons and relics earned from defeating bosses.
So, Light Magic and Shadow Magic. You will acquire both of these fairly early on in the game. They are activated by pressing L1 and R1 respectively, and you can only have one active at a time. You can leave them on without draining the meter (fortunately, they each have separate meters) but each time you attack with them on, the meter will decrease. Attacking with Light Magic will allow Gabriel to restore any lost health (and, considering that health fountains are few and far between, you'll be using this a lot) whereas Shadow Magic will boost the power of his attacks. Various combo attacks can be purchased for these and, whilst they are ridiculously powerful, they'll drain your magic meter ridiculously quickly.
In addition to this, Gabriel also has four subweapons: Daggers, Fairies, Holy Water and a Dark Crystal. Daggers are fairly self explanatory - weak, fast projectiles that can be enhanced with Shadow Magic. Fairies will flit out and paralyse the nearest enemies (unless you have Light magic on, in which case they'll explode on contact) and Holy Water produces a wide range shockwave that will stun stronger enemies and destroy weaker ones (or provide you with a temporary shield against enemy attacks if you have Light magic on). The Dark Crystal will summon a demon which will eradicate anything not a boss in the nearby area. However, you can only carry one, and you need to gather four crystal fragments before you can use it again.
Upon defeating certain bosses, Gabriel will also earn relics. For example, defeating the second Lord of Shadow will earn you the Seraph's Shoulders, which will enable you to double jump. Needless to say, once you acquire one of these relics, you can be sure you're going to use it extensively in the upcoming stages, and that it'll be essential in acquiring an item you couldn't previously reach in an earlier stage.
There is also the Focus meter, which will appear in the middle of the bottom of the screen. The more you attack enemies without taking damage yourself, the more this gauge will build up. Once it is full, every regular attack will result in an enemy releasing energy spheres that you can use to recharge your magic. However, getting hit at all will deplete this gauge entirely, and turning your magic on will also deplete the meter. When there is not a fountain nearby to replenish your magic - and often there won't be - this proves to be vital.
What is surprising, however, is the number of stages that focus almost exclusively on platforming, or solving puzzles. There is a lot of swinging, jumping and rolling to be done in this game, with the consequences for failure being often fatal. Ledges will often crumble as well, sending Gabriel plummeting to his death if you dawdle. Gabriel's Combat Cross also doubles as a grappling hook (which you can use to climb up or down, swing, or jump away from walls) and a crank once you have found the upgrades. With a few exceptions, these platforming sections can be done at your own pace.
The puzzles are often challenging - quite often you're required to do things within a set time limit or number of moves, or utilize an ability after you have overcome the initial obstacle to reset the puzzle so you can pass. Something may appear to be obvious, but in fact may require you to take a very roundabout way of getting there. Others are as simple as they look: directing beams off of mirrors to open doors, for example. Whilst some will be puzzles of logic. In later stages your path won't be very linear either; you'll need to backtrack to acquire a key to open a door, or take several diversions to open a door barring your way. However, to make up for the level of frustration these can often cause, there are always scrolls nearby that will provide a hint. If you are willing to sacrifice the experience reward you'll get for completing the puzzle, you can get the complete solution, as well. This is a nice feature that will prevent you from getting stuck in one place for too long.
There is also a large number of collectibles in the game - acquiring 5 Life Gems, Light Gems and Shadow Gems will increase your maximum health, light magic and shadow magic respectively, and there are a total of 30 of each of these. There are also numerous Brotherhood Arks in levels, which will increase the maximum number of daggers, fairies or holy water bottles you can carry. Often you will need to backtrack to get these - for example, you will see one such Ark in the first chapter which you will not be able to acquire until you have the Seraph's Shoulders at the end of Chapter VIII.
Another notable element of the gameplay are the Titan battles. Similar to Shadow of the Colossus, you'll need to scale up these titans and locate their weak points - in this case, its brightly coloured circular runes - and smash them, all the while clinging on for dear life when they attempt to shake you off, or moving away when they attempt to pull you off. There are only three such battles, but they are quite epic, and add another element to the gameplay.
Quick-time events are also present in this game, bearing a resemblance to the ones from Lost Odyssey. A circle will appear on the screen, and another circle will rapidly close on it. When the larger circle is inside the smaller one, pressing any button will result in something that will either dismember your enemies or save Gabriel from certain death...often both. These usually occur once you have depleted boss' health, or when you grab enemies for a close-up kill.
In addition to this, each stage has an accompanying trial that you'll unlock after you finish it in any difficulty. These trials vary: one stage you may simply have to kill a certain number of enemies, in others you may have a time limit in which to accomplish a goal. Some are ridiculously simple (for example, kill 60 goblins in an area that is SWARMING with goblins), yet others are extremely difficult (for example, killing the Ice Titan in 90 seconds). However, that they can be done on any difficulty setting and still count towards your trophy for that stage defeats the point of having difficult trials at all.
There are also a few enemies you can mount, usually to overcome obstacles - for example, a bridge is destroyed, and the gap is too wide to jump. There is a giant spider nearby. So, after stunning it and mounting it following the little quicktime sequence, you are granted total control of the monster. You can use it to build a bridge across, then promptly strangle it, roll off, and cross over. Similarly, you can mount larger trolls and warthogs to smash obstacles, or wargs to leap gaps and climb vine-covered pillars. You'll use this ability less and less as you go through the game, however.
The primary fault of the game is that the combat is terribly unbalanced once you start buying upgrades. Combos do a heavy amount of damage, and the chances are you'll have unlocked almost everything by the end of the game. Whilst Ultimate Light and Ultimate Dark (especially the former, since it recovers your health as well) drain your magic meter extremely quickly, they're more than enough to take out everything that doesn't have an on-screen health meter to match yours, and make Paladin laughable when you unlock it. It is also extremely hard to block in time to enemy attacks; most of the time you'll end up blocking too early, or too late. This can make the beginning of the game extremely frustrating when you're just starting out and encounter some of the stronger enemies will little defense against them. For some, this game might be quite hard to get into and enjoy.
On occasion, the camera angle can spin about awkwardly as well, making it difficult to see where you're going. Fortunately these occasions are few and far between (and when they do happen you can be sure there is a collectible lurking off screen somewhere, as well) but when they do happen, particularly when you're trying to make some tricky jumps, its extremely aggravating.
There are a total of four levels of difficulty, with the highest, Paladin, being available only after you have completed the game. Unfortunately, the highest difficulty setting you have from the beginning - Knight - offers very little in the way of challenge once you have adjusted to the pace of the game and learned the attack patterns of the more powerful enemies.
With casual collecting and exploration, the game will probably take you a little over 12 hours to complete, although this is a standard level of time for games to last these days. If you intend to Platinum it, it will take considerably longer, as there are trophies for completing the trials, as well as discovering all hidden items (and some are indeed very well hidden) as well as building up 100,000 exp, which takes several hours by itself. However, the difficulty levels stack, so if you complete a level on Knight, the game registers it as having also been completed on the other two difficulty settings (Esquire and Warrior) below this. This means you won't have to replay the game four times to get the trophies associated with completing the game on a certain difficulty level.
In summary, despite a few faults - lack of challenge being the most noticeable - LoS' gameplay is varied enough to prevent players from just writing it off as another God of War ripoff. There is an equal amount of emphasis on exploration, platforming and puzzle-solving as there is violent and bloody combat.
Controls: 9.5/10
LoS' controls are quite well-designed, and there is nothing immensely annoying that will stop you from enjoying the game as you play it. Once you get used to the controls and memorize the combos (which takes a while, because there are quite a lot of them) you won't even think about it.
However, the controls do slow the game down on two occasions - once again, block and roll have been assigned to the same button, which means you'll be rolling when you want to block, and blocking (probably unsucessfully) when you want to roll. Eventually you'll probably just give up and roll all the time, although there are very powerful counterattacks for successful blocking, which makes this extremely annoying.
Another thing occurs when you seek to absorb magic orbs (L3 for restoring light magic, R3 for restoring shadow magic) in the air. You STOP MOVING. In most battles, this is going to mean you're going to get hit, and if you're stopping to restore light magic to heal yourself, it'll probably be fatal.
Graphics: 9.7/10
The graphics in this game are extremely impressive; due to the sheer variety of locations, LoS gets plenty of opportunity to show off, and it takes every single one. From snowy tundras in which the snow actually sticks to the screen to lush grottos with cascading waterfalls framed by rainbows, everything looks absolutely gorgeous. Quite often the camera will pan out when you arrive at a new area, giving you a full view of the landscape. Equal level of detail has been given to the interior and the enemy design, as well. The titans in particular look fantastic.
However, like many games, a few character models let LoS down. With the exception of Gabriel and Zobek, every other human character - all three or four of them - you'll encounter doesn't look quite as polished, and Marie in particular looks absolutely awful. Whilst these characters don't appear very often, it still detracts from the overall presentation somewhat.
...and, of course, no matter how good it may be, we all know that the PS3 can do better, as FFXIII will attest. Whilst LoS is absolutely incredible to behold, it isn't quite as impressive as it could be at times.
Sound: 9.9/10
Soundtrack in Castlevania games has always been above average, and this is no exception. The soundtrack is entirely orchestrated, and sets a brilliant atmosphere for the game, striking up a grand note whenever you stumble upon a particularly amazing piece of scenery, or giving you a small flute piece for a warning before launching into the ominous rumbling that signifies you're about to have company.
However, one thing that might put fans off is the lack of classic Castlevania themes in it. The game only uses the Theme of Belmont and the traditional Vampire Killer.
The voice acting more than justifies this rating alone, though. Instead of hiring the standard entourage of voice actors, the developers have opted instead to hire professional British actors. The likes of Robert Carlyle, Jason Isaacs and Sir Patrick Stewart make LoS one of the best games with voice acting in recent years, and put it right up there with the likes of Dragon Age and Mass Effect. It sounds absolutely incredible: the dialogue is delivered with believable feeling, and no small amount of class as well. Its a wonderfully refreshing change from the usual voices that every company these days likes to hire to voice their characters.
So, what stops this game from getting a perfect score? The lack of voice acting. With the sole exception of Sir Patrick Stewart, whose voice you'll hear at the beginning of each chapter, the characters, including Gabriel himself, say very little. I already touched upon this in the Characters section of the review earlier for different reasons. Here, it is because there simply isn't enough voice acting, and it feels like the talent of the other voice actors is being wasted. Some only have two or three lines which, considering the quality, is a real shame.
Unique/Extra Features: 5.6/10
There isn't much worth mentioning here, really. Upon completion of the game you unlock a Solid Snake eyepatch and bandana, the latter of which you won't notice, because Gabriel's hair is too long. Its a nice aesthetic, but its so unbelivably minor its barely worth noticing.
The presentation is fairly unique, particularly when compared to previous Castlevania games, and whilst the gothic setting is vaguely reminiscent of Darksiders at times, there isn't anything else like it at the moment. It doesn't add much, and its comparable to a lot of games, but it definetely has a look and feel all its own. The PSN logo also suggests DLC in the future, which may or may not enhance it.
Replay value: 8.0/10
Slightly above average. Since you can revisit any stage you've completed, this definetely adds to the replay value of the game - instead of wading through the game to get to a particular fight, you can just pick the stage, which is much more appealing. The stage-based gameplay also allows for casual play more than the usual save point system action-adventure games of similar nature utilise.
Players seeking to get the Platinum trophy will need to play the game through at least twice, although it is likely certain stages will need to be played through multiple times to get the trials. It is doubtful you'll find all the collectibles in your first playthrough, unless you follow a guide, and each stage having a trial gives a reason to play them through again.
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
Whilst it doesn't really feel like a Castlevania game a lot of the time, LoS exceeds all expectations and, despite the large number of similar games out there, manages to differentiate itself admirably...or at least sufficiently so as not to be labelled as a GHod of War ripoff and dismissed. There is a great deal of variety to the gameplay, and you're never doing one thing for very long - if you have a particularly rigorous bout of battling, you can be sure you're in for some platforming or puzzling soon. Whilst there is definite room for improvement in the storyline, by the end of it you'll come away feeling that, on the whole, things could definetely have been worse, and there are some genuine surprises tucked away in there that will reward those who persevere with it. Not to mention Zobek's narration is probably the best entertainment ever devised for a loading screen. The scenery is absolutely fantastic and often conveys that Castlevania feel, especially when you reach the land of the vampires, when the landscape suddenly becomes a lot more familiar.
Castlevania fans will need to approach this game with an open mind. Whilst LoS' entry barriers aren't particularly high, if you have a prior knowledge of Castlevania, you'll appreciate (or despise) the various nods to past games crammed in there. Experienced players are going to want to play this game on the highest difficulty setting and not buy any upgrades at all for a proper challenge, however - as with many games these days, LoS isn't particularly difficult once you've mastered the controls. Despite this, it contains an adequate amount of challenge for those who seek it in the form of trials, and more than enough frustration in the puzzles.
Castlevania is a very strong contender for my favourite video game series. Since the fiendishly hard Circle of the Moon for the GBA (unlike a lot of fans, I didn't play Symphony of the Night until it came bundled with the PSP's Dracula X Chronicles) I've been addicted to the series. So, when the mysterious "Lords of Shadow" was given the title of "Castlevania", you can probably imagine my reaction...and how painful the year-long wait between the announcement and the release was.
Despite the statements that it was going to be a reboot of the series, and that as time went on it was painfully obvious that they'd changed the gameplay considerably to appeal to a generation of gamers who adored the likes of God of War, I never once doubted that this latest instalment in the Castlevania franchise would live up to my expectations. After all, with the possible exception of Lament of Innocence on the PS2, they'd never let me down before.
Its nice to know that some things never change.
Storyline: 7.0/10
Lords of Shadow (henceforth known as LoS) is set in the year 1047, in which the alliance between the Earth and the Heavens is being threatened by (surprise surprise) the Lords of Shadow. Its not a very nice time to be living in - life is filled with attacks from vampires, werewolves and all other manner of dark, unholy creatures, and death is no escape, since a powerful spell is stopping the souls of the departed from leaving Earth.
Anyways, the story opens with Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light - your standard holy order of good guys - travelling towards the forest to seek The Guardian of the Lake. Apparently his Brotherhood dreamt that a message from his recently departed wife, Marie, awaits him at the Lake of Oblivion, where the living can conveniently communicate with the dead. In any case, after obtaining the guardian Pan's consent, he travels there. It turns out that she IS waiting there for him. She tells him that the power of the Lords of Shadow is the key to saving the world.
After a further chat with Zobek, another member of the Brotherhood, who informs him that the power can not only save the world but resurrect the dead, Gabriel's goal becomes fairly clear: travel to the lands where the Lords of Shadow reside, kill them, and take their power, which comes in the form of the God Mask. You're given all this to digest in the first chapter of the game.
After the initial onslaught of information, the story comes to you in small snippets, in the form of Brotherhood scrolls that you can loot off dead bodies (these provide something of a backstory) and wonderful little pieces of dialogue narrated by Zobek before the beginning of each stage, which give insights into Gabriel's present state, the condition/history of the location he is travelling to, as well as Zobek's own thoughts. This game has very little in the way of cutscenes unfortunately, and between chapters where you are immediately close to battling a Lord of Shadow, things become very quiet, which is perhaps the story's biggest failing: inconsistency. There are also many unanswered questions throughout the game and, whilst many of these questions (and then some) are answered in the final chapter, the epilogue itself raises more questions than it answers, and that the final twist in the tale has been used in a previous Castlevania game dampens its impact somewhat.
However, LoS tells an interesting tale, and has that "surprise ending syndrome" a lot of video games these days seem to have. It has a rich beginning and end, with a middle that is, at best, more diversionary than it is absolutely essential to what you're doing at the time.
Like a lot of action-adventure games (and, indeed, previous Castlevania games) LoS spends the beginning hour or so giving you an idea of what you've got to do, and then letting you get on with it, punctuating it with grandiose speeches from villains and the occasional encounter with allies.
This isn't a BAD approach by any means, but its not exceptionally praiseworthy. When the story does decide to kick in, its a very enjoyable and entertaining experience, but it is the inconsistency in its delivery and, at times, predictability and lack of originality that prevents it from getting a higher score.
For Castlevania fans, this is more than is expected. For everyone else, its about average.
Characters: 6.1/10
Castlevania games have never really had much in the way of a cast - a hero, and perhaps a few add-on characters he meets along the way. LoS is no exception to this rule.
Gabriel Belmont is the protagonist and, having lost his wife recently, he is a man dedicated to his goals. This is a nice way of saying "he's a drone whose personality died along with his wife", really. If Gabriel is going to talk, you can be sure he's going to talk about one of three things: his dead wife, his lack of purity, or how the enemy is an abomination to God and needs to die. The main problem with Gabriel's characterization, though, is his lack of dialogue. Zobek (who I will come to in a moment) does most of his talking for him. Even in cutscenes, Gabriel will tend to let other characters do the talking for him. His characterization comes solely from Zobek's narration on his mental state. It isn't difficult, however, to feel sympathy for Gabriel. His empathic portrayal by the end of the game makes up slightly for his initial lack of depth throughout the story.
The other "main" character (that is to say, one who will appear more than once) is Zobek, a fellow member of the Brotherhood of Light. Whilst Zobek doesn't get too much in the way of development through the story - although he, like every other character in the game, has his secrets - his narrations of the story (as well as his excellent voice actor) make him quite a complex and enjoyable character.
Other characters include the spirit of Marie (Gabriel's deceased love), Pan (the Guardian of the Lake), Claudia (a telepathic mute girl with an animated suit of black armour for a protector) and, of course, the Lords of Shadow. These characters, whilst they all have secrets to reveal, are all very minor, and get little in the way of lines, and absolutely nothing in the way of character development - particularly in the case of the Lords of Shadow, whose appearances are restricted solely to their boss battles.
Whilst the cast is a vast improvement over previous Castlevania games, Gabriel will remain a faceless figure on a quest for the convenience of the player for much of the game, and the only real character intrigue comes in the form of Zobek who, whilst he narrates the game, won't show up in person very much past his initial appearance. This slips just above mediocrity due to the fact that other games of the same genre and series don't do much better - and in some cases, they do considerably worse - but there is definite room for improvement here.
Gameplay: 9.2/10
LoS really shines in terms of gameplay, being a highly enjoyable and surprisingly varied experience that gives it a slight edge over its competitors.
The game is split up into 12 chapters, each of which is comprised of a number of stages of varying length (for the reference of Castlevania fans, its similar to Order of Eccelsia on the DS in terms of layout) which, playing as Gabriel, you travel through, killing everything that stands in your way. Some stages present you with a large area to explore, whilst others will see you travelling a linear route to your destination. Some will have bosses at the end, some in the middle, and others will be dedicated entirely to fighting bosses.
Combat is similar to the likes of God of War, Dante's Inferno and Darksiders - armed with his Combat Cross (later re-christened by Zobek to a name all Castlevania fans will recognise) and later with Light and Shadow magic, Gabriel will wade through a variety of enemies, from vampires to werewolves to trolls, to reach the end of the stage. There are two types of attack: pressing the square button will yield a concentrated "heavy" attack, whilst pressing triangle will yield a "light" attack which damages enemies over an area for less damage. Killing enemies will yield experience, which will accumulate just under your health bar. At first, Gabriel will have precious little available to him in the way of combo attacks, however, you can unlock combos by purchasing them with experience from the travel book menu. As well as acquiring upgrades for your Combat Cross - including the infamous whip spin, of course - you can also purchase new light and shadow magic attacks, as well as attacks that utilise your sub-weapons and relics earned from defeating bosses.
So, Light Magic and Shadow Magic. You will acquire both of these fairly early on in the game. They are activated by pressing L1 and R1 respectively, and you can only have one active at a time. You can leave them on without draining the meter (fortunately, they each have separate meters) but each time you attack with them on, the meter will decrease. Attacking with Light Magic will allow Gabriel to restore any lost health (and, considering that health fountains are few and far between, you'll be using this a lot) whereas Shadow Magic will boost the power of his attacks. Various combo attacks can be purchased for these and, whilst they are ridiculously powerful, they'll drain your magic meter ridiculously quickly.
In addition to this, Gabriel also has four subweapons: Daggers, Fairies, Holy Water and a Dark Crystal. Daggers are fairly self explanatory - weak, fast projectiles that can be enhanced with Shadow Magic. Fairies will flit out and paralyse the nearest enemies (unless you have Light magic on, in which case they'll explode on contact) and Holy Water produces a wide range shockwave that will stun stronger enemies and destroy weaker ones (or provide you with a temporary shield against enemy attacks if you have Light magic on). The Dark Crystal will summon a demon which will eradicate anything not a boss in the nearby area. However, you can only carry one, and you need to gather four crystal fragments before you can use it again.
Upon defeating certain bosses, Gabriel will also earn relics. For example, defeating the second Lord of Shadow will earn you the Seraph's Shoulders, which will enable you to double jump. Needless to say, once you acquire one of these relics, you can be sure you're going to use it extensively in the upcoming stages, and that it'll be essential in acquiring an item you couldn't previously reach in an earlier stage.
There is also the Focus meter, which will appear in the middle of the bottom of the screen. The more you attack enemies without taking damage yourself, the more this gauge will build up. Once it is full, every regular attack will result in an enemy releasing energy spheres that you can use to recharge your magic. However, getting hit at all will deplete this gauge entirely, and turning your magic on will also deplete the meter. When there is not a fountain nearby to replenish your magic - and often there won't be - this proves to be vital.
What is surprising, however, is the number of stages that focus almost exclusively on platforming, or solving puzzles. There is a lot of swinging, jumping and rolling to be done in this game, with the consequences for failure being often fatal. Ledges will often crumble as well, sending Gabriel plummeting to his death if you dawdle. Gabriel's Combat Cross also doubles as a grappling hook (which you can use to climb up or down, swing, or jump away from walls) and a crank once you have found the upgrades. With a few exceptions, these platforming sections can be done at your own pace.
The puzzles are often challenging - quite often you're required to do things within a set time limit or number of moves, or utilize an ability after you have overcome the initial obstacle to reset the puzzle so you can pass. Something may appear to be obvious, but in fact may require you to take a very roundabout way of getting there. Others are as simple as they look: directing beams off of mirrors to open doors, for example. Whilst some will be puzzles of logic. In later stages your path won't be very linear either; you'll need to backtrack to acquire a key to open a door, or take several diversions to open a door barring your way. However, to make up for the level of frustration these can often cause, there are always scrolls nearby that will provide a hint. If you are willing to sacrifice the experience reward you'll get for completing the puzzle, you can get the complete solution, as well. This is a nice feature that will prevent you from getting stuck in one place for too long.
There is also a large number of collectibles in the game - acquiring 5 Life Gems, Light Gems and Shadow Gems will increase your maximum health, light magic and shadow magic respectively, and there are a total of 30 of each of these. There are also numerous Brotherhood Arks in levels, which will increase the maximum number of daggers, fairies or holy water bottles you can carry. Often you will need to backtrack to get these - for example, you will see one such Ark in the first chapter which you will not be able to acquire until you have the Seraph's Shoulders at the end of Chapter VIII.
Another notable element of the gameplay are the Titan battles. Similar to Shadow of the Colossus, you'll need to scale up these titans and locate their weak points - in this case, its brightly coloured circular runes - and smash them, all the while clinging on for dear life when they attempt to shake you off, or moving away when they attempt to pull you off. There are only three such battles, but they are quite epic, and add another element to the gameplay.
Quick-time events are also present in this game, bearing a resemblance to the ones from Lost Odyssey. A circle will appear on the screen, and another circle will rapidly close on it. When the larger circle is inside the smaller one, pressing any button will result in something that will either dismember your enemies or save Gabriel from certain death...often both. These usually occur once you have depleted boss' health, or when you grab enemies for a close-up kill.
In addition to this, each stage has an accompanying trial that you'll unlock after you finish it in any difficulty. These trials vary: one stage you may simply have to kill a certain number of enemies, in others you may have a time limit in which to accomplish a goal. Some are ridiculously simple (for example, kill 60 goblins in an area that is SWARMING with goblins), yet others are extremely difficult (for example, killing the Ice Titan in 90 seconds). However, that they can be done on any difficulty setting and still count towards your trophy for that stage defeats the point of having difficult trials at all.
There are also a few enemies you can mount, usually to overcome obstacles - for example, a bridge is destroyed, and the gap is too wide to jump. There is a giant spider nearby. So, after stunning it and mounting it following the little quicktime sequence, you are granted total control of the monster. You can use it to build a bridge across, then promptly strangle it, roll off, and cross over. Similarly, you can mount larger trolls and warthogs to smash obstacles, or wargs to leap gaps and climb vine-covered pillars. You'll use this ability less and less as you go through the game, however.
The primary fault of the game is that the combat is terribly unbalanced once you start buying upgrades. Combos do a heavy amount of damage, and the chances are you'll have unlocked almost everything by the end of the game. Whilst Ultimate Light and Ultimate Dark (especially the former, since it recovers your health as well) drain your magic meter extremely quickly, they're more than enough to take out everything that doesn't have an on-screen health meter to match yours, and make Paladin laughable when you unlock it. It is also extremely hard to block in time to enemy attacks; most of the time you'll end up blocking too early, or too late. This can make the beginning of the game extremely frustrating when you're just starting out and encounter some of the stronger enemies will little defense against them. For some, this game might be quite hard to get into and enjoy.
On occasion, the camera angle can spin about awkwardly as well, making it difficult to see where you're going. Fortunately these occasions are few and far between (and when they do happen you can be sure there is a collectible lurking off screen somewhere, as well) but when they do happen, particularly when you're trying to make some tricky jumps, its extremely aggravating.
There are a total of four levels of difficulty, with the highest, Paladin, being available only after you have completed the game. Unfortunately, the highest difficulty setting you have from the beginning - Knight - offers very little in the way of challenge once you have adjusted to the pace of the game and learned the attack patterns of the more powerful enemies.
With casual collecting and exploration, the game will probably take you a little over 12 hours to complete, although this is a standard level of time for games to last these days. If you intend to Platinum it, it will take considerably longer, as there are trophies for completing the trials, as well as discovering all hidden items (and some are indeed very well hidden) as well as building up 100,000 exp, which takes several hours by itself. However, the difficulty levels stack, so if you complete a level on Knight, the game registers it as having also been completed on the other two difficulty settings (Esquire and Warrior) below this. This means you won't have to replay the game four times to get the trophies associated with completing the game on a certain difficulty level.
In summary, despite a few faults - lack of challenge being the most noticeable - LoS' gameplay is varied enough to prevent players from just writing it off as another God of War ripoff. There is an equal amount of emphasis on exploration, platforming and puzzle-solving as there is violent and bloody combat.
Controls: 9.5/10
LoS' controls are quite well-designed, and there is nothing immensely annoying that will stop you from enjoying the game as you play it. Once you get used to the controls and memorize the combos (which takes a while, because there are quite a lot of them) you won't even think about it.
However, the controls do slow the game down on two occasions - once again, block and roll have been assigned to the same button, which means you'll be rolling when you want to block, and blocking (probably unsucessfully) when you want to roll. Eventually you'll probably just give up and roll all the time, although there are very powerful counterattacks for successful blocking, which makes this extremely annoying.
Another thing occurs when you seek to absorb magic orbs (L3 for restoring light magic, R3 for restoring shadow magic) in the air. You STOP MOVING. In most battles, this is going to mean you're going to get hit, and if you're stopping to restore light magic to heal yourself, it'll probably be fatal.
Graphics: 9.7/10
The graphics in this game are extremely impressive; due to the sheer variety of locations, LoS gets plenty of opportunity to show off, and it takes every single one. From snowy tundras in which the snow actually sticks to the screen to lush grottos with cascading waterfalls framed by rainbows, everything looks absolutely gorgeous. Quite often the camera will pan out when you arrive at a new area, giving you a full view of the landscape. Equal level of detail has been given to the interior and the enemy design, as well. The titans in particular look fantastic.
However, like many games, a few character models let LoS down. With the exception of Gabriel and Zobek, every other human character - all three or four of them - you'll encounter doesn't look quite as polished, and Marie in particular looks absolutely awful. Whilst these characters don't appear very often, it still detracts from the overall presentation somewhat.
...and, of course, no matter how good it may be, we all know that the PS3 can do better, as FFXIII will attest. Whilst LoS is absolutely incredible to behold, it isn't quite as impressive as it could be at times.
Sound: 9.9/10
Soundtrack in Castlevania games has always been above average, and this is no exception. The soundtrack is entirely orchestrated, and sets a brilliant atmosphere for the game, striking up a grand note whenever you stumble upon a particularly amazing piece of scenery, or giving you a small flute piece for a warning before launching into the ominous rumbling that signifies you're about to have company.
However, one thing that might put fans off is the lack of classic Castlevania themes in it. The game only uses the Theme of Belmont and the traditional Vampire Killer.
The voice acting more than justifies this rating alone, though. Instead of hiring the standard entourage of voice actors, the developers have opted instead to hire professional British actors. The likes of Robert Carlyle, Jason Isaacs and Sir Patrick Stewart make LoS one of the best games with voice acting in recent years, and put it right up there with the likes of Dragon Age and Mass Effect. It sounds absolutely incredible: the dialogue is delivered with believable feeling, and no small amount of class as well. Its a wonderfully refreshing change from the usual voices that every company these days likes to hire to voice their characters.
So, what stops this game from getting a perfect score? The lack of voice acting. With the sole exception of Sir Patrick Stewart, whose voice you'll hear at the beginning of each chapter, the characters, including Gabriel himself, say very little. I already touched upon this in the Characters section of the review earlier for different reasons. Here, it is because there simply isn't enough voice acting, and it feels like the talent of the other voice actors is being wasted. Some only have two or three lines which, considering the quality, is a real shame.
Unique/Extra Features: 5.6/10
There isn't much worth mentioning here, really. Upon completion of the game you unlock a Solid Snake eyepatch and bandana, the latter of which you won't notice, because Gabriel's hair is too long. Its a nice aesthetic, but its so unbelivably minor its barely worth noticing.
The presentation is fairly unique, particularly when compared to previous Castlevania games, and whilst the gothic setting is vaguely reminiscent of Darksiders at times, there isn't anything else like it at the moment. It doesn't add much, and its comparable to a lot of games, but it definetely has a look and feel all its own. The PSN logo also suggests DLC in the future, which may or may not enhance it.
Replay value: 8.0/10
Slightly above average. Since you can revisit any stage you've completed, this definetely adds to the replay value of the game - instead of wading through the game to get to a particular fight, you can just pick the stage, which is much more appealing. The stage-based gameplay also allows for casual play more than the usual save point system action-adventure games of similar nature utilise.
Players seeking to get the Platinum trophy will need to play the game through at least twice, although it is likely certain stages will need to be played through multiple times to get the trials. It is doubtful you'll find all the collectibles in your first playthrough, unless you follow a guide, and each stage having a trial gives a reason to play them through again.
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
Whilst it doesn't really feel like a Castlevania game a lot of the time, LoS exceeds all expectations and, despite the large number of similar games out there, manages to differentiate itself admirably...or at least sufficiently so as not to be labelled as a GHod of War ripoff and dismissed. There is a great deal of variety to the gameplay, and you're never doing one thing for very long - if you have a particularly rigorous bout of battling, you can be sure you're in for some platforming or puzzling soon. Whilst there is definite room for improvement in the storyline, by the end of it you'll come away feeling that, on the whole, things could definetely have been worse, and there are some genuine surprises tucked away in there that will reward those who persevere with it. Not to mention Zobek's narration is probably the best entertainment ever devised for a loading screen. The scenery is absolutely fantastic and often conveys that Castlevania feel, especially when you reach the land of the vampires, when the landscape suddenly becomes a lot more familiar.
Castlevania fans will need to approach this game with an open mind. Whilst LoS' entry barriers aren't particularly high, if you have a prior knowledge of Castlevania, you'll appreciate (or despise) the various nods to past games crammed in there. Experienced players are going to want to play this game on the highest difficulty setting and not buy any upgrades at all for a proper challenge, however - as with many games these days, LoS isn't particularly difficult once you've mastered the controls. Despite this, it contains an adequate amount of challenge for those who seek it in the form of trials, and more than enough frustration in the puzzles.