After trial and error with their 3d titles (Curse of Darkness, Lament of Innocence) Castlevania hasn’t had the best run on consoles since Symphony of the NIght on PSX. Being the fan boy I am, this poor track record didn’t stop me from losing my marbles at the announcement of Lords of Shadow. My excitement grew when they announced that Kojima Productions would be overseeing the development of their latest title. When my review copy arrived I opened the box with great trepidation and my initial reactions were both sorrow and joy. First thoughts: “What a great looking collectors edition.” The actual game case is modeled after a hard-bound book, with a nice glossy cover, and opens to a 38 page art book and soundtrack. Looks aside, comparing this edition to other collectors editions i’ve acquired in the past  the price tag on the Castlevania bundle is a little steep. It would have been better suited as a pre-order edition, or even a 64.99 price tag. (Even though that price wouldn’t ever be used.)

The story isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but it is told in such an epic way that it remains interesting through-out gameplay. Gabriel Belmont is sent on a quest by “the order” to find his love who was killed by a great evil. Her spirit came to him in a dream has a “message” of what is to come and a reasoning as to why the earth has been cut off from it’s usual heavenly presence. Once she is discovered you are then sent off to kill the Lords of Shadow and restore the heavenly presence to the earth. As you progress through different chapters, and levels, the scrolling text that Castlevania has used in many titles, backed by epic narration moves you from world to world as the quest grows darker, and theintertwined story unfolds. I’ve probably already said this, but it is a great story.

The gameplay comes as a double-edged sword. It is definitely what I’ve been waiting for in a 3d Castlevania, but saying that they got it right is a loaded statement. Utilizing a fluid combat system equivalent to God of War, Bayonetta, or any top level hack-and-slash adventure. The game utilizes the system to drive you through a story that kept me coming back to the Castlevania games time and time again. That being said the combat system at times feels so similar to God of War, Shadow of the Colossus (Titan battle) and at times Gauntlet, that it fails to take shape as its own being. Anyone who is a veteran of the God of War series will fall naturally into the combat system, and at times wonder if you’re playing “God of Dracula.” This isn’t always a bad thing seeing as God of War is one of the best hack-and-slash titles to date, I just wish they would have added their own flair into the fighting style.

Visually Castlevania looks very good, solid models with incredibly rich environments help push you through the game piece by piece. There are some issues of choppy, and sparked edges in some of the character models, and odd texture glitches occasionally (at least in the Xbox version that I reviewed.) Compared  to the PS2 entries in the 3d realm it is a huge leap above what we have previously seen from Castlevania. The varied environments and changing colors kept me enthralled, and interested while still giving me the adrenaline rush of battling paranormal evils that threatened humanity.

I also found the development of Gabriel interesting to watch throughout the story as he gains more strengths and abilities. Typical of any hack-and-slash you gain experience by killing enemies and then spend it in your “travel book” to upgrade weapons and learn new moves. His hell-bent quest to find the people behind his wife’s murder, and bring the evil on earth to an end once again, slowly weighs on his character and the story helps show that.

This is the best 3d iteration Castlevania has seen to date, and is worth picking up if you’re a fan of the series, and if you’re not a fan check it out in the used bin further down the road.

There is a small amount of replay added once you unlock the hardest difficulty by finishing the game, and there are a large number of challenges available to you as you finish each level.

It’s good to see Castlevania putting out a solid title worth its 59.99 price point, bringing on Kojima to produce was the best decision Konami has made in years.

Loved:

• Solid story-telling and epic narration combined with a well composed sound-track that helps immerse you into the world of demons that Castlevania is known for.
• Great camera position during combat, that makes it feel intense.
• The story, I really dug the story

Disliked:

• Even though the elements fit together very well, I wouldn’t liked to see the game develop into its own a little more instead of feeling like God of Dracula.
• Still a very linear game without tons of exploring, I would’ve liked to see the maps open up a bit more.

Score:

• Graphics – 8
• Replay – 6.5
• Controls – 8
• Story – 8.5
• Sound – 8
• Overall – 7.75