Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review

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(More customer reviews)This is not a game to review until you have completed it. As I moved deeper and deeper into the game, my opinions began to deviate from my first impressions. Many times, it seems that once you play for two to three hours in a game, you get a basis for what the entirity will be like. This is an exception. It's a lengthy game. It's a game that you probably shouldn't take a month long break before picking it back up because it can be difficult. But it's a game that will reward you for playing, by getting better and better until the end.

Graphics:
Backgrounds are stunning. Character models are very detailed as well. Often the game's camera will pan out allowing you to view a large area. This is primarily the platforming portions of the game. But it will definitely cause you to stop and look at the scenery from time to time (especially when you get to the castle). You do not have an option to adjust the camera angle and 80% of the time, you won't need to. However, there are times that you will seemingly be whipping the screen not knowing where the enemies are. And it did cause me to die a few times.
Audio:
Am I playing Lord of the Rings? Most of the tracks made me think that I was in a battle for Middle Earth. The chanting and orchestrated music are very similar to the LotR movies, which may or may not be a good thing. Personally, I felt some of the tracks were way overdone and intensified for no apparent reason. It was especially awkward as I walked through a serene forest with no enemies AT ALL to have the music start blaring, trumpets, choir and all. My heart stopped as I thought I was about to be killed by some unknown demon, but what? Nothing. Must have been the wind. As I progressed through the game, the music toned down and became a bit darker and softer. It became more Castlevania-like, but still not what you might have expected. There are a few Easter Eggs in the game where you will hear some classic 8-bit tracks and those were definitely welcomed. The voice dialogue was well done. Patrick Stewart did a good job narrating and playing the part of Zobek, an ally of yours. Robert Carlyle's (Gabriel) voice sounds Scottish which is cool, but seemed a bit subdued at times. I ended up having to turn the voice tracks up to hear him speak. No spoilers, but the last boss fight and ending's dialogue were top notch. I wanted to beat the last boss twice just to watch the ending again.
Gameplay:
There is a balance between Uncharted-like platforming, Tomb Raider puzzle solving, and fighting a plethora of enemies. There are dozens of types of enemies, ranging from the easy Mummy to towering Titans. There are also two ways to fight in this game. I personally enjoyed the classic whip-slashing action. However, a good bit of the game's bosses involve button timed events, which are fun, but stressful. I died mostly during these fights and a few times, it sent me back to the start of the battle and I was flat out frustrated. The most enjoyable aspects of the game for me involved Uncharted style climbing. It felt just as fluid as Uncharted (with the exception that you can only climb certain things versus virtually everything in Uncharted). Jumping from platform to platform is somewhat flawed and can be irritating, but that is not too often as you are mostly climbing and swinging.
Replay Value:
As you progress in the game, you are rewarded with different abilities. These abilities make replaying one of the games previous levels much easier and fun. There will be items/upgrades that you can't get in your first play through of a level, but after gaining a new ability such as double jump, you realize you can now go back and acquire it. That leads me to how the game is structured. There are twelve chapters in the game, with multiple levels scattered throughout each chapter. You can go back and play any level over again on one of four difficulties. Upon completing a level, you also can go back and beat its trial, which is an added challenge. Try to 110% the game(one thing to note: You can't 110% the game until you beat each level on Paladin (the most difficult) difficulty. However, you can go back and replay the levels on Paladin with your upgrades intact, making it manageable). Konami has also thrown in some Easter Eggs once the final stage is completed as well. You can slightly change the appearance of Gabriel but I won't say how.
Closure:
I was very pleased with Lords of Shadow. I am a Castlevania fan. But I never enjoyed the 3-D games. The N64 and PS2 games were awful to me and pushed me towards having a 2-D bias. However, this game has rebooted the series nicely and has set itself up for a sequel. While the majority of the game is not reminiscent of what we've come to love, nostalgia is still there with one-third of the game being related to the Vampires and the castle (clock-tower, garden maze and all). The new ideas are very welcomed and create a game that is not dependent merely on one's nostalgia, but stands on its own as a fun and exciting action game. Were there times where I was bored? Maybe in the first three chapters. Where there times where I was frustrated? Maybe playing a timed event boss battle for the first time. But was the game fair and balanced? Absolutely. If I were scoring the game, I would give it a 9.5 for a great, 20+ hour action game with a few camera glitches along with some repetitive action scenes and music. A must have for any Castlevania and action game fan. Feel free to ask me any questions, as I am nearly 110% complete with the game.

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a single player Action-Adventure game developed as a reimagining of the classic Castlevania mythology. An entirely modern action console game, Lords of Shadow combines fast-paced weapons and magic based combat against otherworldly enemies, with platforming and puzzle-solving gameplay, to create a fresh gameplay experience that will thrill both fans of the original game series and gamers more rooted in modern action games.

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