RipTen Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3)

First and foremost, I will start this review with my opinion: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is the series first triumph in three dimensions. It’s an Epic adventure, not limited to one castle as many previous iterations have been, this is a game that will take you through a world so grand in scale and artistically and visually stunning that you’ll have no desire to leave. Konami and Mercury Steam have revitalized one of gaming’s oldest and most celebrated franchises and set an impressive blueprint for future sequels to follow. While Lords of Shadow is certainly not perfect, it’s an epic adventure - a roller coaster ride which will easily keep you engrossed for the 20+ hours of gameplay required to complete its story.

Premise

The year is 1047 and the outlook is bleak for humanity. The Earth’s alliance with the Heavens has been threatened by a malevolent triumvirate known as the Lords of Shadow. As their power grows, humanity is being pushed to the brink. Undead creatures roam the land and a dark spell is cast which prevents the very souls of the deceased from entering heaven. The few survivors of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite order of holy knights, are all that that’s stands in the way of extinction. Humanity calls for a savior to deliver them from evil.

Enter Gabriel Belmont, a powerful and fearless knight mourning the recent murder of his wife Marie. Unable to enter heaven, Marie’s soul is trapped in Limbo and as an apparition she appears to send Belmont on his quest.  The only object capable of bringing her back to the land of the living is the legendary ‘God Mask’ which lies in the possession of these Lords of Shadow. A mask rumored to be so powerful as to give the wearer power equal to that of God’s.  Pure of heart, Belmont begins his journey to put an end to the Lords of Shadow and retrieve the mask so he can once again be reunited with his love.

Presentation

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is quite the visual stunner. You’ll be treated to visual landscapes in the J.R.R. Tolkien tradition.  Through Belmont’s quest, you will experience lush and enchantingly rich landscapes such as forests, snow-covered mountains, decrepit graveyards, deserts, bogs, haunting castles and more. Each setting is original and masterfully rendered. Every enemy from the smallest troll to the largest boss is designed with an amazing level of artistic detail. This is a very well-realized fantasy world that even Guillermo del Toro would be proud of.

This is not to say the graphics are perfect. You’ll notice right away an abundance of “jaggies” as it seems the developers decided to go without antialiasing. The frame rate is inconsistent and prone to sudden drops and slowdown.  While these issues exist, they are relatively minor, seldom distracting from Lords of Shadow’s immersive world.

The voice acting is exceptional with top talent all around. Gabriel is played quite well by Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) while Sir Patrick Stewart is perfect as Zobek. The orchestral soundtrack is quite elegant, matching the mood, tone and storyline consistently throughout the game.

Gameplay

One of the first things you’ll notice with Lords of Shadow is that it’s very much in the same vein as well known slashers such as Bayonetta, Devil May Cry and more specifically, God of War 3. While there are no doubt many similarities with God of War 3, Castlevania does distinguish itself quite well. It’s not quite the button masher God of War is nor will you be bogged down by endless outrageous combos as in Bayonetta. Lords of Shadow finds a happy medium and it makes for a game that’s very enjoyable to play.

Belmont’s main weapon is the Combat Cross (Vampire Killer) and it may not be as versatile or exciting as Kratos’ Blades of Chaos, but it’s still a very well designed and balanced weapon. A cross shaped retractable pyrokinetic chain whip, the combat cross can be used with 40 different combos along with weapons and magic.  It’s capable of defensive maneuvers and also serves an important role as a grappling hook in platforming situations.  In the early part of the game you can find power ups for the Combat Cross enabling the player to backtrack and access previously inaccessible areas.

Control wise you have the requisite light attack, heavy attack, jump, block and dodge maneuvers. The combat is further developed through unlockable combos, four types of support weapons (daggers, fairies, summon crystals and holy water) and later through the management of both Light and Dark magic. Striking enemies when equipped with Light magic heals your character, while Dark Magic embues your strikes with more power. Killing enemies earns XP which can then be used to purchase combos. Magic energy is stored in separate light and dark  meters which are replenished by absorbing downed enemies’ life essence.  Life essence orbs are neutral and it’s up to the player to decide which meter to fill.

Blocking also plays a huge part to this game and a successful parry block will instantly fill your focus meter. The focus meter exists as another way to get enemies to drop neutral orbs. Mixing up combos without being hit will fill the focus meter, or a successful parry block will fill it instantly. Once the meter is full, every hit you land against an enemy will release neutral orbs, but should you take a hit the meter will be reset to start over. While holding down the block button you can also roll around the screen to dodge incoming attacks.  Note that you cannot fill the focus meter while light or dark magic are active.

Grabbing enemies is also a very important gameplay mechanic in Lords of Shadow, as certain enemy types can only be be defeated with this function. Usually highlighted by a pulsing yellow glow, once grabbed, the enemy will prompt a Quick Time Event and successful button presses will finish them off.  QTE button presses are common during boss battles and present during cutscenes as well, so one must always be on guard.

Keep in mind this is not an easy game. Even at the default level of difficulty (there are four in total) you’ll find yourself dying a little more than you’d like (This is Castlevania after all). Many of the well designed enemies have a developed AI and will block and counter many of your attacks. You’ll be forced to learn patterns and adjust your gameplan accordingly.

Combat can be a little bland and tedious the first few hours, but as you progress and become more powerful it becomes more enjoyable and ultimately satisfying.  More than likely, you’ll become accustomed to a few of the more useful combos and use them repeatedly against the appropriate enemies.

Boss battles are amazing and  perhaps the strongest aspect of the game.  Bosses vary in size from human-sized enemies to screen dominating behemoths and these battles are often quite entertaining. There is just so much variety in these climatic encounters that each are fresh and enjoyable, even when mind-numbingly difficult.  This is one function of many functions in which master Hideo Kojima’s influence is apparent.  Thankfully, the autosave function establishes checkpoints which include boss battles.  While sometimes flawed, checkpoints during the battles sure beat starting the from the beginning each time.

Relics gained by defeating a few of the more important bosses will give Gabriel new abilities: There are boots which enable Belmont to run faster and jump higher, angel wings which allow for a double jump, and a gauntlet that allows for a powerful punch.

In keeping with tradition, Lords of Shadow is most definitely a platformer. Gabriel can climb, jump and swing with the best of them.  Even Nathan Drake has to be impressed with Belmont’s grip strength as he climbs mountains, castle towers, and giant moving Titans. While these Titans definitely received much pre-launch attention, they exist as a relatively small part of the game. While impressive to behold, I viewed these titans as more of an obstacle which required simple climb, hold, strike gameplay mechanic and one of the weaker aspects of the game.

Another interesting aspect of the gameplay is the puzzle challenges, and Lords of Shadow presents many interesting and engaging variations.  My favorite was easily the Vampire Wargame.  This puzzle involves playing a chess like game with animated figures.  It’s both interesting and deep as  I found myself returning to play several times after unlocking the challenge.  Nearby scrolls will give you hints on how to accomplish each puzzle challenge but if you don’t like having to think your way through, you can purchase the solution, which will make the player ineligible from receiving the challenge reward.

One enitrely new Castlevania gameplay device is the use of various mounts.  Mounts are the larger creatures such as the Warg, Giant Spider or War Pig.  When these enemies are close to being defeated, Gabriel can can grab, mount, and then use these creatures to defeat other enemies and pass specific obstacles.  While fun to ride, often when you find a mount there is a reason, such as a long jump or a wall which can’t be passed without the use of a giant beast to knock it down.  Nothing really to complain about, but it does seem a little lazy.

One of the problems with the gameplay is the fixed camera.  While not uncommon in this genre, Castlevania’s camera can be both unforgiving and completely inflexible.  The player is often at the mercy of the camera and you’ll often find yourself fighting enemies off screen with no way to change your view. Furthermore, many environments look expansive and areas  seem accessible, but you’ll soon find your character stopped by an ‘invisible wall’.  Hopefully these problems are corrected by more creative solutions in future installments.

Verdict

One thing I refuse to hide is that I’ve been a longtime fan of Castlevania.  The original and later Sympony of the Night are arguably some of the greatest games ever created.  They still haunt me with pleasant memories of great gameplay mechanics blended with a solid adventure story.  While 3D has never been kind to Castlevania, Mercury Steam and Konami have finally hit a home run.

While some people complain the story is outside of Castlevania cannon and actually comes from a completely different point of origin, it would be ignorant to dismiss the game simply because of this.  Konami promised a reboot and although one singular encompassing castle may not dominate this game, there are more than enough recognizable elements to identify this as a true Castlevania game.

As I stated in my introduction, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a triumph – not simply for the Castlevania franchise but for the industry as a whole.  It’s not a perfect game by any means but does enough so many things well enough to be a classic.

Castlevania is back, it feels fresh, and there’s no doubt that millions of fans will eagerly await the next installment in this series.

Here’s The Rundown:

+ Stunning graphics with detailed environments and character models
+ 20 hours of solid gameplay
+ Excellent voice acting with a stirring musical score
+ Epic gameplay including riveting boss battles
- Frame rate and antialiasing issues
- Game starts slowly
- Camera is static and inflexible

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3. The game released in the United States on October 5th, 2010 with a retail price of $59.99. The copy used in this review was for the PlayStation 3 and given to us by Konami for review consideration. The game was played til completion (about 20 hours).