| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Nintendo 3DS | 8.20 |
| Overall | 8.20 |
|
I had my worries about this game, it is a 2D Castlevania in the LoS style which is slow and methodical where 2D CV should be fast paced. I don't know exactly how they did it but I think Mercury Steam found a way to translate their Lords of Shadow game into 2D. This does not feel like a Metroidvania nor an old school CV game, it's more of a God of War like game in 2D form. The game has a large free roaming map like a metroidvania but progress is mostly linear, any exploring is simply done to find secrets in locations that you didnt have a previously needed skill to reach. You explore Dracula's Castle with three different characters and even though you sometimes visit a few areas more than once, most of the time each characters finds their own route through the castle. This is LoS so don't expect the same level of personality the older CVs had, this castle is looks rather plain. Combat was fantastic, I thought having to have longer battles with even the most simple enemy would be too slow but it works very well. The combat is a simplified version of the LoS combat. Combos are easy to learn and as you earn exp you gain more powerful attacks. Blocking, evading, and parrying is all an important part of the combat meaning this is one of the first 2D CV games where proper defense plays a major role. Nearly every fight is compelling, you aren't simply mowing down every baddie in your path. Basides your normal whip attacks you have a secondary attacks and magic skills as well, each character has a different set. The core moves remain the same for all characters but the secondary stuff adds nice wrinkles that allow you to fight differently with each. Simon has classic CV sub weapons and gets magic that creates a shield or summons a ghost to help on offense. Alucard has his mist and wolf powers. Trevor has an item that can freeze enemies and has the light and dark powers from the first LoS. The powers and items mix into the combat very well especially for the bosses. What I loved most about this game is how it took the adventure aspects of LoS and translated them into 2D. This game has fun set pieces that break up the standard gameplay. The best character for me was Alucard cause his path had some good puzzles. Plus changing characters every 3 hours or so kept the pacing fresh. To me I enjoyed just seeing what was going to happen next as much as I was to fight the next boss. Speaking of bosses there are some really good ones I just wish there was more. Basically this game worked for me but I can just as easily see this game be bad for some. If you are looking for a classic Metroidvanis this game will disgust you. The exploration is not the same. There is no real depth to the leveling system nor is there any secondary system like souls collecting. There are no extras to unlock when you finish the game. Put it simply its not as good as the Igavanias but I liked the LoS in 2D style. Part of what makes this intriguing is to see what Mercury Steam is doing with the lore as this is their take on the classic Castlevania story. Of course in their world Dracula is a Belmont and the father to Trevor. They do some real bold things with the storyline, stuff many fans will simply hate. I think it's interesting but the story hardly explores any of the compelling relationships. Normally I really dislike polygon models in 2D games but this game makes it work. The 3D adds a lot to this game, some attacks fly out of the screen. The 3D lets this 2D game feel like the castle has actual depth. Musically this is not Castlevania, its just generic gothic orchestral music like in LoS. This game may not be a success to all but I found it to be a great portable action adventure game. Mercury Steam has managed to create another quality game even though it may not be the kind of game you want Castlevania to be. |
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Posted by Dvader Thu, 13 Feb 2014 06:36:36
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phantom_leo (5m)
Personally I didn't play it but it has Lord of Shadow in its title and that is enough proof that it's an abomination and I hate it!