Product Features
- Genre
- Action and Shooter
- Publisher
- Konami
- Release Date
- October 08, 2010
- Available Platforms
- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 3, XBox 360
Related Items
Castlevania Lords of Shadow
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow takes place at the end of days. The Earth's alliance with the Heavens has been threatened by a dark and malevolent force - the mysterious Lords Of Shadow - darkness reigns the world. Across this shattered land, the souls of the dead wander unable to find peace, whilst creatures of evil roam free wreaking chaos and death upon the living. Gabriel is a member of the Brotherhood Of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protect and defend the innocent against the supernatural. His beloved wife was brutally murdered by the evil forces of darkness and her soul trapped for eternity. Neither living nor dead she realises the horrific truth of what is at stake and guides Gabriel to his destiny - and hopefully salvation for the world... but at what cost? Thus, Gabriel...
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Jake Sommers October 25, 2010 360
Story:
The game wastes little time getting into the action, giving you a simple objective that doesn't change for the next 10 or so hours. Your wife has been murdered and her soul is stuck in limbo, and with the help of a mysterious warrior called Zobek you decide to save her and at the same time save the world. You also learn that to save her you have to obtain three pieces of a mask, each owned by the three Lords of Shadow. Most of this information is given to you in the first chapter, and it isn't until the final chapter that the story picks up again in two epic cutscenes, which last around 20 minutes. The whole middle section of the game never advances the plot, which lead to me losing nearly all interest in the game. Luckily I kept with it, and the ending was more than worth it. The plot twists come thick and fast, and unlike most games I didn't see any of them coming. What annoys me the most about this game is the complete contrast between the dull, plodding mid-section and the shining examples of how gaming narrative should be done at the end. It is definitely worth seeing this game through its 12-15 hour duration. 8/10
Graphics:
The thing that strikes you the most in the opening chapters is the beauty of some of the areas. Nearly every level has a sweeping vista full of detail, which is magnified by the use of smartly placed fixed camera angles. But as the game goes on, these areas full of life make way for the dark corridors of castles, which is a shame. The game engine uses plenty of motion blur to make the game look a lot nicer than it really is, and the frame rate can sometimes dive by quite a bit. The monster designs are wonderfully varied, managing to both hit common clichés and completely original creations (such as coffins with long, spindly legs made of wood that represent spiders). Special mention must also go to the three massive titans in the game, who are just as big as the ones in God of War 3, which are more graphically detailed in this game. The breadth of concept art available shows you how much time the artists have put into the game, and it really shows. It's just a shame that the engine can't quite keep up with it at times. 8/10
Gameplay:
This is where the game falls a bit flat. There are two attack buttons, which correspond to direct attack (used for single enemies) or wide attacks (used for groups of enemies). Whilst this seems like a decent concept, it doesn't exactly work as it should. The wide attacks are sufficiently weaker than the direct attacks, to the point that I never really used the wide attacks. This made the combat initially quite repetitive. To counter this, the game allows you to spend experience points on new combos, but you can unlock them all relatively early on, and only a few of them are useful, which means that the combat is actually quite dull, which is a shame for a game which is focused almost solely on the combat. There are two magic bars which, when activated, increase you damage or gains you health with every hit. Again it is an interesting idea as there are two separate buttons for collecting the different coloured souls, but it doesn't have enough of an impact on the combat as it should. Luckily the game throws many different enemies at you to help break up the repetition, but many of them need the same tactic to be defeated. To break up the combat section the game has some very simple platforming mechanics, which consists of jumping from ledges and using a grapple to climb higher. These are interesting but a bit simple, and the game is the most infuriating when it focuses solely on the platforming due to the precise controls. There are also some interesting puzzles dotted throughout the game, which require some thought but shouldn't be too taxing for experienced players. The final thing to mention are the boss battles. Most of them take the form of a single guy with a large weapon, who is taken down by hitting him for 5 to 10 minutes before using a quick time event (which are done very well here) to take them down. These quickly get repetitive and are mostly disappointing. However, there are three bosses in the game called titans that are a blast to play as you climb up them and find their weak spots. The penultimate boss battle takes place solely on the spine of an odd flying creature which was just part of a massive mountain, and it is when you are climbing up its rib cage whilst walking along its tendons (or whatever they are) that you realise how much fun you are having. This doesn't quite redeem the game from its overall monotonous combat and platforming. 7/10
Replayability:
The game takes around 12-15 hours to play through on Normal, which is above average for this type of game (and definitely longer than any God of War). I struggled at some parts on the Normal difficulty level, and considering that there is a Very Hard setting, the game should prove a challenge for experienced players. The chapters are split into 15-20 minute long levels that each represent a certain area of the game. Each level has a specific trial to complete, some of which are difficult to complete, and should double the playtime if you go for them. There are also four types of collectibles that are well hidden and require backtracking. To complete the game, collect all the extras, buy all combos and finish it on a higher difficulty you are looking at around 30 to 40 hours of gameplay, and so should keep fans busy for a long time. This does all depend on how much you enjoyed the game, but it should prove a decent length even for a single playthrough. 9/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10 (Not an average) -
phillip whitlock October 13, 2010 PS3
I've waited for this games since l saw the first saw the teaser trailer which had me hooked. The voice acting is covered by Patrick Stewart and other actors who you will have seen on film and tv which add a touch of class to the game. The graphics are fantastic by any standard and at times the bosses are absolutely huge. The fighting system is good and reminds me of the god of war games. The storyline starts with the main character gabriel walking into a village seeking the guardian of the lake. basically your on a mission to find the source of power of the lord of shadows a mythical mask which has the power to bring back the dead. The main character's wife has recently been murdered hence the main driver for the main charater. You just know the storyline will twist and change leading up to a fantastic conlusion. The games plays a mix of god of war, prince of persia which is just fantastic. This truely is a fantastic game and well worth being added to anyones collection. Get it and you wont regret it stunning game.