|
|
|
POSTED
7/11/10
CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW
Konami
PS3 (also on Xbox 360)
Don’t mention the (God of) War… Oops, too late, but
then we’re hardly Scott Nofriends there. However, whereas many are
flinging accusations of plagiarism at this 'reboot' – sick of that
term yet? We sure the fuck are - of the Castlevania
franchise, we see things differently.
Basically, as good as GoWIII was, we reckon Castlevania:
Lords of Shadow delivers more on promises made for Kromedome
Kratos’ last PS3 outing - most notably seamless transition between
cutscenes and playable ones.
So why so much hating? Well, we reckon some kiddy-widdies have
cracked the sulky-wulkies that it isn’t specifi-wicially a
Castlevania game in the true sense of the name. Jebus, if you
want 2D, get Harmony of Despair on XBLA, it doesn’t get much
more old school Castlevania than that! Well, unless you
exhume the NES from mothballs.
So, it’s the Middle Ages, and our heroic Beaumont is a swarthy bloke
named Gabriel. He’s out to save souls stuck in purgatory by certain
titular dark forces, including that of his sweetie-pie. With more
combos than we could count unlocking along the quest, direct attacks
and more general stun-all-those-in-the-vicinity ones, several
puzzles and some jaw-slackeningly beautiful scene rendering, not to
mention voice work from such folk as Robert Carlyle and Sir Patrick
Stewart, LoS is truly a remarkable production – Hideo
Metal Gear Kojima’s watchful eye likely helping.
Sure, Lords of Shadow owes debts to many – Shadow of the
Colossus and Assassin’s Creed two that boing to mind in
addition to the aforementioned – but if inspiration is taken to
craft an experience that ultimately surprises in its completeness,
then what’s the problem? It isn’t like essentially every other game
ever hasn’t owed a debt to something preceding it. It’s evolution
baby, get with it or keep banging those rocks together...
|
|
CLICK
THIS!
CLICK
THIS!
|
|
|
|