Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - looks astounding!!!

[RobertR1]

I'm on chapter 2 and this is by far the most beautiful game I've played this generation. I love the artstyle and the varied enviornments. Frame rate could certainly use some help though.

I have a few questions.

I haven't purchased anything except the 25p move you must at the beginning of the game. The jump and hold X for ground slam. What should I spend money on? I have 3k banked.

The thing that annoys me the most so far is the lack of camera control. Oh and Patrick Stewarts narration is getting old. He either doesn't read well or didn't care to put effort in it. They should have used Ian McKellan!

 

[Sigfried1977]

I think Stewart isn't the problem. The script he's forced to work with is simply melodramatic garbage. Anyway. I think the best attack you can purchase is the one where you hold down the uni-directional attack button and then follow up with more directional attacks. One the PS3 it's [] (hold),[],[], ... up to 9 times. Does a lot of damage and even knocks over bosses when combined with shadow magic. [],/\,/\ is good too since the smaller enemies love to evade straight up attacks. Upgrade the guillotine attack as well.

I rarely used specific magic attacks. The final two are downright broken, though. (but they are 25000 each)

Anyway, I finished the game yesterday. Great game, but also deeply flawed: bosses are a lot of fun to fight, but they all behave exactly the same minus one or two easily avoidable signature attacks. Your Cornell strategy is literally going to work for every single boss that comes afterwards. The same can be said about most of the lesser enemies as well, especially the medium-sized ones like Trolls and Knights: same old predictable "guard, retaliate with unblockable, do annoying ground stomp"-pattern. It gets pretty old after a while.
The level design goes down the crapper in the final quarter as well (after a fantastic middle section where the game actually does feel like a Castlevania title) Not only do the designers throw one piss-easy and uninspired puzzle after another at you while firmly believing that the rigid traversal mechanics are actually fun and exciting in large doses, the scenery also changes from gorgeous to bland and dull. "The Abyss" not only goes on forever, it also looks like diarrhea in zero gravity.
Another big issue is the pacing: it's okay at best and completely fucked up at worst. There's also a huge discrepancy between the Gabriel character in the actual game and the Gabriel Zobek tells you about while the game loads.

I also hope that the post-credit epilogue isn't a clear indication for what the next game is going to be. One thing also becomes clear as day after you finish the game: this was originally never meant to be a Castlevania game. Sorry, Dave Cox, but I don't believe you.

 

[specwarGP2]

I'm on chapter 2 and this is by far the most beautiful game I've played this generation. I love the artstyle and the varied enviornments. Frame rate could certainly use some help though.

I have a few questions.

I haven't purchased anything except the 25p move you must at the beginning of the game. The jump and hold X for ground slam. What should I spend money on? I have 3k banked.

The thing that annoys me the most so far is the lack of camera control. Oh and Patrick Stewarts narration is getting old. He either doesn't read well or didn't care to put effort in it. They should have used Ian McKellan!

I have all the attacks. my recommendation would be to get in this order:

rising strike or rising slam. rising slam works better against bats
guillotine (and upgrade if you can afford it)
circular chain
chain barrier (get this only if you can get the upgrade too)
ground cutter
direct heavy combo

 

[Cornsnake]

I think Stewart isn't the problem. The script he's forced to work with is simply melodramatic garbage.

Anyway, I finished the game yesterday. Great game, but also deeply flawed: bosses are a lot of fun to fight, but they all behave exactly the same minus one or two easily avoidable signature attacks. Your Cornell strategy is literally going to work for every single boss that comes afterwards. The same can be said about most of the lesser enemies as well, especially the medium-sized ones like Trolls and Knights: same old predictable "guard, retaliate with unblockable, do annoying ground stomp"-pattern. It gets pretty old after a while.
The level design goes down the crapper in the final quarter as well (after a fantastic middle section where the game actually does feel like a Castlevania title) Not only do the designers throw one piss-easy and uninspired puzzle after another at you while firmly believing that the rigid traversal mechanics are actually fun and exciting in large doses, the scenery also changes from gorgeous to bland and dull. "The Abyss" not only goes on forever, it also looks like diarrhea in zero gravity.
Another big issue is the pacing: it's okay at best and completely fucked up at worst. There's also a huge discrepancy between the Gabriel character in the actual game and the Gabriel Zobek tells you about while the game loads.

I also hope that the post-credit epilogue isn't a clear indication for what the next game is going to be. One thing also becomes clear as day after you finish the game: this was originally never meant to be a Castlevania game. Sorry, Dave Cox, but I don't believe you.

I just beat it. I pretty much agree with all of the above. The way the story turns out is a real let down.

Spoiler

The whole "you were tricked into doing what the villain wants" has been done to death. And surely the only benefit from doing this is to set you up to want to kill him. But then they randomly exchange him for another villain. And it's Satan for crying out loud, it couldn't possible be more cliché. Zobek and Satan , looks like they will return for the sequel. Crappy stories and villains that return from the grave go hand in hand after all. And Gabriel will be doing the "dark" thing. Maybe he and Dante can go write sad poetry together.

Early on there was some promise of a good story, with characters showing at least some depth beyond the usual stereotypes. The cutscene were reasonably well done. Although they often didn't reflect the story you were being told.

There is a lot of diversity in the gameplay, but it's paced so badly it actually becomes repetitive. And it's all so unrefined. Bad camera angles for the combat, the double jump used for platforming when it lacks any precision, puzzles that work with some stupid logic or needless timing. There is a great game in here, they just haven't made the most it. It's a lot potential gone waste, hopefully they'll listen to the criticism in the reviews and forums, and it might work out well for the sequel. Just don't continue the current storyline.

 

[RobertR1]

I have all the attacks. my recommendation would be to get in this order:

rising strike or rising slam. rising slam works better against bats
guillotine (and upgrade if you can afford it)
circular chain
chain barrier (get this only if you can get the upgrade too)
ground cutter
direct heavy combo

Thanks! Will do tonight. Any point to upgrading rune stuff?

 

[specwarGP2]

Thanks! Will do tonight. Any point to upgrading rune stuff?

rune.. you mean relic powers? I forget what its called but it costs like 6k, and its for shadow magic. Its very powerful but can drain your magic in one shot. It does come in handy in boss fights Theres also one that costs 25k which I havent gotten yet, but will soon. I'd upgrade the other stuff first before spending any points on shadow magic unless you've been farming for points (like me lol).

 

[Sigfried1977]

I thought the only worthwhile relic-upgrades were indeed the 25 K ones: stupidly overpowered, but at least they did make a difference. The other stuff is mostly pointless. Your best regular combos are generally your best magic combos in LoS as well. Direct Heavy Combo + Shadow Magic staggers and subsequently murders just about everything with relative ease, including bosses.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Double-post. Please delete.

 

[RobertR1]

Please tell me not all the stages are as long as Chapter 2.....I feel like I've been playing chapter 2 for days now.

 

[Cornsnake]

Please tell me not all the stages are as long as Chapter 2.....I feel like I've been playing chapter 2 for days now.

Most chapters are shorter. About 3 to 5 stages.

 

[liolio]

I tried the demo, I'm not sold. I'll try again to make up my mind.
The character is not charismatic. I'm not sold on how the story is told. The camera has bothered me a bit.
Actually I enjoyed Dante's inferno (demo) more.
At the same time I tried "Enslaved" and I've been caught in the game pretty quickly.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Please tell me not all the stages are as long as Chapter 2.....I feel like I've been playing chapter 2 for days now.

That's the CV way of pacing for ya. The later chapters get much shorter, though, or at least a lot less fragmented, with longer individual sub-chapters instead.

 

[specwarGP2]

Please tell me not all the stages are as long as Chapter 2.....I feel like I've been playing chapter 2 for days now.

Some chapters are very short! The game does get better looking as you go on tho.

 

[ultragpu]

WOW I love this game! Been playing up to Chap.4 now and the boss fights are both amazing and challenging. The music score and pretty graphics "apart from jaggies and low fps" ooze out pure epic. It reminds me of LOTR in settings, designs while gameplay feels like GOW, unoriginal but they work for me. I think I'm enjoy it even more than GOW3 now but man wish the sequel would have some MLAA and steady framerate.

 

[scently]

WOW I love this game! Been playing up to Chap.4 now and the boss fights are both amazing and challenging. The music score and pretty graphics "apart from jaggies and low fps" ooze out pure epic. It reminds me of LOTR in settings, designs while gameplay feels like GOW, unoriginal but they work for me. I think I'm enjoy it even more than GOW3 now but man wish the sequel would have some MLAA and steady framerate.

This.

 

[RobertR1]

This game is very inconsistant. For everything it does right, there's always a catch. I'm at Chapter 9 now so looking forward to wrapping it up in the next day or two.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Chapter 10 has to be the worst in terms of level design. Unless you accidentally take a turn at a specific junction where the camera suggests that there's absolutely no way to go, you will be stuck for good. It also combines your double jumping skills with a nasty poisonous swamp. Good times!

Still, all things considered I did enjoy the game quite a bit.

 

[RobertR1]

Beat the game finally. Overall, this was a very cool game to play and I'm in for the sequel. However, as the I mentioned earlier, what the game giveth, it also taketh.

Graphics:
The best enviorments, vistas and atmosphere I've seen this generation. And a ton of variety at that! Really did not expect all of this. However, it comes at the expense of framerate.

Story:
I really enjoyed the overall story arc and the twists. What I did not enjoy was the writing, esp Zobek's diary entries at the beginning of each chapter. Do away with those.

Sound:
Just awesome all around. No complaints.

Combat:
I'd put this above GoW and below NG (Bayonetta being miles ahead of all). It could actually surpass NG if two things can be fixed. Give me a camera that can atleast snap behind the character if not fully free. Fighting in close areas was a huge pain because you can't see wha'ts attacking you until you run around and fight the right angle to get the camera to work for you. The other major one is enemy animation vs impact registered. You'd see an enemy initiate an attack, you'd avoid it just in time but nope, it hit you. They need to fine tune this. Get these two issues sorted and I'll put it above NG

Pacing:
This is likely the most inconsistant part of the game. The first 2 chapters are terrible but thankfully things pick up from there. However, throughout the game, the balance between, puzzles/combat/platforming needs to be better turned for a more consistant experience. They could even shorten the game lenght to make for a more exiciting package through out.

NPC's:
I loved the enemies, bosses and other characters in the game. Keep down that path.

Overall, credit to MecurySteam for putting out a very good game. It's short of being great but nothing I saw was alarming to the point that it can't be fixed for the sequel. They fix these issues and we're looking at a truly great game in Castlevania 2. 8/10

 

[Billy Idol]

Started playing this game.
I am about 4-5 hours in and still chapter 2

@Ropert: up to now, I am not sure why you put this combat above GOW3 combat TBH. It feels rather standard up to now, without much variety. And to me, combat does not has this impact as in GOW games...I just have to use the []-attack, and occasionally dodge - that's it. I miss some cool combos, with slow mo finishers.

Graphics are indeed very pretty and very varied. There is so much detail on screen, that I have to get used to this first to focus on the gaming relevant stuff.

Framerate is indeed low - but does not borther me.

The "Mouth wide open" moment so far: the character Pan looks unbelievable good! One of the best video characters I have seen up to now, only bested by Kratos (GOW3) himself!

 

[Sigfried1977]

Yeah, heavy []-combo + dodge is pretty much all you need to finish the game. Worked like a charm all the way up to the platinum-trophy for me. No way is the combat any deeper than God of War's. Maybe it would have been if the majority of your attacks weren't entirely useless. I also don't get how people consider LoS to be so much harder than GoW. It starts a little rough, but the difficulty pretty much plateaus about 3 chapters in while Gabriel keeps outgrowing his enemies. I basically steamrolled my way through Paladin difficulty in LoS. Had much more trouble with GoW on Titan difficulty (won't even bother with Chaos difficulty. Don't need any more gray hair)

What I really like about LoS is the effectiveness of the sub-weapons and the magic.