Gaming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate Demo

[emigre]

"GOOD GOD NOOOO! THIS ISN'T CASTLEVANIA!!! CASTLEVANIA HAS BEEN VIOLATED!!!"

That was my road reaction after playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (developed by MercurySteam) on my PS3. It was an underwhelming game which in all honesty copied elements of other titles such as GoW and Shadow of the Colossus and mashed it together to create a game which was a mess. It wasn't as good as mentioned titles and certainly wasn't a particularly good game. It felt very much like a average action game at best.

MercurySteam are back and after playing the demo, I can't say my feelings from LoS have changed for the better. It feels like a GoW side-scroller. I'm hacking and slashing through enemies and I feel like I'm going through the motions. The exploration just feels pointless. I don't feel like I'm doing anything with any purpose. The platforming was decent but not spectacular. It took me thirty minutes to finish the demo and when I compare that to SOTH, the first ten minutes alone made it clear this game was fucking awesome. Castlevania:LoS-MoF just feel uninspired and generic GoW clone. The music just sounds boring and generic compared to the kick ass music in past games. And why takes it several hits to break a fucking barrel? The game looks nice but that's all it has going for it.

tl;dr:MoF is pretty shitty tbh tbf imo.

 

[XDel]

I watched my brother play a bit of the first one on the 360, and while it looked like a vast improvement over previously 3D Castlevanias, it did look to me as if it was a game that was grabbing every game mechanic that was now popular in the 3D game world, and tried to cram it in there.

None the less, had it been released on Windows I'd have gladly played through it, but I am not going to buy a 360 just to play it so I guess I will pass.

As for the 3DS version, I am not so sure about it either, hopefully it will be fun, but it looks like it is branching away from the classic game play as well as the RPG style gameplay which in the end creates something new...

...and I'm not always comfortable with new. I think maybe they should have just expanded upon what they already had and made it better, but who knows, maybe I'll actually like these new incarnations, but still...

...will all the horse power in these new systems, we could have had a REALLY in depth side view RPG adventure with elements from the classic series thrown in. I think Order of Ecclesia was attempting this to some degree.

 

[Gahars]

So basically, Castlevania's just a shadow of its former glory. Oh, Lord...

 

[Eerpow]

Every single word emigre, I agree with you completely, the game is terrible.

 

[BORTZ]

Hm. I cant find the demo in the US shop.

 

[Eerpow]

Hm. I cant find the demo in the US shop.

I think it's only in the European eShop right now, I would avoid it if I were you though.

 

[BORTZ]

Yeah i guess its just as well. Man that blows.

 

[ForteGospel]

havent played the demo yet, but.... are you actually expecting exploration in a 30 min demo?

 

[XDel]

havent played the demo yet, but.... are you actually expecting exploration in a 30 min demo?

That is standard Casltevania when it comes to the RPG based ones. You find your self exploring within the first few seconds of the games, always.

 

[GamerzHell9137]

The game looks like shit on the 3DS XL.

 

[ForteGospel]

That is standard Casltevania when it comes to the RPG based ones. You find your self exploring within the first few seconds of the games, always.

i have played only sotn, the gba ones and the ds ones so maybe i am missing something... but in those games you dont find yourself exploring within the first few seconds neither in the few minutes... as you are always blocked from something (need a special magic/double jump/armor/weapon/mumbo jumbo) and there are many parts in this demo you cant explore because you are missing a magic, a skill or something...

yes the demo was pretty linear and i hate the mini parts of a (what is expected from a castlevania) a huge map... will wait after the game gets released for videos and reviews because i have to agree with this one... it looks like a 2d gow/pop game

something of interest is that you start at lvl 12 right next to dracula's castle... so there has to be a forest part before the demo itself leading to the beginning of this demo

 

[XDel]

i have played only sotn, the gba ones and the ds ones so maybe i am missing something... but in those games you dont find yourself exploring within the first few seconds neither in the few minutes... as you are always blocked from something (need a special magic/double jump/armor/weapon/mumbo jumbo) and there are many parts in this demo you cant explore because you are missing a magic, a skill or something...

yes the demo was pretty linear and i hate the mini parts of a (what is expected from a castlevania) a huge map... will wait after the game gets released for videos and reviews because i have to agree with this one... it looks like a 2d gow/pop game

something of interest is that you start at lvl 12 right next to dracula's castle... so there has to be a forest part before the demo itself leading to the beginning of this demo

What is what I was talking about. Generally in those games you start walking, then you realize that you can no longer continue down a certain rout or what have you because you can not jump high enough or what have you, so you then have to double back and find another rout to go...

...isn't that the definition of exploration? Granted, the only way to go becomes obvious once you have sat down and played it for a while, and it becomes apparent that the bath is initially linear, but until you have played for a while and discovered where you need to go, you would not know that and still get the sense that you are exploring, even if not in a grand a scale as you will be exploring the games after having played for hours on end.

 

[heartgold]

Yes i hated it too.

The graphics are mindblowing. Really, you could mistake it for a vita game. It looks gorgeous in full 3D on the XL.

 

[ForteGospel]

What is what I was talking about. Generally in those games you start walking, then you realize that you can no longer continue down a certain rout or what have you because you can not jump high enough or what have you, so you then have to double back and find another rout to go...

...isn't that the definition of exploration? Granted, the only way to go becomes obvious once you have sat down and played it for a while, and it becomes apparent that the bath is initially linear, but until you have played for a while and discovered where you need to go, you would not know that and still get the sense that you are exploring, even if not in a grand a scale as you will be exploring the games after having played for hours on end.

maybe all that just starts after you actually enter the castle... and not getting cockblocked by that mask

 

[XDel]

maybe all that just starts after you actually enter the castle... and not getting cockblocked by that mask

Cock Blocked by that mask?!?! Ha ha ha, what are you talking about? Is this something in the new 3DS Vania? Better not cock block a Belmont, the results usually are not good.

 

[Clydefrosch]

while i agree, i'm not very motivated to keep playing lords of shadow either, i have to say, getting a backstory to dracula and now, playing several generations of vampire hunters, is certainly a step above the other castlevania games i've played so far. so gameplay sucks, but story is better.

 

[SpaceJump]

While I don't think this is that bad, this is no match for the 2D Metroidvanias that I love.

 

[Rizsparky]

The game looks like shit on the 3DS XL.

Woah what? It looks awesome

 

[Issac]

Whoa didn't know it was out! Got to test it.
I'm sad to see your reactions to it, since I've been looking forward to this like mad. I hope my opinion differs from yours... Will download it asap!

 

[lol u mad brah]

Personally i loved LOS was a good refresh to the game and the story was magnificent, also modern age dracula geegee.