Topic: Now that I've actually bought Lords of Shadow...

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Now that I have BOUGHT Lords of Shadow (not borrowed), I thought I'd share my owner's opinions. Because sometimes, a game feels differently when one actually puts money down on the damn thing.

My thoughts:

I like the combat. But as a fan of the God of War games, that was a given. The hits feel solid, unlike previous 3D entries in the series, and unlike the PS2 games, fights are fast paced and just challenging enough, without taking the difficulty to crazy high levels. Beating a tough battle feels rewarding, as it should. Gabriel's variety of USEFUL combos is greater than Leon's, Hector's, and Trevor's, helping to mix things up a bit and keep fights from looking and feeling stale, although I wish enemies were a tad bit less aggressive, as I love to set up really badass combos and I keep getting interrupted, which puts a damper on how often I use other combos.

I do not like how few opportunities the game gives me to heal outside of battle, however. The use of healing magic feels very forced, and I find myself having to rely on healing magic to keep my health at manageable levels, which negates the use of shadow magic, which means battles drag out just a touch longer than they should.

The fixed camera did not cause as many problems for me this time as last time, although navigating the labyrinthine passages of Agharta did get a little dizzying at points.

The music, aside from the Super Castlevania IV arrangements, all blurs together after about 10 minutes, and nothing particularly stands out from anything else. I'd go so far as to call the soundtrack pretty much a total let down.

The graphics on the other hand, do not disappoint. While all the 3D titles have played the graphics game very well in their own ways (I'm a big fan of Lament and Curse's general aesthetic), Lords of Shadow blows the previous titles away in terms of detail. While the elements drawn from Del Toro and Jackson are unmistakable and don't feel quite at home in a game bearing the Castlevania brand, they do lend their own grim epic fantasy feel to the game, and distinguish this generation of Castlevania from previous generations. Not sure if I'm happy with that or not, but it does help the game feel unique apart from the rest of the series.

The voice acting is on a whole pretty good. There's appropriate levels of scenery chewing from all involved, but honestly, I find myself wondering how Robert Carlyle continues to find work. His acting is wooden in everything he does, and it really shows here. Furthermore, his voice is unappealing. Eric Ladin (Cole MacGrath, Infamous II and Festival of Blood) would have been a better choice. Hell, ANYONE would have been better. I'd even take Steve "Cloud Strife" Burton over Carlyle's lazy vowels any day of the week. But he is but a small blemish on an otherwise well picked voice cast, so I shouldn't drag him down TOO much.

The story is decent Castlevania fare, with hints of God of War in spots, though Gabriel refreshingly lacks Kratos' ceaseless rage, and isn't particularly emo either. He's just sort of a glum melancholy, which suits the story nicely. Overall, the story is nothing we haven't seen before, and shouldn't win awards anywhere. It's a good excuse to go beat up everything that moves though.

Then there's the feel of the game, which is confusing to say the least. There are moments, small moments, but important ones, where I can say "YES! This feels like a Castlevania game!", but these moments are few and brief. The rest of the time, the game feels like a hodgepodge of other Triple-A action titles. It alternates between God of War, Uncharted, and Shadow of the Colossus, pretty much in that order. It's not an awkward hodgepodge by any stretch; it's all very smooth and the transitions are well done, but it largely lacks that gothic adventure feel we've come to expect.

But if you're going to steal and Doctor Frankenstein a game together, steal from the best! And that's most definitely what's happened here.

Lords of Shadow is a tight action game, well made, with good talent and worthy production values. I haven't yet encountered any moments where it feels cheap or rushed. Love went into this game, that much is obvious. But like a cheater with multiple simultaneous affairs, this game can't quite figure out who it wants to be with, and so everybody misses out on just a little special something that keeps the game from being as good as it could have been, which is a real shame. This game could have soared on Eagle's wings, but instead, it opts for a slightly less majestic breed of bird for the sake of keeping it's options open.

All things considered, I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

[Dark Nemesis]

Now this is what i call open minded. I like your review.

[Flame]

Nice well thought out opinions. I  find myself agreeing with them.

[Thy Gory Rory]

Thanks for your thoughtful review! I also found it quite relatable to my own opinion and it's nice to see other's go in unbiased. Usually it gets a lot of flack from the fanbase for being a little too off the mark from the standard mold but most can't deny the fact that it's still a very decent game that's certainly worth playing.

[Ahasverus]

Great opininon piece, I agree with everything sans the music, I hope some other members of the forum do the same

[FerryMANsAJEDI]

Great Review

I admit I only started playing the game recently since i just bought it. My friend has it and kept pushing it on me and at first I didn't like it and it took a few chapters to really grow on me.  But me being a huge Castlevania Nerd I caved in and glad that I did.




 

[Gambit Belmont]

I'd play Lords of Shadow if I didn't have a deep hatred for anything having to do with reboots (of any sort).


EDIT: Lets just say that a certain company managed to inadvertantly fuck up a certain purple dragon from my childhood in a series reboot...

[Ahasverus]

I'd play Lords of Shadow if I didn't have a deep hatred for anything having to do with reboots (of any sort).


EDIT: Lets just say that a certain company managed to inadvertantly fuck up a certain purple dragon from my childhood in a series reboot...

Skylanders was... too much franchise-slaughter... it's not near LoS, if you think about it, every non-belmont CV game is a reboot of sorts in the franchise (especially OOE)

[Ridureyu]

I don't hate all remakes, reboots, and adaptations, per se, it just has to be a good one.  I mean, The Maltese Falcon was the third remake in ten years, The Wizard of Oz was an adaptation of a stage play of a book, The Magnificent Seven was an American remake of a foreign film, Star Wars is a massive pastiche of several japanese movies and old adventure serials and sci-fi novels (all uncredited), You've Got Mail is a remake, Casino Royale adapted a book and rebooted a franchise, etc. etc. etc.

[Sumac]

I'd play Lords of Shadow if I didn't have a deep hatred for anything having to do with reboots (of any sort).

Sorry, but I consider it a lousy reason to not play the game.
Not all reboots and remakes are bad.