Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Lumi Kløvstad on August 08, 2015, 01:10:08 PM
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For my part, I think the entire game ranges from "good" to "tolerable" for most of its run except for two things.
FUGGIN "STEALTH" SEQUENCES
and
THAT DAMN GARDEN MAZE WITH AGREUS.
Were it not for those two elements, I'd play the game a lot more than I do, and I'd enjoy it considerably more than I do.
But, I don't speak for everyone.
Sound off on your own thoughts.
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I haven't played it because I've heard such bad things about it, particularly stealth sequences. It was on sale last year on Steam for $8 and I still didn't try it. I'm eager to see what everyone says about this. I'm biased though.
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The fact that it tried to be ejji (see- Trevor is Alucard) and the fact that it tried to be AssCreed at the same time it was ejji.
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Pices: honestly, it's at least worth $8.
We can argue whether or not it's a "true" Castlevania game, but the fact remains it has a good atmosphere and remains consistent within its own microcosm of the Castlevania universe.
Jumps are still floaty and controls aren't as fine tuned and accurate as they probably should be on an action platformer, and the story occasionally veers into "Holy shit what even just happened" territory once or twice, but no more so than games like Circle of The Moon or Legacy of Darkness did, but for $8? Hell yeah I'd pick it up at that price.
The Alucard DLC is far, far, FAR better and worth that price of admission alone. As much as I love to heap love on Mirror of Fate for "getting" Castlevania as much as it probably could as a Lords game, the Revelations DLC "gets" what Alucard's gameplay is all about in the same way.
Honestly, Revelations would do even better as a separate game release. Even if you never touch the main campaign, you should play Revelations. That being said, play the main campaign first, because then you will appreciate what Revelations does right EVEN MORE.
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Pices: honestly, it's at least worth $8.
I checked out the demo recently and it seemed to have a decent enough atmosphere. This thread might be what sways me.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8fUNrndlmE&t=10m (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8fUNrndlmE&t=10m)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8fUNrndlmE&t=10m (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8fUNrndlmE&t=10m)
Kill it, kill it with fire!
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it does nothing well with the modern setting, and the plot in the modern setting is garbage.
the castle segments are all god tier, a whole game revolving around that would have been 10/10.
but the modern sections seem VERY poorly planned and thought out, and the enemies are boring as well. Dracula just automatically knows how to interact with everything, no room for fish out of water humor, where even the original and MoF had a little bit to it, and yet this cuhrayyzee rocket ride out of nowhere which is never spoken of again either, Dracula just defeated the fucking spawn of satan's loins, and yet still has to sneak past guards. when LoS1 made a MGS reference, at least it was short and tasteful.
the modern environments are also just boring to look at and traverse. very few stand out.
Also, Victor's handling and the ending are just total shit, and left me mad.
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Dracula just defeated the fucking spawn of satan's loins, and yet still has to sneak past guards.
Ugh, by far that was the most hated part of the game for me that made absolutely no sense, I was understandable at the beginning of the game when he was weakened, but after regaining his full power and beating some of Satan's spawns those stealth sections should have been completely done away with, instead MS decided to go with the terrible logic that Red Armored Guards>>>>>Satan and his kids.
Seems obvious MS did not care much about this entry which only makes fans even madder at this game, IF they had cared such BS inconsistencies would not have even occurred, bottom line is that Stealth should not have even been in this game, or at the very least it should have played a very minor role at the beginning of the game with Dracula was weakened.
Also the modern settings should have been AT BEST about 20% of the game, just to give us some insight on Dracula in the modern world, the other 80% of the game should have been in that gorgeous castle with more areas added, This game could have been so much better if MS actually gave a crap, instead I get the feeling that they did not put much effort since this was their last CV game anyway.
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I had to weigh in on this one. First, this is a Castlevania game not a Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu, Assasins Creed, Batman Arkham's Series, etc. title. If Dracula is to hide for the sake of stealth it should be for the sake of a boss fight against him not him as the weakened POD having to dodge lesser bosses and enemies for the sake of storyline. This stuff has no business being in here. Tolerable at best.
Second, the DLC with Alucard was WAYYYYYYYYYYYY more fun that the actual game and really felt like it could be taken in good direction. Sadly, the game was not based on him but daddy. Dracula did not get his due in this game playing as the anti hero. Shame I thought they would have given him more power, flight/bat abilities, wolf abilities and such and such.
Third, the platforming and jumping as someone stated in this game was just not very tight. I did not like the climbing aspects in this game and the jumping animation for Dracula himself seemed sloppy for the outfit he was donning. Maybe it was just his look that made it seem very loose and poorly executed. Also he runs slow with no speed power up for running except with the void and chaos mist abilities and that fucking hair of his. Damn it. Four, the lack of really dangerous areas pitfalls, spikes, traps and diverse enemies in the castle. The city had mechs, MECHS. For fuck sake, why? At least the outside had some traps even though city-scapes and tech labs are not what I want to see. The Art District was fun, but why is it that you can not access Dracula's church or his throne room but one time. Both are destroyed during the game. Those were the most fun areas to access in my opinion. Five the Boss fight that was supposed to be epic was repeated. You face the armored leftenant twice as the final boss in both the game and the DLC. Yo David what happened to the Final battle with Big Red being the battle to end them all? He hides behind someone else. What kind of bullshit is that?
All of these things I can tolerate and forgive somewhat.
But there is one thing that happens in this game one too many times that is inexcusable. One thing that totally spits on every hard working imaginative game designer. Something they would if they have any integrity distance themselves from this scenario, this presumed attempt of compelling game design.
Assembling that fucking mirror not once not twice but three damn times and having it as a supposed puzzle. THAT IS BLASPHEMY AS FAR AS GAME PLAY GOES!!!!
The first LOS did justice with the puzzles in the game. As flawed as that game was it ran circles around this wretched sack of
wet brown butt biscuits.
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Hey guys, let's spend the entire first game setting up that there's two counterparts to each of the Lords of Shadow and the ones we're fighting in the game are only the dark halves.
And then let's not ever do anything with that concept.
Also, this Carmilla is supposed to be the exact same Carmilla that was in LoS1, but now she's suddenly redesigned to be hot for no reason.
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Hey guys, let's spend the entire first game setting up that there's two counterparts to each of the Lords of Shadow and the ones we're fighting in the game are only the dark halves.
And then let's not ever do anything with that concept.
Also, this Carmilla is supposed to be the exact same Carmilla that was in LoS1, but now she's suddenly redesigned to be hot for no reason.
Honestly, when I first saw Carmilla in the trailers wearing her Brotherhood outfit, I had silently hoped it would be her good half sent by god to assist Gabe in his redemption.
But no. Just a psycho psychological shadow of a person Gabe had barely even met for five minutes before stabbing her with her own castle.
Also, most people I know would have claimed she had a hotness downgrade given that her cleavage window was shrunk tremendously. But... eh.
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Hey guys, let's spend the entire first game setting up that there's two counterparts to each of the Lords of Shadow and the ones we're fighting in the game are only the dark halves.
And then let's not ever do anything with that concept.
Also, this Carmilla is supposed to be the exact same Carmilla that was in LoS1, but now she's suddenly redesigned to be hot for no reason.
The game does mention that killing one half kills the other too, if I remember well.
What made me rage on the plot was the God Mask. What an utterly useless plot coupon this mask turned out to be. They spend the entire game, Gabriel's whole reason for a quest, on the premise that the mask can bring the dead back. Then, it's actually an useless mask (it manages to be even more useless than those cardboard 3D glasses) and it's all chalked up to "Nah man, you just heard the whole story wrong. Fuck you XDDDDDD"
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Alvarez meddling in development.
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Hey guys, let's spend the entire first game setting up that there's two counterparts to each of the Lords of Shadow and the ones we're fighting in the game are only the dark halves.
And then let's not ever do anything with that concept.
Also, this Carmilla is supposed to be the exact same Carmilla that was in LoS1, but now she's suddenly redesigned to be hot for no reason.
Thank you for pointing that out too. Aside from Carmilla, Zobek is also redesigned which is understandable given being nearly torched to fuck sticks by the devil. Ok, thats fine but what the fuck is up with Marie's ghost looking like she's been on a millennium long undead meth bender? Whats with those circles under the eyes. You don't need sleep, your dead and you've been sent back to play cheerleader for Hubby McVampirehicky. I wouldn't touch that blood for all the crack in Harlem. Dracula is not sure if his wife is real or not and she sent back looking like a total junk tank, not that her original drawing was seamless.
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GOOD:
- Gorgeous graphisms and design -- best looking CV game by far (along with LoS1) (the castle, the enemies, some parts of the city, etc.)
- Excellent music -- not too CV-sounding, but a very good and fitting soundtrack
- Good gameplay (combat, bosses, combos and evolution, the relics, some platforming, etc. apart those stealth parts)
- Revelations (DLC) -- excellent and worth its price
BAD:
- Poor writing most of the time (Carmilla shouldn't have appeared, the "Zombie infection" was out of place IMO, Dracula being weak all time, the final part with Satan felt rushed, some interesting parts are left without answers, Alvarez's ending sucks, etc.)
- Modern setting ranged from mediocre to okay -- some places were good, but most of the factories/interiors were meh
- Stealth was badly executed -- it could have been really good if well developed (I still like Agreus' maze even if it was tricky at first -- passed it a few times on my first try)
So yeah, LoS2 is an okay game with very strong points, but also bad parts (for which I blame Alvarez's ego -- I wanted that Satan vs Dragon fight!)
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I'm very much against things that contradict each other. Particularly when it comes to plot character/ plot progression, so I was skeptical at trying LOS 2. MoF just completely put me off LOS, so I never tried LOS2. Although I must say that it looks like the normal parts of the game capture CV fairly well.
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The masks in general are a plot device that should have returned for 2.
Gabriel clearly was left with the Devil Mask at the end of the first game, we see him holding it if I recall.
That never appears again.
IMO, LoS feels like it should have been a one shot Castlevania story, or the setup for future Belmonts, but not the setup for Dracula. They fucked that up from day 1. it didnt bother me back then, but seeing how they wasted the story potential, It feels like it wouldve been better if they just established Gabe as the first Belmont, who kicked Satan's Ass and therefore dedicated his lineage to fighting evil, with Dracula popping up in "LoS2" and becoming the main antagonist.
I dunno.
MoF at least somewhat tied back to LoS1 with it's introductory narrative. But LoS2 just feels disconnected from both.
the zombie apocalypse was definitely a mistake because that already kills off half the potential for both the setting and the story.
Much more interesting would have been this apocalyptic war between Heaven, Hell and Dracula happening in dark alleys and rooftops, with Humanity mostly unaware, much like the intro implied.
With things getting worse as the story progresses. Not directly after the first level. Demon plague was unnecessary.
Alucard himself is actually very out of character. in MoF he was somewhat vengeful and conflicted. he was fine. in loS2 hes a Xanatos level master planner, who came up with a perfect plan to stop Satan thousands of years into the future. Like, what the fuck was up with that.
Then the WHOLE STORY sets up Gabe for redemption. "I cannot live, yet, I cannot die" the entirety of the Castle segments were about "Dracula" reclaiming the "Gabriel" inside of him through the apparitions of his wife and young son, fighting against the influence of the demonic castle that's become such a part of him that it actually refuses to let him leave it behind.
up until the very last minute it seems like he will get his redemption. Instead we dont even fight Satan proper, who got a nice new redesign, and he gets shivved like a bitch in the street. Because all of a sudden the Vampire Killer stake is particularly strong effective against him despite him not being a vampire, whereas in the first game, he literally just beat Satan into submission through holy empowerment, not because his weapon was special. And then he burned his ass with divine energy. Satan was not actually defeated in loS1 until Gabe burned him by expelling the energy that revived him and empowered him. So that's an inconsistency too.
And then for a game that is a grand finale, it ends on the most pathetic whimper ive ever seen. It's literally a "thats all folks, see you next episode!" ending
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One thing that burned the hell out of me was that the only DLC for the game centered on Alucard. Admittedly, I deeply enjoyed Revelations (except for that CLIMB FAST OR DIE segment).
However, I really wish that we'd gotten a DLC starring Victor Belmont that set up his arrival in the City, and followed him as he tried to keep people safe, and ended with him running into Dracula for the very first time. It would have gone a long way towards redeeming how horribly he got shafted in the main game. Adding in Trevor and Simon Belmont skins in that DLC would have made it even more amusing.
But no.
We didn't get diddly squat for Victor Belmont.
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The modern day segments seemed shoehorned in just because they were trying to reel in the MGS crowd, which is a shame because the game DID have moments of brilliance.
The combat had the potential to be even better than LoS1, but somehow, Gabe's hits didn't seem to have as much weight behind them. Maybe that was a conscious choice, especially when he was fighting human enemies, but considering the added weapons he had, and the ability to switch them up on the fly, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as satisfying as LoS1 somehow.
I enjoyed the Toymaker segments, the opening level, and some of the castle areas, and thought the boss battles were actually pretty excellent. But I felt like the game could have used some editing and that the modern day segments could have either been cut or made shorter. There was too much aimless wandering and that whole Wolf Medallion was kind of a weird way to transition between scenes.
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The positives:
Great art direction, especially in the castle(the modern areas not so much but I'll get to that).
The bosses are fun to fight albeit easy to cheese. I'll go as far as to say as western boss fights go, they're better than most especially last gen.
The music is good, once again not very Castlevania ish but fitting for the game.
Moveable camera, might not be a big deal for most but for me it was a blessing.
The Alucard Revelations DLC. Felt more like what the game could have been, which led to my further disappointment with the main game.
The not-so-positives:
The modern setting is bland and boring %95 of the time with the exception of the arts district.
The stealth segments have no business being in the game in the beginning I could understand but I still gotta stealth it against these Warhammer guys after I just ripped out the heart of a giant Gorgon? Fuck outta here.
The story goes absolutely nowhere until the tail end of the game and it manages to fall flat on it's face in the end. Clearly the ending was a rush job so that Konami could make more sequels in the future (but with their actions as of late those plans are as good as dead at this point.)
The enemy variety is sparce in the modern area with you fighting either T Virus rejects, Metal Gears and re skinned werewolves as demons. The only enemies worth fighting in the modern areas were the monks (other hated them but I thought they were ok). In my opinion, they should have ran with the blood monsters traveling through the castle to the city areas but for whatever reason decide to drop that after a short period of time.
The treatment of Victor Belmont. You create a badass hero antagonist who fights the same abilities as you did from the first game (arguably the best fight in the game) and could have easily took aout the acolytes himself, only to cast himaside as a sacrificial lamb for no fucking reason other than a plot device to fork over a piece of the mirror? Once again, fuck outta here.
Overall is not so much as a bad game than it is a massive disappointment, especially if you like the first game even for a little bit. There are moments in this game that screamed "We tried to make a decent game here but our hands were tied due to fuckery within development." You know how you can feel a games development hell the more you play it? You can definitely feel it in LOS2.
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I wish I could give input past the first few hours of the game, but that's as far as I made it before I threw my hands up.
The weird part is that I thought it was ok while I was playing it and then I just... Stopped...
After that I sold my PS3 thinking that a ps4 port was on the way. I planned to give it another go then, but we all know that didn't happen.
Now it's just another CV in my collection that I don't have a system for.
Something went very, very wrong with LOS2.
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The weird part is that I thought it was ok while I was playing it and then I just... Stopped...
This was my experience in LoS. The Dracolich was the final straw that broke the camel's back. And I've never even bothered with the other games. There's just no point. Outsourcing CV to another company reminds me of the stunt Konami did when they outsourced Contra to Appaloosa. Fortunately the original creators of Contra managed to resuscitate the franchise and it's been great since. But did Konami learn from this mistake? No. I just can't say the same for Castlevania. Outsourcing CV couldn't have happened at a worse time.
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In my opinion, the worst thing about LoS2 was my own expectations.
The demo was REALLY good - better graphics, better controls (controllable camera, YAY!), dark and gothic style, quotes from SotN, blood whip is a little step back from a God of War chains (but claws and sword is a big step towards another GoW weapons)...
And then the final version of the game was out, I was full of disappointment. The good things from demo were the ONLY good things at all, everything other was... Bad. I literally HATE everything from the "modern" part - the gameplay (oh my God, that stealth...), the enemies, the bosses, the plot, the style, etc...
The castle segments, in other hand, are really good. They're really close to my thoughts, how the new LoS should be. I wish they were more often, so the whole game was just "a good game with bad segments". But no, IMO, the LoS2 is "a bad game with some good segments".
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One other thing if I may interject. The prologue states that who so ever kills the Lords of Shadow will sit upon their throne as the Prince of Darkness. So is Death not the final Lord of Shadow but instead the Devil who does that bit of dirty does the job in Gabriel's stead. Then Gabriel gets owned by Zobek via the Zombie Nintendo Power Glove. After that he chokes out Maynard James Keenan (wheres those MMA kills bra? Rickson Gracie would be ashamed) Finally he shows how the Forgotten One Being gets prepped for Bernhard's/Frankenstein's/Cronqvist's Castle in Lament of Innocence. After all that somehow someway Zobek is still alive sans his facial mud applicator mask but then again he got the ultimate makeover for modern day Vania City. How is it that Gabriel is the Dragon when those two still come back? Also Mighty Lucifer has an super buff angel body with Chicken Legs. in the first game he has a human form with smoke coming from his root and sacral chakras a convenient cover up for his how do ya do unlike his form in Dante's Inferno. You can see his wah wah.
In short I would bring back the artists, the music composer, Alucard with some more skills and another Belmont one who is not content to die a virgin or without a progeny and sacrifice humanities last ditch.
With that I leave you with fuck damn shit!!!!
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Alvarez's fukin' motive that changed the game from what it supposed to be
The lack of a "real-boss battle" gauntlet with the Red Armored Guard, after suffering from them in a quite long time
Also the lack of a one-on-one gauntlet with Satan in his super devil form; His death was SO sudden that he can't make his super devil form out, after his escape from Alucard's body; blame the planners of last fight and related events
Victor's death was SO sudden; He can still kick some @$$ in the extra challenge mini mission though
The last Acolyte Guido who was dead SUDDENLY.
The Throne room and the church Dracula was awakened can only visit limited times (Including DLC Alucard quest)
The difficulty of some extra challenge mini missions
The confusing positions of hidden items' locations and the lack of a reasonable map like DS-Castlevania era to check the locations with more convenient (The map in the map room is very rough, and the "GPS" bringing by Dracula can barely check out something; The birds set to find those hidden items could be crazy sometimes)
The abilities in DLC Alucad quest was some recycled earlier plans of Dracula's abilities that wasn't implemented in time when the main quest is out; Though considered the usage of abilities (Time control, bat swarm warp, etc) and gimmicks they seem to be more fit Alucard
Apart from the weak side, I actually like the way how Dracula walks outside the church he awakened, weakly, with a red robe; Looking at the red robe I think it's like how Sigma did in Mega Man X6 for some reason.
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Others have listed at length my own gripes with 2. I think the biggest issue is the show of glimpses of what this game could have been, before being snatched away into something confusing, somewhat dull and releatative, and badly paced. I also would have loved to have seen a return of the God and devil masks plot. Orionali's fic Rebirth handles this quite nicely, actually.
The castle sections were amazing, albeit too brief. I'd have loved to have seen stuff done with why Carmilla appeared as she did. Why were Agreus, Carmilla, and the Toymaker sections so short? So much untapped potential. I love the music, it just fits. But I wanted more of it. A few more re workings of the classics. There's a wonderful synth orchestra version of vampire killer and bloody tears to a LoS vid which worked perfectly. Make as much use of that huge orchestra that they had access to! I loved Al's reimagining, and Gabe is up there amongst the best of the Belmont clan. But Dave Cox's claims that the ending didn't signify Gabe's redemption was just at odds with what was clearly a redemption plot.
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Because we never got what MOF and LOS1 set up: a redemption story of an evil man who learns to forgive and love again.
I don't think Gabriel's descent was setup very well in the first, since we were told that by narrator Zobek instead of seeing it through Gabriel's actions, but he was still very sympathetic and likable. It was his motivation, his resolve to stop at nothing to bring back his wife and end the Lords of Shadow, that made his end without his wife tragic. He saved the world but there was no eternal reward waiting for him. If that wasn't enough, he learned of another evil threatening the world, had to sacrifice by his own hand a young vampire girl who befriended him in his despair, and was forced to become a vampire in the process.
Gabriel had the weight of the world on his shoulders for the entirety of the first game, and it amounted to naught for him in the end. No wonder he's angry at the world and God. But this is what's missing in the second game. The only time his motivation for villainy is brought to light is when he's talking with the apparition of his wife, where he boldly exclaims how he will always be a thorn in God's side, but aside from him killing the family in the beginning, and taking out 500,000 Brotherhood knights, there's not much Dracula does to show, rather than tell, that he hates the world and God. This is the opposite of Mirror of Fate. When Trevor is forced to leave his family and is killed, when Simon's mother is murdered, and Dracula threatens both his vampire son and grandson, we could see that Dracula is bitter and doesn't care much for the world, even his own family, for crying out loud. We could tell of his legacy of blood by the way the three main characters talked about him and their motivations.
But since Dracula is not the villain in LOS2 as he was in MOF, there's no payoff for a redemption anyway. Instead, we have an anti-hero Dracula who teeters between a decent man who loves his family and someone who is bad for the sake of being bad. When Gabriel says to Satan how God cares about what's in their hearts, and will forgive them if they ask for it, that should have been the drive behind a redeemed Dracula: when he realizes that he does care about the world, about his family, and about God. Then his motivation to defeat Satan once and for all is clear: not only for revenge, but for eternal justice, to sacrifice what he had so that others wouldn't have to.
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The problem with the first game (not really talking about if I think it's not Castlevania enough or not, so I'm just saying that as a generic action game) is that it overstays it's welcome. They should just cut the first 2 chapters from the game or make them A LOT smaller. Really, it's the worst part of the game.
When you finally get to the later chapter... I can say the game gets a lot better than expected. Some great boss fights (even though the gameplay is completely ridiculous and easy, even on the highest difficults). It's a bumpy road, but enjoyable, nonetheless.
The second one had at least half of a good game. They should have dropped the modern setting. Hell, the game should have been about the time just after the prologue. The modern setting is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. If they made a game only inside the castle, it would be a lot better.
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I don't think it was "so incredibly bad", but I gotta say it was pretty disappointing. In short:
The Pros
- The graphics are downright gorgeous
- The combat system is hella fun
- The music is also really amazingly good (sue me)
- The VAs are good
- Nearly all of the Castle is great (save for that one sequence)
- The bosses feel good
The Cons
- The writing is bad
- The ending is terribad
- Stealth
- Why can't I kill Golgoth guards? I should melt the f[bleep!]kers with Chaos Claws in no time!
- The city is mediocre, especially compared to the Castle
Overall, it feels like a Frankenstein's monster of a game, that alternates between gorgeous and horrible and suffers from a lack of direction. There are good design decisions and then there are idiotic ones. There are good story ideas and moments that can carry entire games on their own, but they aren't given enough time to blossom, they clash with each other and there are also really bad story moments. It's clearly evident that a lot of talented people worked on it... in conjunction with a lot less talented people. But I wouldn't call it outright bad.
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There seems to be a conflict in this forum about the combat style of the two 3D titles. Some have said that the game is a GOW clone but a lot of people like Victor Belmont (myself included). So is there a place to go with the combat cross wielding Kratos Belmont as well as Alucard?
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Lords of Shadow 2 is strange, though it has a lot of cons it's still a good game, at least there is a potential good game in there. Let's start with the cons.
- Narrative is weak; The way Dracula redeems himself overnight is just un-buyable. There could have been more material of transitioning rather than "My wife and kid says I'm good, even though I'm the Lord of Darkness, I guess they are right."
- Poor use of side characters; Every character in LoS2 could have had a stronger role to play, especially Victor and Puppet-Maker. The inclusion of Carmilla was okay, but should have been with the pure versions of the other Brotherhood members. Also if you're gonna include Carmilla, why not Laura?
- Anti-Climatic moments; Fighting Alucard and Victor were great nods of role-reversal of the Castlevania games, but... The Alucard fight should have been used at the point before Dracula goes into hibernation instead of "possessed by Satan" and Victor dying 15 minutes after being introduced is pretty weak too. The worst offender is the Satan showdown which could have been way harder and way better considering how his fight was in LoS1.
-Stealth Sections; This was an attempt to add more variety into the game, not a bad idea. The bad idea is going through the whole game with this nonsense rather than just having these sections just at the beginning where they made sense.
-Castle Confusion; One simple philosophy, if you have to ask the writer what the deal is with the castle rather than having it explained in the game, you have done it wrong. The Castle could have been a timespace or "true form" like the chaos realm, instead we get this confusing Head Castle which is also real which is also much more confusing considering the events.
-Inconstancy with the plot; Sequels are great, but also supposed to be self contained, but most importantly it has to be compliant to the previous entries.
-Lack of The Dragon; If you're gonna do a Biblical end of the world basis, you gotta do it right. Satan should be riding the Leviathan while the Behemoth is running rampant on ground. in which there should have been at least ONE section where you get full control over dragon form, Even if it's a cinamatic QTE section it still would have been nice.
-The Shop Sucks; along with most of the items. The Potions, Hidden eggs, and Dragon Form were pretty much the only useful items. and you have the shop, which sells those items forgetting that you can pick them up rather easily. it's inclusion was not a bad idea, but it could have been much more useful.
-DLC; This could have been a strong aspect, 2 costumes, an item transmuter, and a small Alucard section. Why not add a Victor section, an option to play the main camaign as either Alucard or Victor, Optional side missions? Toy Maker themed Boss Rush? There are sooooo many ways they could have taken my money. Harmony of Despair has arguably terrible DLC as a whole but I bought every last bit.
I guess it's all said and done, I wish Konami would rework the game a bit and give us a "Definitive" edition but, the build up of a potentially amazing LoS saga ended on this.
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You hit the nail on the head, imo. It was rushed, much like how MoF tried to do so much. The suddenly son who teh last time he'd seen him he was his enemy because he sided with hsi own son against him, but this time suddenly best friends and knowing his original name? Hmm..... For me, the stealth sections, rushing through of various characters in tiny segments, anticlimactic final boss and mxed messages of redemption but oh, no, actually he's taken over the world contradiction... It had some beautiful ideas, and teh castle could have been much larger. Why not spread the series over more games? Why not tell the story of what led Gabriel to become dissilousioned rather than vengeful. What happened in the 500 years between his Turning and the Brotherhood seige? What was Alucard up to? What was Al actually up to after then until the present day? Aldo, if the castle was as though a living entity, why wasn't it the same in the modern city bult on its ruins? I was actually expecting that. Also, greater enemy variety, especially in the modern city.
I want to know. There was so much potential. The concept artwork was amazing, and the storyline had so much potential, which got stamped down on too much by the top. The Alucard DLC gave such a fantastic hint towards what the game could have been.
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Lords of Shadow 2 is strange, though it has a lot of cons it's still a good game, at least there is a potential good game in there. Let's start with the cons.
- Narrative is weak; The way Dracula redeems himself overnight is just un-buyable. There could have been more material of transitioning rather than "My wife and kid says I'm good, even though I'm the Lord of Darkness, I guess they are right."
- Poor use of side characters; Every character in LoS2 could have had a stronger role to play, especially Victor and Puppet-Maker. The inclusion of Carmilla was okay, but should have been with the pure versions of the other Brotherhood members. Also if you're gonna include Carmilla, why not Laura?
- Anti-Climatic moments; Fighting Alucard and Victor were great nods of role-reversal of the Castlevania games, but... The Alucard fight should have been used at the point before Dracula goes into hibernation instead of "possessed by Satan" and Victor dying 15 minutes after being introduced is pretty weak too. The worst offender is the Satan showdown which could have been way harder and way better considering how his fight was in LoS1.
-Stealth Sections; This was an attempt to add more variety into the game, not a bad idea. The bad idea is going through the whole game with this nonsense rather than just having these sections just at the beginning where they made sense.
-Castle Confusion; One simple philosophy, if you have to ask the writer what the deal is with the castle rather than having it explained in the game, you have done it wrong. The Castle could have been a timespace or "true form" like the chaos realm, instead we get this confusing Head Castle which is also real which is also much more confusing considering the events.
-Inconstancy with the plot; Sequels are great, but also supposed to be self contained, but most importantly it has to be compliant to the previous entries.
-Lack of The Dragon; If you're gonna do a Biblical end of the world basis, you gotta do it right. Satan should be riding the Leviathan while the Behemoth is running rampant on ground. in which there should have been at least ONE section where you get full control over dragon form, Even if it's a cinamatic QTE section it still would have been nice.
-The Shop Sucks; along with most of the items. The Potions, Hidden eggs, and Dragon Form were pretty much the only useful items. and you have the shop, which sells those items forgetting that you can pick them up rather easily. it's inclusion was not a bad idea, but it could have been much more useful.
-DLC; This could have been a strong aspect, 2 costumes, an item transmuter, and a small Alucard section. Why not add a Victor section, an option to play the main camaign as either Alucard or Victor, Optional side missions? Toy Maker themed Boss Rush? There are sooooo many ways they could have taken my money. Harmony of Despair has arguably terrible DLC as a whole but I bought every last bit.
I guess it's all said and done, I wish Konami would rework the game a bit and give us a "Definitive" edition but, the build up of a potentially amazing LoS saga ended on this.
One thing I would like to have seen in addition to the DLC rework is simply this. Wouldn't it have been fun to play as Dracula in his decrepit no longer pierced form but power him up as you go? I think that version albeit his weak form looked better than his shorter haired, Undertaker ripoff, Frenchy mustached form. They played up that part with him attacking Zobek quite well.
The narrative is Dracula being jaded and weary of eternal life so him wanting to escape what he has been has probably weighed on him since losing his mind/humanity post Forgotten One Being's annihilation.
Would have liked seeing Cornell again. Werewolves are way better than modern day mutants with pig faces. Laura was a really cool tragic character. Seeing that in Gabula's mind eye would have been interesting.
Stealth is for non tainted Belmont's, Assassins and Snakes with Solid character.
Technically speaking you could say that the Left-tenant was the final boss in both endings.
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Stealth is for non tainted Belmont's, Assassins and Snakes with Solid character.
hahahahaha! That is a quotable quote. :)
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I will give the game some due praise. At least they bothered to take care of some of those collision issues that made the first game look it had 3D Sonic Suck Syndrome.
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It's been said many times already, but those obnoxious Golgoth guards had no place in the later parts of the game. So I can murder satan himself (for real this time!), but I can't even smudge a Golgoth guard's eyeliner?
I liked the music...that played during the game loading screen. I don't remember any other music from the game. Pathetic for a Castlevania, though sadly expected from a Lords of Shadow game.
My favorite part of the game was actually the Agreus portion. I'm not kidding. It was the only part that had atmosphere reminiscient of the first LoS. Although all the castle parts had really nice atmosphere. But I didn't find the Agreus stealth part annoying at all, in fact I passed that part after something like 3 deaths. I was shocked afterward to find just how much people hate that part.
Overall, I'm glad I played the game, but I don't think I'll ever play it again. I've played through CV4 at least 25 times, and SotN more times than I can count. It makes me sad to think this is the last CV we might ever get.
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And there I was, buying this game for $9 on Steam. I had no intentions of playing this one, but I guess I am curious to see what Castlevania's death rattle is like.
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They should have just made LOS1 a Cv1 remake and stopped there.
LOS1 was amazing, but it could have been better without the new radically different storyline.
Going to kill Dracula is enough. Any future reboot should stay true to that and not try to fix what isn't broken.
Gabriel should have been Simon.
Simon as he was in the LOS world would have fit better as a character in Pixar's Brave.
$9 sounds about right for LOS2. Knowing what I know though, I'd probably rather piss the $9 away on a Starbucks run.
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This game was pretty bad. The stealth sections were, as already stated, garbage, and going from past to modern was rather trash. I felt comparing this to its predecessor was often like comparing Symphony of the Night to Rondo of Blood: the gameplay stayed roughly the same, yet the progression went from linear to sandbox. However, while both the first Lords of Shadow and Rondo of Blood felt satisfying from a narrative perspective end game as it had gotten harder, Lords of Shadow 2 does not satisfy like Symphony of the Night. You never feel stronger as Dracula like you do as Alucard. Playing as the Prince of Darkness, Blight of Mankind, the Big Spook, yet enemies near endgame still take roughly two to three minutes to kill.
But despite this, due to the power of Roleplay, it's one my favorite Castlevania games and my guiltiest of pleasures. I boot up the game, and say "I am Dracula, and this is my Castle. I will destroy these lame knights, and submit all who oppose me under my will. Unlike Soma, my coat is red." Then I proceed to love the game again.
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They should have just made LOS1 a Cv1 remake and stopped there.
LOS1 was amazing, but it could have been better without the new radically different storyline.
Going to kill Dracula is enough. Any future reboot should stay true to that and not try to fix what isn't broken.
Gabriel should have been Simon.
Simon as he was in the LOS world would have fit better as a character in Pixar's Brave.
$9 sounds about right for LOS2. Knowing what I know though, I'd probably rather piss the $9 away on a Starbucks run.
Nail on the head. The story was the only thing that I hated about LoS, and the final boss.
I may be better off having chosen Starbucks, I haven't booted the game up yet and probably won't for a long time. It's one of those things I'll probably have to get drunk and see what happens.
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Pro wrestler Satan. With butt wings. And pretty crystal blue doe eyes.
That's all the reason you need.
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Pro wrestler Satan. With butt wings. And pretty crystal blue doe eyes.
That's all the reason you need.
Beat up your possessed son to defeat him, What did he do all that lifting for?