Topic: I knew it! Castlevania: Lords of Shadow!(SPOILERS HERE, PLZ USE THE SPOILER TAG)

[crisis]

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So does anyone have any theories on how the "Lord of the Dead" is gonna try to free Dracula of his immortality?

[Kingshango]

My theory is that

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whatever happens in the end Dracula reconsiders Zobeks request seeing as he didn't say "yes" to his offer to help him beat Satan's army.

[darkwzrd4]

My theory is that

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whatever happens in the end Dracula reconsiders Zobeks request seeing as he didn't say "yes" to his offer to help him beat Satan's army.

Yeah, that's probably what will happen, but...

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I get the feeling that some hero will come along to try and defeat both Dracula and Satan's army.  In other words, there will be a three sided battle.  What I can't tell yet is: if this comes to pass, will we play as Dracula or the new hero?

[crisis]

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Would it have made more sense if Gabriel absorbed Satan's power instead of The Forgotton One's?

[Munchy]

Wasn't it said by Cox that

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"Dracul" is actually not Dracula? Maybe he has a son who goes off the deep end and shames him somehow. Sort of like Alucard does to Dracula, lols.

[KaZudra]

Theory: Gabriel is Dracul also Belmont.
Lets say Gabriel does the Dracula thing and has kids...
you get Two Sons.
you can imagine the rest of the theory...

[Flame]

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Would it have made more sense if Gabriel absorbed Satan's power instead of The Forgotton One's?

Wasn't it said by Cox that

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"Dracul" is actually not Dracula? Maybe he has a son who goes off the deep end and shames him somehow. Sort of like Alucard does to Dracula, lols.

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Why are we using spoilers

[Vampire Killer]

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Why are we using spoilers

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I was wondering that myself.

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[Chernabogue]

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Cox said Gabriel was Dracula. 'Dracul' is the Romanian name for 'Dracula'.

[A-Yty]

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Cox said Gabriel was Dracula. 'Dracul' is the Romanian name for 'Dracula'.

They're both Romanian. Dracul means "the devil" or "the dragon". "A"  turns the meaning into "son of" (the devil/dragon)

[Flame]

well we all know there are flubs with the name. I mean, Dracula in the regular series has no "Dracul" father. Hes just Dracula.

Wouldnt surprise me if they just intended for him to be Dracula, but figured "Eu sunt Dracul" would sound cool. (it does)

[Kingshango]

well we all know there are flubs with the name. I mean, Dracula in the regular series has no "Dracul" father. Hes just Dracula.

Wouldnt surprise me if they just intended for him to be Dracula, but figured "Eu sunt Dracul" would sound cool. (it does)

That's what I always thought, they went with him saying "Eu sunt Dracul" for dramatic effect but he is named Dracula in the offical artwork.

[thernz]

I guess it could be a guidebook goof-up. I guess if Cox said it was Dracul, we should trust that.

even though it's cox HEH

[Gecko]

So yesterday I took a break from my recent mountains of schoolwork to play a little LoS. I'd made another Xbox 360 profile so I could start from scratch on a new file. Played through the Crow Witch stage. It's interesting playing the game after the "newness" has worn off. I actually have more appreciation for it so far. I keep noticing more and more classic CV moments, like how when you beat the crow witch, the bridge falls behind the running Gabriel, and it looks JUST like the bridge falling behind Simon in SCV4 on Stage B(it's in other games, just reminds me mostly of 4). Also the waterfall effects are like the waterfall stage in 4, but more realistic and well... 3D.

Gameplay stlye is still what I've always wanted in a 3dVania. I liked the combos in LoI, but wished that the whip were longer. Since the whip IS longer in LoS, it feels more CVesque in that you can fight enemies at a good range. Also, I've always seen the classic whipping method with button pressing as being rhytmic. The combos mixed with range really bring out a mix of classic whipping and LoI's combat system that just feels right. Some of the combos are actually the same as they were in LoI! I also like the emphasis on "perfect blocks" that originated in LoI. You can perform an extra-strong retaliation combo immediately following it up, and it stuns the enemy. I always wished that there were more reason in LoI and CoD to perfect block. This game delivers that!

Most of the stages are a lot of fun to play through again and again. Apart from the titan fights, the boss battles are all really fun. There's a learning curve to each one, as it should be in ANY action game, but especially in Castevania. Like with Cornell, I improved my "perfect blocking" skills, and he went down after only a few attempts this time. Last time he griefed me to seemingly no end.

I love that whip-swinging is brought back with a vengeance, and though it constantly gets knocked for this by fans on this board, I like the shimmying and platforming mix. It's a neat way to have a believable level and make it traversable, as well as show off some neat graphic effects(like when Gabriel occasionally eclipses the sun in the background...pretttyyy..).

The game just oozes Castevania love, though it's not afraid to do its own thing from time to time. I still don't get where people aren't seeing classic enemies. There are skeletons, ghouls, werewolves, vampires(and they're a lot like in the 64 games!), little flying imps, ghosts, armors... And for the new "Tolkien enemies" like the goblin(I actually can't think of any others ATM honestly), I'm pretty sure I fought a few Ents in Dawn of Sorrow, so that point against the CVness element seems pretty irrelevant to me.

The only things I've found that I don't care for much in this game are the titan battles and the puzzles. I understand that Castlevania has had HUGE enemies in a lot if its games, but now that I'm replaying it without the newness factor, it really does just feel like a cheapened Shadow of the Colossus when I fight the titans. The Dracolich is the exception because(though I haven't gotten there on this playthrough yet) it's like the second form of Death after fighting the reaper(Yeah, I know Zobek is really death, but gameplay-wise this felt like the death battle)! And a few puzzles here and there are alright, but eventually it really starts to feel like they're in the way of my fun gameplay.

Eh, that rant went longer than I expected. Oh well, that's my feelings on this game. I wish more people on this board could enjoy the game like I do, but everyone certainly has a right to his or her own opinion, and different people seem to have different ideas of what makes a game "Castlevania". I'm not really a fan of Harmony of Despair, but this game feels right to me from a gameplay and atmosphere point of view.

[A-Yty]

The game just oozes Castevania love

I understand appreciating elements of the game, but dude..