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

[The Silverlord]

That begs the question, though: If Lords of Shadow doesn't fully grab the mainstream action/adventure market and, in the effort to have done so, quashes the feeling/spirit of Castlevania fans have been wanting, it's a lose-lose situation.

I agree, it’s trying to do so many things, it may ultimately fail at them all. Or it may succeed.  It’s an ambitious project.  What we’re seeing is essentially what the media is seeing: God of War, Shadow of the Collosus, Lords of the Rings, some Prince of Persia style climbing, rolled up into what could live up to a Soul Reaver-esque storyline.  Fans ask, where’s Castlevania?  What makes it seem any more than a new IP with a belated stamp of “Castlevania” branding*?  Gabriel Belmont, his appearance, his new whip.  Later on, whip swinging.  Some gothic elements towards the end of the second trailer.

The content of the trailers was probably geared to get people outside of Castlevania interested and looking in, but I see Cox as doing his best to promote it as new and ground it as a Castlevania title at the same time.  Not easy.  He’s caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, and would probably prefer Lords of Shadow was a new intellectual property (IP) than face some of our slagging!  Would we complain as much about the locales and setting of the game were it not a Castlevania game?  Probably: some would frown that a Belmont clone was used in another game.

Anyway.  I am one who thinks that longer-term we may as fans be praising the Celtic/Fantasy elements in the game (and they are in evidence at this stage, clearly): that is, if those environments serve as a prelude to darkness or horror in the game, e.g. the darkening of a good land.  You create good contrast if you take a bright and lavish environment and dim and corrupt it: it can establish emotion in the player/aid immersion.  That said, and contrary: with the likes of that Shadow of the Collosus behemoth battle, if that’s a big moment in the game, I see few gothic horror elements coming through in that setting.  But, then it’s entirely possible you could head into an ice tower after that and be presented with devilish traps, a laboratory and an evil witch-like character (unlikely as that sounds).

Time will tell . . . we need a new trailer!

[Ahasverus]

Guys! Check this out!
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/10000-years-of-castlevania/a-2009120311039291040
What a nice article! And it has a very good LOS picture (That actually LOOKS like Castlevania)

[CastlevaniaX]

^
Breathtaking indeed.

Regarding Mercury Steam, I played Jericho's demo last night ( and I usually don't play FPS games ) and I noticed that MS is so talented in providing a dark atmosphere with a good squad gameplay ( as only an idea because it sucks for the complete game as much as I've been told by those who played the game itself ). Dave Cox hinted in one of his interviews that the right analog stick of PS3 controller ( as an example ) will be utilized to swing the whip which is so cool and challenging only if it's designed so perfectly. I hope MS doesn't screw us this time and I've high expectations especially when Kojima san is playing the role of an advisory for the team.

Anyone else has played Jericho yet ?
Yousef

[shelverton.]

Anyone else has played Jericho yet ?

Well, yes. I played the game when it was new and I gotta say it's not a very good one. The voiceacting and the script itself is absolutely terrible, and the game is a below average, run-of-the-mill FPS. However, I did like the overall atmosphere, some of the level design and little details here and there.. also, the enemy design was rather creepy and interesting.
I think Mercury Steam has talent, as long as they dont rush things, which they obviously aren't with LoS.

[DingusBelmondo]

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=15533     .... I know it wasn't Cox who said it... But he does seem pretty certain that Gabriel is a Belmont, and that Drac is present.

[Aridale]

looks like the main hub from LoI

[Ahasverus]

What's new up there? 

[CastlevaniaX]

I believe that Konami needs to start the hype for Castlevania : LOS because of the competition coming ahead. In Jan '09 we will have Bayonetta, in Feb '09 we will have Dante's Inferno and in March we will have GoW III and to be honest with you they all look great and very well made to push the boundaries and raise the bar  of Action games genre. If Konami didn’t decide to hype Castlevania from now, Castlevania as limited fans series would have no chance among these great games even though it looks promising and targeted to the mainstream. Konami and Mercury Steam badly need to make a hype for it at least to say " Castlevania is coming , watch out ! " because what we know so far is merely nothing to what everyone should know about it. Don't forget that the hype of Assassin's Creed 1 started in May 2006 and the release was in Nov 2007 which I think what Konami should do with Castlevania.

I think that a new trailer in Video Games Awards ( on Dec 12th ) will be the best start for Castlevania's hype. This event will have all the attention needed to any developer team and Mercury Steam is one of them, don't you agree ?

And one more thing, Trailers create a hype only when you watch it and with the passage of time gamers will lose their interest in the game especially when there are other great  games. Only avatars and signatures will make the hype live for the longest time and this is the purpose of having a trailer as early as possible. It's purely marketing.

For your information, tomorrow Dante's Inferno Demo will be available on PSN. Actually, I'm looking forward to this game 'cause it looks very interesting.

Yousef

[Nagumo]

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=15533     .... I know it wasn't Cox who said it... But he does seem pretty certain that Gabriel is a Belmont, and that Drac is present.

Is that a confirmation that Gabriel is a Belmont or what? It's kind of frustrating that it is never David Cox himself who "confirms" this. What seems to happen a lot lately.     

[RichterB]

I believe that Konami needs to start the hype for Castlevania : LOS because of the competition coming ahead. In Jan '09 we will have Bayonetta, in Feb '09 we will have Dante's Inferno and in March we will have GoW III and to be honest with you they all look great and very well made to push the boundaries and raise the bar  of Action games genre. If Konami didn’t decide to hype Castlevania from now, Castlevania as limited fans series would have no chance among these great games even though it looks promising and targeted to the mainstream.

Don't forget about Darksiders, another high-profile, Gothic-esque action-adventure game coming out in January. That game has had huge hype and coverage behind it for a while now.

It probably means that Castlevania is still deep in development and there's not much that's ready to be shown. We'll probably see more hype around E3, and the game itself will probably arrive in the Fall or Winter of 2010. Right now, though, I don't think it's on many gamers' radars.

[jimmay17]

Right now, though, I don't think it's on many gamers' radars.

It's barely even on my radar, and I'm the target audience. I don't expect it until late Summer at the very earliest.

[e105beta]

I saw it on during the E3 coverage and it rose to the top of my radar instantly. That being said, lack of hype is causing me to slowly lose interest.

[Nox_A15]

Hello everyone!

I hope my avatar and signature will rise a hype a little.

Don't forget about Darksiders, another high-profile, Gothic-esque action-adventure game coming out in January. That game has had huge hype and coverage behind it for a while now.

It probably means that Castlevania is still deep in development and there's not much that's ready to be shown. We'll probably see more hype around E3, and the game itself will probably arrive in the Fall or Winter of 2010. Right now, though, I don't think it's on many gamers' radars.

You are probably right. I think Konami is waiting for this fruitful time (God of War III, Bayonetta, Darksiders, etc.) to end, and after that they will probably start the hype for good. I hope they will give us something new in the meantime, otherwise we will forget about the game completely.

[Melanicus]

Here's a new screenshot: http://www.onelastcontinue.com/12867/new-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-screen-looks-grotesquely-awesome/

They say it's a vampire, but it looks more like a demon to me. In any case, it is awesome.

[Aridale]

I can see that bein a vampire np at all. Not in a human form of course but after you piss em off real good