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

[CastlevaniaX]

This obsession many of you have with comparing games has nothing to do with games quality -which is only thing that really matters-, but has ALL to do with your lack of brains to say anything interesting. Please, in the name of Mankind, stop that nonsense, boring bullshit and start talking interesting stuff we can enjoy and participate or shut the fuck up! I'm totally sick of that bullshit as -I'm sure- many people is.

I've the right to say whatever I wanna say, so show some respect pal.

What I said earlier has nothing to do with the what we will find out later in E3, it has nothing to do with the game being great or bad. What I'm saying is that MS is getting this creature's design from GOW series without adding any creativity to it from their side. For the sake of God, it just looks like Gaya ( look at the other screenshots ). Not only the titan, even the atmosphere itself. I could photoshop the first screenshot, putting Kratos instead of Gabriel Belmont and a lot of people would say ( I haven't seen that in GOW 3! have I missed something in that game ? ).

This is exactly what I meant. I'm still looking for this game and I'm so thrilled about it. As per this Titan, this is a rip-off .. not having inspiration.not this time.


And one more thing,this is my opinion which could be right or could be wrong. However, it's still my opinion. So, deal with it.

[DragonSlayr81]

I actually don't see what some people mean when they say those pics don't look CV-ish? They look EXTREMELY CV-ish to me. I'd like to think I'm good at distinguishing certain themes that make something "feel" like they should. Maybe the mysitcal forest with the green swirls and pixie dust looked the most un-CV, but everything else(and I mean EVERYTHING) is soaked richly in the blood of what makes CV look like CV. I can tell you, for a fact, what wouldn't make it feel CV-ish, setting it in the lands of Everdale, where the hero is a knight named Loegrif Boggins, who must rescue the land from the evil sorcerer Magnar Raventooth. He bands together with elves, dwarves and faerie-folk, traveling through the Mystical Forests of Ahl'Thurl, the Cave Chasyms of Mongroth and the Deadly Swamps of Kaguul, just to recruit the army of good and venture off into Magnar's kingdom, the Lands of Darkgarde! THAT probably wouldn't feel CV-ish. The names, alone, don't feel CV-ish. It would feel as CV-ish as if they made a Pac-Man game that took place in a post-apocalyptic world where a elite squad known as the PAC(Postapocalyptic. Area. Control)-Men, have to venture off into the dreaded landscape and recover PAC-pellets that help them defeat the dreaded Gene Ghosts, remnants of the apocalyptic fallout who's souls have merged with the radioactive winds and are bound to the Earth as tormented spirits that aim to destroy the survivors of humanity.

[CastlevaniaX]

http://twitpic.com/1u5bcl

Can anyone get scans of this magazine ?

[Kingshango]

Well this thread will be filled with arguments untill E3(then filled with even more arguments) so with that I take my leave untill June 14. So I'll be back when the new footage rolls around.

So like the hardcore legend Mick Foley says "Have a nice day "

But before I go can someone pick up that magazine Castle X posted?

[Rugal]

Holy crap! That looks awesome! Look at that castle in the background too!

[thernz]

I hope Gabriel can scratch people with that gauntlet of his.
meow

[DingusBelmondo]

IT LOOKS LIKE SKELETON MUMMY.  I love it. I love it soo much. Let me point at things that people would say aren't very castlevania had they been transformed to 3D
"Castlevania 2 Belmonts Revenge *besides dracs castle*"
"Castlevania Bloodlines *almost all levels*"
"Castlevania Portrait of Ruin *all the portraits*"
ect. ect.
The point is. we have a seemingly HUGE Evil Castle, with a Clock Tower, a Library, a Labrotory, Lots of Vampires ECT.
So why cant we have other types of stages to keep things interesting. Who ever thought of that?
Oh yeah. Most past Castlevanias.

[Munchy]

I think that new stone giant would only be a GOW ripoff if Gabriel used a QTE to motorboat it for massive damage.

Also scans on that magazine plz

[Dremn]

Good god, that magazine cover is amazing. Gabriel looks so bad ass on that cover. Nice to finally see a really clear shot of him, now that's how you make a Belmont. You can even see Castlevania and a swarm of bats behind him!

http://www.gamestm.co.uk/interviews/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-the-epic-konami-interview-part-1-of-2/

New interview posted a few days ago, didn't see it posted anywhere in the thread. Lots of new info, and a better idea of what happened to that Alucard game.

[DragonSlayr81]

Well, Cox has no idea what the Alucard trailer was about. I'm kinda wondering if, in fact, they even WAS Japan's pitch for the next gen-CV, or something interely different altogether.

[Kamirine]

I think that new stone giant would only be a GOW ripoff if Gabriel used a QTE to motorboat it for massive damage.

Also scans on that magazine plz

Not directed to you, but geez, people are still whining about this being a GOW rip off? When GOW ripped off (completely with blow by blow of Kratos walking on a beam in the ship just like the Prince in I believe Sands of Time) Prince of Persia: SoT? With aspects that are VERY reminiscent to DMC? Goodness, I love how whenever a game is over popular, anything remotely like it is automatically a rip off, yet no one ever mentions or likes to *forget* when their precious, popular game rips off something else. Just like Halo with Goldeneye.

As for the information we're getting, I'm getting so hyped lately. Everything looks great.

[Thunderbrand]

Well, Cox has no idea what the Alucard trailer was about. I'm kinda wondering if, in fact, they even WAS Japan's pitch for the next gen-CV, or something interely different altogether.

That was my thought.

This new article posted above touches upon what was said in one of the preview interviews with Cox several months ago where it mentioned that Europe, Japan and America all pitched ideas, and the one they went with was what has evolved into LoS. This kinda led me to believe that the new Alucard game may have been Japan's pitch that was either denied, or put on the backburner for now. My guess is the game will never be produced.

[thernz]

Seems odd to showcase something that won't get the chance of getting development but I guess maybe those first trailers for both the Alucard game and Lords were shown to gauge the popularity of both.

[DragonSlayr81]

From what I heard was the IGA didn't even want to show the trailer, but Konami basically made him. Why? Again, it's one big CV mystery. The reason of being for that one trailer is just an enigma in itself. Especially how IGA can't be located. We know he's working on "something", but that "something" is never revealed. Why do I envision a Roswell-like cover-up with "men in black"-type people abducting IGA after drugging him, then shutting him away in the deepest covert offices 100 floors underground?

[RichterB]

In some of these interviews they talk about how Castlevania has been really/overly Japanese. Excluding Rondo and some of the latter IGA titles, I never saw that...

Anyway, about Western developers with Japanese titles, and changes made, it's worth reposting this comment I made that I think a lot of people missed:

OK, so I'm playing the 2009 3D Bionic Commando (PS3), and I realized two things. 1.) It's nowhere near as bad as reviewers said, 2.) Theoretically, this might be a preview of Lords of Shadow...

The reason I make the latter point is because this was an 80s Japanese series handled by a European developer with a long-time fan as producer. Moreover, I'm understanding what Cox has said about the old Castlevania music popping up in spots, as Bionic Commando has *brief* interludes or sequences where classic BC music is pumped in and remixed with violins or brass. So, with Castlevania LoS, it'll likely be similar in that the old music will be nostalgic teases rather than the main driving action music. Moving on, Cox has said that the LoS game will be level-based, but also more vast. I see that formula with Bionic Commando. The play-area in levels is quite large (almost sandbox-like), but it guides you in the right direction overall. (Some areas more successfully and excitingly than others. Early on, it feels too open, IMO). Also, you can revisit stages you've beaten in the menu.

Now, aesthetically, Bionic Commando (2009) took some hits because it didn't look *exactly* like the old game. But I am getting used to the tweaks, and think it has enough homages and visual cues (green main outfit, bionic arm, color-coded soldiers, paratroopers, communication linkups, and weapon swaps) to get the spirit of the series. I think it might be a similar mental process with LoS when playing it. I mean, the idea of a 'destroyed city' as one of the main venues in Bionic Commando seemed a bit out of place at first, but now I see how it works so well with the play mechanic. Hopefully, LoS' risks will pay off in the same way.

Now, once you get used to it, Bionic Commando has probably done swinging in 3D better than anything I've ever seen/played (it's challenging and rewarding, not on-rails and thus offering a lot of player-driven thought). I think that LoS has a tall order to match the thrill of swinging over gaps...but then, that's not LoS main mechanic. I have to say, despite being rough around the edges, at about three chapters in, Bionic Commando (2009) is extremely ambitious and rather revolutionary. It's one of the first games I can say is definitely "next-gen." Part of that is that it riskily marches to its own drum...I hope LoS carves out enough of its own unique feeling that is distinctly Castlevania as Bionic Commando has done.

(And as a final note, I've reminded myself that traditionally, every Castlevania game came up with its own visual aesthetic. Castlevania IV was not the same as Castlevania: Bloodlines, but they were both great Castlevanias. Different hardware always brings changes to the series; but those changes have been most successful when they keep the gameplay "rhythm" and overall unique mood of the Castlevania universe).

EDIT: Holy smokes! I just got to an area called the "Fissure," and it's a deep cave with waterfalls like Castlevania IV's Stage 3. I mean, it basically captures that experience in 3D, which is amazing. Looks beautiful, and you can swing from all the stalactites! This Bionic Commando game is getting better and better. I hope LoS has a cave of this size, complex layout, and interactivity.