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

[Dremn]

nevermind

[corneliab]

Indeed.
I'm about to delete the last four-six pages, because people don't know how to FUCKING USE THE SPOILER TAGS IN INSTALLED IN THIS FORUM SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS GAME!

1. They're fucking ugly.

2. There was no need to use them prior to the recent title change, since it already indicated that there would be spoilers in this thread.

[Vampire Killer]

1. They're fucking ugly.

2. There was no need to use them prior to the recent title change, since it already indicated that there would be spoilers in this thread.

I was looking to find out if this was available on XBL, w/o making an entire thread about it.  Since this was just released, how about some common courtesy.

please

[corneliab]

I was looking to find out if this was available on XBL, w/o making an entire thread about it. Since this was just released, how about some common courtesy.

How about some common sense?

If you don't see it on XBL, it isn't there. Jumping into the all-encompassing LoS thread to confirm the obvious, especially when it's clearly marked "SPOILERS" to boot, probably isn't such a great idea.

[Nagumo]

In handy how?

It makes you stronger than God? 

Also, I agree about the spoilers. 

[cecil-kain]

How about some common sense?

If you don't see it on XBL, it isn't there. Jumping into the all-encompassing LoS thread to confirm the obvious, especially when it's clearly marked "SPOILERS" to boot, probably isn't such a great idea.

This.  Spoiler tags are a tad redundant when the topic is already marked for spoilers.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

That's why I chose not to delete the last few and so pages, though I've been getting messaged to hell and back about them.

I will say this:
Even if it's redundant and the thread says so, use 'em anyway.  I don't care if you think they're ugly.  If you don't like them, feel free to post somewhere else, because you would be breaking the first rule of this forum: Don't be an ass.

I would rather have common courtesy than common sense, because I expect the forum members that come to this forum to have common courtesy, more than I expect the entire populace who lurks around, to have common sense.

[cecil-kain]

That's why I chose not to delete the last few and so pages, though I've been getting messaged to hell and back about them.

I will say this:
Even if it's redundant and the thread says so, use 'em anyway.  I don't care if you think they're ugly.  If you don't like them, feel free to post somewhere else, because you would be breaking the first rule of this forum: Don't be an ass.

I would rather have common courtesy than common sense, because I expect the forum members that come to this forum to have common courtesy, more than I expect the entire populace who lurks around, to have common sense.

Your rationale is quite sound.  Touché.

[Tanatra]

Finally caved in and bought it. My thoughts:

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It's obvious that Konami didn't give MS a big enough budget to allow for fully rendered cinema scenes, but in doing so they were able to dedicate more time to the gameplay, and it shows. Sure, they crammed a lot of puzzle in there to extend the playing time, but with the exception of that tedious buzzsaw section, they were quite enjoyable for the most part.

The two main criticisms I've seen of Reverie are that it is too short (which is well warranted) and the direction of the storyline. Unfortunately, due to the way the DLC was advertised, I think way too many people got their hopes up. The trailer for Reverie made it very clear that Laura was the one who turned Gabriel into a vampire. Cox gives away far too many details about the story. LoS's ending/plot twist was strongly hinted at throughout the entire course of the game. Also, the "Back to the Future" reference in the Founder's Quarters level was cheesy and unnecessary.

I felt that Robert Carlyle did a vastly better job narrating the opening of each level than Patrick Stewart. They probably went with Stewart for the main game due to name recognition, but it would have been interesting to see Gabriel's "descent into darkness" through his own words.

For those who feel that this is a retarded way to explain Dracula's origins, answer this: Were the previous explanations really any better? In CV3, the completely ambiguous "Poltergiest King" gives Trevor Belmont the Vampire Killer whip to prevent Dracula from "practicing sorcery to create a bad world filled with evil."  : Legend's story was/is almost universally hated, and LoI? Just some guy renouncing his faith because his wife died, then duping his best friend into killing a powerful vampire so that he could claim his powers. Sorry guys, but Castlevania has never been known for its brilliant storytelling.

Call LoS's version of the story ridiculous all you want, but in the context of character development, few games can match it.

Overall, it was quite good, but not long enough to justify spending $10. However, I can totally see Konami pulling some kind of bullshit that requires Reverie to be purchased in order for Resurrection to become available.

[Harrycombs]

Okay, so I already bought it and have played it a bit, but

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Is it even worth finishing? I have not had any fun at all and I'm at the room with all of the spinning blades. Did they not listen to us at all? We pretty much overwhelmingly agreed that the Necromancer's abyss was the best part of the game, yet all we get to do now is shimmy along walls. Its fucking boring, and those cut scenes when you die (although you can skip them) are incredibly annoying. I just don't have the will power to finish that room with the spinning blades. What the hell were they thinking. I already read the spoilers and seeing that the story sucks too, I have no motivation to actually finish this.

Mercury Steam! Give us the option to zoom in a little. Those blades are freaking tiny. And I can hardly see the blue ones on my TV. I had to literally get right next to my TV to actually see the things. I understand you guys like wide dramatic shots, but they don't work. You pull back so far you can't see anything at all because their so small. The number of times I have walked into a blade that I couldn't even see... What the hell were you guys thinking? Do you check to make sure your ideas are fun before putting them into the game? Your mistakes are so basic and amateurish that its just astounding!

And it doesn't even feel like a castle! Has anyone at Mercury Steam actually played SCV4? They talk about it being a source of inspiration all the time but there is not a single thing in this game that remotely feels like SCV4. That game was focused and had tight level design, and had an atmosphere that had a sense of adventure but also was able to be creepy and gothic. LoS, despite moving back into the castle, still feels like its been ripped out of God of War!

This game is fucking terrible. I had hoped that they could redeem themselves with the DLC, but their new levels are easily amongst their worst. You guys at Mercury Steam didn't learn a thing. I want my $10 back. And I will not buy Resurrection, and I will not buy your sequel.

Finally caved in and bought it. My thoughts:

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For those who feel that this is a retarded way to explain Dracula's origins, answer this: Were the previous explanations really any better? In CV3, the completely ambiguous "Poltergiest King" gives Trevor Belmont the Vampire Killer whip to prevent Dracula from "practicing sorcery to create a bad world filled with evil."  : Legend's story was/is almost universally hated, and LoI? Just some guy renouncing his faith because his wife died, then duping his best friend into killing a powerful vampire so that he could claim his powers. Sorry guys, but Castlevania has never been known for its brilliant storytelling.

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At least Castlevania 3 new it was campy and didn't treat itself so seriously like LoS does. Those narrations are just incredibly pretentious. Gabriel keeps moaning about losing his humanity, but he hasn't done anything wrong at all! How has he lost even a shred of his humanity? If they were trying to make him into some sort of anti-hero, they have failed miserably. If there going to make a more complex story, it at least needs to make sense!

[darkwzrd4]

Well, I broke down and bought Reverie today.  I've already finished it.

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The part in the second level with the spinning blades was stupid and unnecessary.  It was also by far the hardest part of the DLC.  Aside from that part, I liked it.  It was challenging and fun to play.  I also love Gabriel's (I forget the voice actor's name) narration.  It's much better than Zobek's (Patrick Stewert).  It may have been interesting if Gabriel was doing the narration the entire game.   I can't wait for Resurrection.

I also have a question.  If a human has to completely drain a vampire's blood in order to become a vampire, then how did Carmilla create so many without dying?

[Pedrith]

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I'm guessing that Carmilla's power at the time of her transformation was far stronger than Laura's power.  I'm also guessing that Laura is, relatively speaking, rather young for a vampire and may not know how much blood really is necessary for converting a person into a vampire.

Cheers,

David

[crisis]

man dis spoiler tagz sure iz ugly!!!!

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I didn't have a problem with the spinning blades, it required patience but I wouldn't say it was hard.. about Laura, she basically tells Gabby that she's been alive for centuries & is well versed in taking lives, so she was fully aware of what she was doing/what would happen to her.

I would also say that I still prefer Mathias' transformation than Gabriel's (for now). Mathias had passionate hate towards God & it shows; HE manipulated the events to get what HE wanted, whereas Gabriel was & continues to be manipulated; his whole demeanor is just "meh, whatever, can't change my fate," while Mathias willingly CHANGED his fate of dying a regular human death & becoming one with Chaos. This opinion is subject to change once Resurrection, etc. is released, but as of right now LoI's Dracula seems more "authentic."

Just my 2.

[Nagumo]

The vampire thing with Laura does indeed make much sense. Though I suppose you could argue that she

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just passed his powers on to Gabriel rather then just turning him.

The normal way a person would get turned is probably by just getting bitten since that is pretty much a common rule now in vampire fiction.

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It would also explain why Gabriel doesn't turn into a pig demon because he already has several centuries of vampire experience.

     

For those who feel that this is a retarded way to explain Dracula's origins, answer this: Were the previous explanations really any better? In CV3, the completely ambiguous "Poltergiest King" gives Trevor Belmont the Vampire Killer whip to prevent Dracula from "practicing sorcery to create a bad world filled with evil." 

That's from the localized manual. The Japanese storyline explains things a lot better. I don't have a problem with the Lords origin story though.     

[Tanatra]

man dis spoiler tagz sure iz ugly!!!!

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I would also say that I still prefer Mathias' transformation than Gabriel's (for now). Mathias had passionate hate towards God & it shows; HE manipulated the events to get what HE wanted, whereas Gabriel was & continues to be manipulated; his whole demeanor is just "meh, whatever, can't change my fate," while Mathias willingly CHANGED his fate of dying a regular human death & becoming one with Chaos. This opinion is subject to change once Resurrection, etc. is released, but as of right now LoI's Dracula seems more "authentic."

Just my 2.

For his version of Dracula's origins, IGA borrowed very heavily from the early 90's film Bram Stoker's Dracula (right down to the name Elizabetha!) The Dracula played by Gary Oldman openly hated God, too, but his behavior throughout the film was characteristic of someone who was misguided and alone rather than pure evil.

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Gabriel was manipulated and emotionally tortured to the point of pure apathy towards the world, and it was evident in the Epilogue that his personality is going to be similar to that of Bram Stoker's Dracula. What has yet to be fully explained is how this causes him to start consciously committing evil and losing God's favor.

Does this fit many people's opinions of how CV Dracula should be? Probably not, I'm sure a lot of people just want a villain who's straight-up evil and nothing else. I can't even say that I'm comfortable with it, as Gabriel is more or less just an "emo Drac". Either way, I don't even think Resurrection will answer all the questions we have as it will probably just end once The Forgotten One is defeated. We'll just have to wait until the sequel.

That's from the localized manual. The Japanese storyline explains things a lot better. I don't have a problem with the Lords origin story though.     

That is true about the Japanese CV3 manual (I was mainly talking about the in-game introduction.) The thought even entered my mind while I was typing that post, but I neglected to mention it for some reason.