Topic: just an old man who wants to know what's up

[Think Tank]

I've been out of the loop with new Castlevania. I read some threads here and did some googling and youtoobin on the last couple game releases, which I've never heard of until now. I'm a little bummed that the main site is so outdated. Anyway, Lords of Shadow looks pretty cool. I think it is great that the series has some fresh blood, and has Kojima Productions behind it. The trailers for it looked sharp. Unfortunately the newest game systems I own are a PS2 and a DS Lite, and since I've had my Nexus S phone with emulators and such, I don't even use those systems.

I have some questions for you all.

• Is LoS fun, and does it feel like Castlevania (regardless of canon)?
• A lot of people who cherish the CV timeline are pissed at a reboot. How do you know that the series will continue with this LoS timeline? Where was it stated that the old timeline will no longer be explored?
• Where is Paavo?
• Is Mixologist not the best Android app ever? I had to throw alcohol in there somewhere. But seriously, I just put it on random and order whatever it tells me to. Had a "Borg Blaster" tonight. Whiskey, Lemonade and Grenadine. Thank you Mixologist.
• I'm a "master hunter?" Sick, brah! Awards and shit too. Baller. If I don't post for another 2 years you better make me a duke or something.
• Should this thread be locked?

[A-Yty]

It's fun for a while, but only feels like Castlevania on a couple of occasions.

Nothing about the old timeline is certain at the moment. But LoS sold well, so..

Paavo has been out of the CV scene for years. We have practically begged him to come back, to no success. I think he has more important things in his life nowadays.

[Tanatra]

• Is LoS fun, and does it feel like Castlevania (regardless of canon)?

It's a great game, but it doesn't feel much like CV. In fact, if you didn't notice the "CV" in the title and numerous name drops from throughout the series, you probably wouldn't even realize that you were playing a CV game at all.

• A lot of people who cherish the CV timeline are pissed at a reboot. How do you know that the series will continue with this LoS timeline? Where was it stated that the old timeline will no longer be explored?

The majority of these people take CV far too seriously and will probably all commit suicide en-masse if it turns out that the old timeline is now abandoned.

• Where is Paavo?

Teh real world hath swallowed him whole. 

• Is Mixologist not the best Android app ever? I had to throw alcohol in there somewhere. But seriously, I just put it on random and order whatever it tells me to. Had a "Borg Blaster" tonight. Whiskey, Lemonade and Grenadine. Thank you Mixologist.

lolwut

• I'm a "master hunter?" Sick, brah! Awards and shit too. Baller. If I don't post for another 2 years you better make me a duke or something.

Yeah the rewards are a rather new development. You'll probably get a "Super Old Dungeonite" award as well soon.

• Should this thread be locked?

Nah, I can already see this topic being far more entertaining than the typical "LoS herp derp" and "Future of CV" circle jerks that often pervade this section.

[Neobelmont]

To me LoS was no still is alot of fun. The reason why I liked it was because I played as a Belmont again.
Yet besides that if you have not played I can say that for one the combat is awesome I do not want to spoil everytthing but I think you can get about 50 moves in total, The levels are really well detailed I have never seen a game like this in a while, the music is good. The story is acceptable it's more good than bad in my opinion you will see why it will leave questions. There is alot more yet I would need to buckle down on really giving a good explaination it's just a general idea from me right now.

Now does it feel like castlevania you really have to play it to obtain an answer. I think alot of people say it's not and to tell the truth I do not know why just that some from what I understand did not give it a chance. To me it felt like Belmont's revenge from the fantasy aspect from it a bit of Rondo because I could go back to different levels, the combat of Lament of innocence one button is light,hard,sub-weapon,and dodge movement, and how you do not start at the castle first. All in all to me it felt like an old school CV title to me.

But that is not to say that it is not without faults. A general complaint were the camera angles. Now one thing I do not get was how the right stick was not used in the game so that could have been used for camera control quite easy it's not too much of a problem but sometimes it can be pain.

Next would be the platfoming to me this really was odd it felt like alot like it was automatic almost artificial from what I hear think uncharted if you ever had played that before. It's not that bad but it's not good either the real challenge was not if you could move at the right time but where to go. you climb alot of ledges that really don't feel like there is any consequence for making a mistake it's just a matter of finding shiny ledge a to b no big timing to MOST of them some were good but to me felt weak it's better that Lament of innocence and curse of darkness but it's not as platform centrict as say Legacy of Darkness the feeling just did not rub me off as true platforming which all 3D CV's lacked except the N64 titles.

I can't think of anything else right now sorry about that but that it's just a  quick broad opinion of it right now. Also note to self type more quickly I should have been the second post dang it.

[Think Tank]

Yeah I like the new updates to the forum. The icons everywhere are a nice touch. I still want someone to explain to me how to embed a SWF flash link in a post. It's also good to see the whole GCD board with posts less than a few days old. I think it's hilarious that the old forum is still up.

So I think I'm going to have to get my LoS fix from youtube videos at the moment. Can't justify a new console purchase. Just don't have the time for hard-core-next-gen gaming these days. Although reviews for the new Zelda game is weening me towards getting a Wii. The Castlevania game I've been the most excited to play in the last few years was the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood. Still want to try that one pretty bad.

Also, nice review Neo.

[C Belmont]

How do you know that the series will continue with this LoS timeline?

Because Cox has already confirmed that he is working on two unannouced projects, he has also commented on events not covered by LOS or it's DLC, and he has been paying visits to Dracula's homeland presumably for research purposes, not to mention the fact that Konami loves the green stuff & LOS brought in plenty of that.

I think I'm going to have to get my LoS fix from youtube videos at the moment

If your gonna do that then just skip straight to the ending, you'll either love it or hate it. I hated it.

[Neobelmont]

Konami loves the green stuff & LOS brought in plenty of that.

How much copies were sold all what I have to guess on is this

http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/browse.php?name=lords+of+shadow

[Think Tank]

Well I for one am not bothered by the reboot. It doesn't erase the previous games from existence, or deplete my enjoyment and memories of them. I think a shitty game set in the old timeline (N64) is worse than a stellar game set in a revamped timeline.

...And my one award is for always being around to comment on posts?!?! LOL, that's some funny stuff. I average about 0.20 posts per month.

[Reinhart77]

I like what they did with the story "unless" this story completely replaces the main timeline, in which case I can do nothing but lament the end of the Dracula vs. Belmont paradigm. 

It was Castlevania game enough for me.  I respect the amount of focus that they gave on the whip in this game, but I'd really rather be playing Lament of Innocence, which has a much greater focus on sub-weapons.

[crisis]

Lords of Shadow definitely has its CV moments. It doesn't really show until after chapter IV, as you approach the "Land of the Vampires." I've said this dozens of times, but I feel it still rings true; if you look at LoS as "Castlevania:The Movie:The Game," it becomes much easier to appreciate. If a Hollywood director was in charge of making this, then LoS would most likely be the result. That means no hearts coming out of candles, no breakable walls for pot roast, no classic music, etc. Instead everything takes a serious, Hollywood-like approach & feel. Don't jump into this game thinking it's a 3D version of the NES games, it bares some resemblance but just as many differences.

That said, I felt the game was too long and there were several questionable gameplay choices that the developers either mislead or straight up lied to us about, such as quick-time events for literally every encounter, clumsy "Titan" battles that Dave Cox himself admitted was an homage to Shadow of the Colossus, monotonous music all throughout (srsly you shouldn't be hearing music in chapter IX that you heard in chapter III), uninspired enemy designs, etc. Add to that 2 DLC's and you'll have one long ass weekend of LoS.

Plot-wise it was alright, the twists are lame as you'd might expect but whatever. The game is like a reversed, mirror bizarro-version of Lament of Innocence, but if you're not big on story then it shouldn't bother you that much (except LoS takes its story a lot more srsly).

If you're thinking of getting a Wii then you should definitely check out Castlevania The Adventure:ReBirth; it's just as the title suggests, it references the canon timeline in the intro (yay) & doesn't go out its way to change the CV formula as much as LoS does. It's a lot of fun and it proves that 2D CV can still have an audience. Only downside is that it's download-only and a Wii exclusive.

So will the classic timeline continue? That's hard to say, since MercurySteam signed a contract & Cox saying things like "Castlevania is in good hands," hinting that IGA's DS saga is finished and Konami only wants big-budget CV titles released now, with a few side projects here & there (Harmony of Despair for instance). If a 3DS game rumors are true but it turns out that it's a side story/pseudo-sequel set in the rebooted timeline, then that's pretty much the nail in the coffin so to speak for the classic timeline. On the other hand Dave Cox is on record saying there can be 2 timelines & his games are "not canon," so who knows. It's really up to the suits at Konami, not IGA or Cox or Kojima.


and uh, i guess i nominate Think Tank for Super Old Dungeonite & Lurker awards, respectively. prunyuuu~~

[PFG9000]

It's good to hear from you, Think Tank!  How is the movie business?

Lords of Shadow kind of split the fanbase, but it seems overall it got a so-so reception with a very small handfull of fans loving it.  My opinion is that it's a very well-made game with lots of nice touches, but not a good Castlevania.  I thought it felt like a generic fantasy game in the Devil May Cry/God of War vein, but with the Castlevania name stamped on top and a bunch of the Castlevania character names tossed onto various LoS characters where they didn't belong.  It does have some minor problems here and there, like the music not being tailored to specific areas as somebody mentioned above, but it's really a highly polished game, and yes, it's fun to play.

It hasn't officially been stated that the old timeline is dead.  We don't really know for sure.  I'm hoping some new installments come out in the old timeline, perhaps for the portables or digital-only releases.

[Opium]

I played LoS for a couple of hours and decided that I didn't like it.  It's been collecting dust ever since.

I've had the same reaction to every other 3D CV I have played.  I guess I just prefer 2D when it comes to CV.  Funny, because metroid and zelda's jump to 3D was so welcome by me.  I just don't think they were successful in their transition with CV.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I updated the site and have been fixing errors.  However, there's just been no real news aside from Kokoro Belmondo in Otomedius for X360.
I don't think that's newsworthy enough.

[Kingshango]

The reactions to LOS is indeed mixed, some like while others don't (I for one liked it) but it has it's fair share of problems that most have already been said in this thread. Konami has been quite......negligent to Castlevania as of late(completely ignoring it's 25th anniversary for starters) and most of us here are quite unsure about the fate of the old timeline. LOS, according to Konami was a success in their eyes and while im not sure about the actual numbers it is one of the top selling Castlevania games(once again according to Konami) and the sequel to it is all but confirmed offically.

IGA's whereabouts are unknown but his last sighting was at E3 2010 where he showed Castlevania Harmony of Dispair and pretty much passed the Castlevania torch to David Cox, It was kinda a sad thing to see if your a IGA fan. However IGA claims that he has 3DS kit's so a Castlevania 3DS game could be in the works but it's been a year since he said that and nothing's been said about it since.


And yes I do recommend that you HAVE to watch the ending to LOS your either gonna really like it or really hate it, it's a pretty ballsy ending with a directon that can go anywhere.

[Opium]

I just noticed that the 'old man' is 7 years younger than me.  I'm going to go jump off a bridge now.