Topic: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia *** NO SPOILERS

[Kamirine]

I reserved a copy from my local GameStop... will I have to ask for one?

Depends on how your Gamestop is.  At my store, we usually just give them out at time of purchase and it's already attached to the game so we can make sure all the pre-orders get one.  Another stores hand them out as soon as they get them (so I'd ask) and others...well...they don't hand them out because the employees take them. To those employees...just smack em around a bit until they give you one. XD  But I'd start asking about it towards the end of this week and definately next week, since that's when we usually start getting pre-order bonuses in for a game (about a week or two before it comes out) if we haven't already.

According to Gamespot & Gamerankings.com, Gamepro gave the game a 4 out of 5 (80%):
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/945837.asp

Can't find an the actual review to read yet. 

[darkwzrd4]

Well, I ordered and paid for my copy of the game a month ago.  While there was no mention of the soundtrack coming with it, I intend to go to the store before the release date so that I can ask what their policy is regarding the soundtrack and if I can get a copy of it even though I already paid for the copy of the game.  Hopefully, I will be able to get a copy of the soundtrack soon.

[Little Dracula]

Is the release date set for Europe? Some places say January 2009 , other november 2008. 

[Dark Nemesis]

In Reply To #2028

Unfortunately the official Europe release date is January 2009, that's why i have preorder and imported it.

[Algernon]

It doesn't make any difference if I preordered my game in September? And that I didn't pay for it yet, I just put down five dollars?

[shelverton.]

Why oh why do they always release Castlevania games in January/february in Europe? Isn't that like the worst time of the year to release a game? Nobody buys games in January. NOBODY I TELLZ YA (except da rich kidz)

Anyway. I think I'll wait til January. There are too many games coming up in the next few months. I should be done with them by the time Ecclesia comes here.

Though I'm gonna stay away from these forums as soon as you american people get your hands on the game. I don't want everything spoiled like with... HoD, LoI, AoS, DoS, CoD, PoR.... well every game released since I first came to this forum, lol.

[Rodriguezjr]

Pre-orderd at GameCrazy. Also, they are also getting the art gift thing for Judgement as well.

[Kamirine]

In Reply To #2030

As long as you reserved the game, you should (Should being that key word because I know some Gamestops can be shady from what I hear) get the pre-order bonus.  They're only suppose to be for reserve, however, it is on a 'while supplies last' basis. (Meaning, if we have 10 reserves but only 6 bonuses, what my store does is give them to the first 6 people that reserved it. My neighboring store however gives to the reserve customers on a first come, first serve basis.)  That's why I say start checking on it: if you let them know about it (even if they don't know) and often, most employees tend to remember "That guy/girl that came in asking for that bonus.  I'll hold them one for sure."  At least, we do in my store anyway.  My neighboring stores are pretty cool too: they'll even call (if they run out) my store and ask if we have extras for their reserve customers, and vise-versa. 

I'll admit it...I would reserve the game, ask about the bonus and if they didn't have it, express then and there if I would be able to get one upon picking the game up.

Hell, I've gotten someone in trouble before I worked for the company over giving my bonus to a personal friend after JUST TELLING ME they didn't have it and I reserved the game. (I lucked out, their DM was there at the time. Pretty nice, sense I got my bonus and a discount on the game as an apology.)

So I guess it just depends on how awesome your Gamestop is near you. 

And as for the Gamepro review:
Pros: A fun and complex addition to the Castlevania franchise.

Cons: It's ridiculously hard, has some confusing puzzles and some design faults.

To elaborate on the puzzles and how it's ridiculously hard:

"Ecclesia has some aggravating quirks that cut into the fun. Take, for instance, the fact that it treats every attack as a magic spell, even using physical weapons (this is where the Glyph system comes into play). This means you expend mana points every time you attack something. The mana regenerates quickly enough but this unnecessarily caps your offensive capabilities and often leaves you in vulnerable in sticky situations."

"The Boss fights will also frustrate you as you'll usually defeat them only after learning their patterns and there are confusing environmental puzzles that have no clear solution."

Score was 4/5

Source:
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26620012

Apparently, the guy reviewing the game wanted to email Konami and ask them for help. 

[Profbeanburrito]

In Reply To #2033

I'm glad to hear this game is supposedly frustrating and hard!

[Long John Silver]

The mana regenerates quickly enough but this unnecessarily caps your offensive capabilities and often leaves you in vulnerable in sticky situations.

so wait, once the magic runs out you get immobile and incapacitated, or somehow devoid of skill to avoid the enemy? or does it somehow remove your armor, making you more vulnerable?

the player is only as vulnerable as his skill makes him to be. if your skills suck, you'll get hit even with full mp.

[Kamirine]

In Reply To #2035

It's pretty much like this:  I remember when I played it at conference and I'll admit, I was hacking and slashing away and wasn't paying attention to my MP.  I ran out, in the middle of a room with enemies coming from either side.  Let's just say that's the first time in a long time I've run away from a skeleton.  The rooms are surprising packed sometimes with enemies (the room I'm speaking of had the horse ghost heads coming in from the air and skeletons swarming me with bone throwing on the ground, along with some other enemy I've never seen before)and with this game, you really can't mindlessly hack away at enemies like before: some weapons do surprising little damage and you have to combine and select the right weapons for certain sticky situations. 

So this game actually does take some strategy to play it.

As for the rest of the cons:

With the boss fights, the reviewer is right as well, but honestly I'm not sure how that's a con, considering I've played more than a few games that require you to learn a boss pattern or weakness before you can defeat said enemy. (Like Scarlet from SH:H for something more recent.)

The confusing environmental puzzles thing I don't know though because I didn't get to anything like that when I played. But it reminds me of Simon's Quest and honestly, that just made me more excited to be honest. (Unless it's like the 'kneel in front of the wall, select this and that and a tornado comes' kind of WTF?! confusing...)

And the design flaws I assume must be the 'copy/paste' thing I guess.

[Long John Silver]

So this game actually does take some strategy to play it.

and that's good to hear. the battle system's been getting stale and boring, what with lots of worthless weapons you don't even use, and how you could defeat many bosses and enemies by just mashing the attack button and hope you'll outlast them.

[jimmay17]

"The Boss fights will also frustrate you as you'll usually defeat them only after learning their patterns and there are confusing environmental puzzles that have no clear solution."

This has to be one of the dumbest criticisms I've ever read in a video game review. The point of boss battles, hell, even lesser enemy battles is to learn, and therefore exploit, their attack patterns. It's called strategy.

I must admit I'm slowly starting to get excited about this game (and just in time, too). The more classical side-scrolling feel and increased difficulty makes me hope that maybe, just maybe, they've finally found the right balance this time, and created a more memorable Castlevania experience.

[Omegasigma]

i may have ordered the game, yet i'm still iffy on it, i'll need to play it, then i'm sure i'll get hooked on it :p

[Kamirine]

NVM, pics on another post.

Though I do wonder, that glowing red sword Shanoa holds on the cover on the game and that's used on the back cover, if it's important. (Could that be Dominus?) I just *assumed* that Dominus might be the whip glyph that was asked about and IGA skirted around the answer to.