Castlevania: Lord of Shadows

[The NZA]

 

So, this is the Castlevania that Kojima's somehow tied to. I know next to nothing on it, im not even sure if if the one we heard of prior that was gonna feature Alucard in some kinda Symphony of the Night setting...i just know its 3D, and while i kinda dug Lament of Innocence for a few hours, i remain cautious, depending on how involved Kojima is.

...which is to say i expect it to be as enjoyable as it could be confusing.

 

 

wait, here's some details:

 

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has taken the reins of the Castlevania series from fellow Konami designer Koji Igarashi for the series' latest title Lords of Shadow.

 

The game has been farmed out to Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam and brings together a star studded cast that features Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle.

[The NZA]

new info coming in on this one, i'm expecting gameplay @ E3.

 

Music will play a big part in the game as well; "Lords of Shadow is a melancholy tale of this guy trying to bring back his dead wife. So we wanted to have a somber and dark musical score to go with it. We still have Castlevania themes throughout that you'll hear and you'll find familiar, but they fit into the game and the world that we've created...I'd say a third of the score includes classic tunes that long-time fans will immediately recognize."

 

That doesn't mean it's all completely doom-and-gloom though. While you probably won't whip a wall and have a fully cooked turkey fall out, Cox says, "There are light moments, comedic moments in the game." But the major influences come from the dark, earlier games. "Super Castlevania IV is my favorite game; and the ideas behind that game, the whip-swinging, the latching on to things -- that never got done again. And I really wanted to have that in there." Those are ideas that tie into Lord of Shadow's focus on action-platforming, but Cox assures us that's it's not just mindless hack-and-slash. "You do gain experience, and experience points are your currency for purchasing new combos and abilities...and there are linear stages, and some of those stages are, 'go from Point A to Point B,' yes. But many stages are quite open for you to explore with lots of hidden artifacts to collect...and you can go back to revisit any stage you've completed to collect every last item."

 

The first thing I thought when I saw the game, however, was God of War 3. The trailer Konami showed off at the event included massive, Titan-like enemies and third-person, combo-based combat. But Cox defends the game, saying, "We wanted to have big enemies and things like that, the scale and the epicness of it all. The comparisons to God of War are, I think, unfounded. When people see the game, play the game, they'll see that Lords of Shadow is actually a slower-paced affair. There's more exploration, there's more freedom for the player to look around levels and find things. Sure, we have cool combat and cool setpieces; you need to have something like that to appeal to gamers today. But we still have those elements that made Castlevania great. We're not moving that far away. I think when people see the game they'll go, 'That's Castlevania.'"

 

With about 15 hours of gameplay and over 50 stages, and settings which go well beyond the castle, Lords of Shadow at least has the ideas in place to make something exciting. And though Mercury Steam probably won't have anything playable available until E3, I did learn about one fun Easter Egg. Cox verifies, "We've got the Konami Code in the game. If you enter the Konami Code, you can have the experience points pop up above the heads of the enemies, if you're an old-school, Symphony of the Night fan." So, while Konami might be focusing on getting new players into the game, at the least, it's not forgetting its long-time fans.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

Im a massive fan of the Casltevania series but with Hideo holding the reins Im quite worried. Casltevania doesn't need to be a big story game. All you need to know is Drac is back, here is a whip, there is his castle now go kill a shitload of things. Not that im saying change is bad becasue the 3D CV games arnt too good and hopefully they take some lessions from God of War and make the action alot better. Personally I would love the return of massive boss fights like the ones from Symphony of the Night.

 

So I guess is mixed feelings at the moment lets hope they get it right this time.

 

But on the other hand I will burn my copy of Lord of Shadow and mail the ashes to Konami if they inclulde a boss called Metal Gear...

[Jables]

All sexy hat's talk makes me want to go play SotN(which I haven't yet), but I was watching one of those insipid XBL videos where people send in questions, and the gmaeplay they showed looked like dog's cock. Idunno, I think I'm just gonna go play the one everyone goes on about and skip right on over this.

[The NZA]

aw, cmon SH. Kojima's not gonna MGS this, though if we could retroactively let him do that to say Castlevania 64 id support it. im not sure, but im getting that he has minimal input here (his team's all up ons Peace Walker at the moment, dont forget the other half of them is on Raiden)

 

All sexy hat's talk makes me want to go play SotN(which I haven't yet),

 

 

...seriously? man, you're in for such a treat. id share my XBLA copy if i could. one of those games i replay every 2-3 years, just a lotta fun.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

SotN is like the Ye Olde version of Super Metroid. Its full of win.

 

Simon Belmont running around Romaina in a cardboard box now that would be fun.

 

I just dont want to see CV turned into a pure story driven game. I like the CV 3/Rondo of Blood system with its level branches and different characters but in saying that did anyone use Charoltte in Portait of Ruin? didn't think so.

[The NZA]

i like a little story with my CV, but not too much. the GBA/DS metroidvania games have way more story, im not expecting much from this one, but that's fine, as long as its none of this Kratos-esque "i aint got time to bleed" badassery, i really dont want that in this game/series. the gothic horror feel/monster design, level layout etc are central here...but yeah, you'll prolly not get codec calls from Rose or whoever here, fear not.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

Yeah Aria of Sorrow is one of the best ARRPG CV games it really brought out the kleptomaniac in me. I think I spent and extra 8 hours on that game collecting all the souls. That system did that make that game damn fun. I also had the best story too.

[C_U_SPACECOWBOY]

Im a massive fan of the Casltevania series but with Hideo holding the reins Im quite worried.

 

I wouldn't sweat it. I have the feeling that Kojima's involvement in this is the gaming equivalent of slapping Quentin Tarantino Presents onto a movie like Hero, which he had nothing to do with.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

Well i'll just wait until after the 45 minute intro to justify my fears and by the time im sneaking around the skeletons and tapping on walls to distract them, ill be hanging by my fucking neck in my fucking closet.

[The NZA]

...is it wrong that i want to play that game? i hope there's nanobots.

[Mr. Sexy Hat]

...is it wrong that i want to play that game? i hope there's nanobots.

 

The nanobots make your whip level up. I hope the collectors edition comes with a Devo cd.

 

when a problem comes around you must whip it!

[The NZA]

yeah, its a cam. yeah, still looks like Kratosvania so far. hype?

 

Video Games | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | E3 2010: Demo Gameplay Part I (Cam)

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

 

[The NZA]

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1) still don't feel like castlevania to me.

2) does look a bit more interesting at parts, though.

[C_U_SPACECOWBOY]

I was really excited about this one initially, especially with Kojima's involvement as producer.

 

What is worrying me now about it is the game hits in less than a month and we aren't really hearing/seeing much about it....ill omen?

[The NZA]

well, i'd had that concern @ dead rising 2, but you patient zero kids seem to be enjoying it. is it still on time for that date? mebbe the house of Metal Gear forgot how to market their other IP's, no idea.