POSTED 7/11/10


CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW

Konami
PS3 (also on Xbox 360)

Don’t mention the (God of) War… Oops, too late, but then we’re hardly Scott Nofriends there. However, whereas many are flinging accusations of plagiarism at this 'reboot' – sick of that term yet? We sure the fuck are - of the Castlevania franchise, we see things differently.

Basically, as good as GoWIII was, we reckon Castlevania: Lords of Shadow delivers more on promises made for Kromedome Kratos’ last PS3 outing - most notably seamless transition between cutscenes and playable ones.

So why so much hating? Well, we reckon some kiddy-widdies have cracked the sulky-wulkies that it isn’t specifi-wicially a Castlevania game in the true sense of the name. Jebus, if you want 2D, get Harmony of Despair on XBLA, it doesn’t get much more old school Castlevania than that! Well, unless you exhume the NES from mothballs.

So, it’s the Middle Ages, and our heroic Beaumont is a swarthy bloke named Gabriel. He’s out to save souls stuck in purgatory by certain titular dark forces, including that of his sweetie-pie. With more combos than we could count unlocking along the quest, direct attacks and more general stun-all-those-in-the-vicinity ones, several puzzles and some jaw-slackeningly beautiful scene rendering, not to mention voice work from such folk as Robert Carlyle and Sir Patrick Stewart, LoS is truly a remarkable production – Hideo Metal Gear Kojima’s watchful eye likely helping.

Sure, Lords of Shadow owes debts to many – Shadow of the Colossus and Assassin’s Creed two that boing to mind in addition to the aforementioned – but if inspiration is taken to craft an experience that ultimately surprises in its completeness, then what’s the problem? It isn’t like essentially every other game ever hasn’t owed a debt to something preceding it. It’s evolution baby, get with it or keep banging those rocks together...

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