Castlevania Demo Impressions Thread of EU PSN+ Exclusivity

Segata Sanshiro said:
Hey man, it averages 24 FPS. That's PERFECTLY cinematic! Sure, it slows down to 17 FPS at times, but that's just to make things even more cinematic.
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i hear at 2fps, the thing becomes so cinematic that it becomes real life, and then you can't distinguish between what's real or fake
 
9/10 from OXM

OXM reviewer Jon Blyth writes: 'Lords Of Shadow is big. Actually, big's too little a word. It's monolithic... From the Resi 4 mood of the scarecrow puzzle to the unexpected oddity of the music box level, this is game that seemingly hasn't heard of DLC - and decides to offer you immense value for money instead.'

OXM calls the game 'huge and magnificent', pouring particular praise on its 'vast imagination' and 'ambitious scope'.

There are a couple of niggles, not least that LOS 'sometimes fails to effectively communicate where you should be going' - a bit of pain in a game whose campaign reportedly weighs in at 20-plus hours.
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http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=266613
 
From playing God of War 3, i realised i don't like hack 'n slash at all. Is this game purely hack 'n slash or is there a good amount of platforming and puzzles breaking up the gameplay? I like the setting, characters, atmosphere and game world a lot so i'm interested but i'm wondering if this can be enjoyed by non hack'n slash loving gamers.
 
SolidSnakex said:
9/10 from OXM



http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=266613
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OXM reviewer Jon Blyth writes: 'Lords Of Shadow is big. Actually, big's too little a word. It's monolithic...
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Wow! It's huge, impenetrable, and uniform?!

Y'know, if reviewers simply can't contain themselves from using impressive-sounding adjectives, the least they could do is keep a Webster's handy.

Anyway, sounds great. Lack of guidance shouldn't be a problem for me, because I have a three-minutes to GameFAQs policy on all idiotic aimlessness in action games.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Wow! It's huge, impenetrable, and uniform?!

Y'know, if reviewers simply can't contain themselves from using impressive-sounding adjectives, the least they could do is keep a Webster's handy.

Anyway, sounds great. Lack of guidance shouldn't be a problem for me, because I have a three-minutes to GameFAQs policy on all idiotic aimlessness in action games.
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ITS MONOLITHICNESS CONTRIBUTES TO ITS ENORMITY

Really though, OXM and GameInformer scores are completely irrelevant.

Can we gameshare a demo?
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Wow! It's huge, impenetrable, and uniform?!

Y'know, if reviewers simply can't contain themselves from using impressive-sounding adjectives, the least they could do is keep a Webster's handy.

Anyway, sounds great. Lack of guidance shouldn't be a problem for me, because I have a three-minutes to GameFAQs policy on all idiotic aimlessness in action games.
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My pride will let me wander around for a full 4 minutes at times.

Now the only thing left is to find out which is the better version, ps3/360.

so far Dead Rising 2 and Enslaved are 360. Vanquish will probably be purchased on ps3 for me. Castlevania...CHOOSE!
 
Y2Kev said:
ITS MONOLITHICNESS CONTRIBUTES TO ITS ENORMITY

Really though, OXM and GameInformer scores are completely irrelevant.

Can we gameshare a demo?
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That so needs to be the title for the OP when the game comes out.

Can't wait to play this, getting the 360 version for $40.98 (love Amazon).
 
ugh, i think i'll switch my pre-order to 360. ps3 is the "lead" console for this game and its still running at sub 30 fps?

somehow i think the 360 version will be running smoother
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Anyway, sounds great. Lack of guidance shouldn't be a problem for me, because I have a three-minutes to GameFAQs policy on all idiotic aimlessness in action games.
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I really need to dial back my pride and do this more often with games.
 
Reserved the collector's edition yesterday, just owe $6 on it :lol

the process really drove home how close this is. been such a long time in coming.
 
FrenchMovieTheme said:
ugh, i think i'll switch my pre-order to 360. ps3 is the "lead" console for this game and its still running at sub 30 fps?

somehow i think the 360 version will be running smoother
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If you're really interested in the answer to this question, why don't you wait for reviews?
 
FrenchMovieTheme said:
ugh, i think i'll switch my pre-order to 360. ps3 is the "lead" console for this game and its still running at sub 30 fps?

somehow i think the 360 version will be running smoother
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There have been 360 videos of the same area and it seemed to chug in similar locations. Both versions will probably be the same.
 
Blimblim said:
Just saw that comment. I have the demo, so let me know if you still want videos.
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That would be fantastic. Anything would do. I think videos showing the combat in play would be nice.

And chances are, we are getting the E3 demo.
 
It's an old demo. Optimization is the last thing they do.

Sooo I need to play this but I am neither European nor PS+...
 
We've seen gameplay and people NOW say that 24 fps will kill it? If it truly would have killed it, wouldn't you have noticed and complained before? Geez.
 
FreedomFrisbee said:
We've seen gameplay and people NOW say that 24 fps will kill it? If it truly would have killed it, wouldn't you have noticed before? Geez.
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Don't worry, the deniers are quickly running out of time.
 
Maybe i'm not noticing things, but it seems like lately the trend is to pretend that sub-30fps games are totally great and anyone who wants a smooth playing came is crazy. I don't have a pc gaming rig ( just a peasant laptop for old games) but i remember when people would cry out for 60 frames/sec and now the mindset is " hey, a little stuttering doesn't bother me"
 
sillymonkey321 said:
Maybe i'm not noticing things, but it seems like lately the trend is to pretend that sub-30fps games are totally great and anyone who wants a smooth playing came is crazy. I don't have a pc gaming rig ( just a peasant laptop for old games) but i remember when people would cry out for 60 frames/sec and now the mindset is " hey, a little stuttering doesn't bother me"
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Some need it. Some don't. A locked framerate is fine to me as long as that framerate remains smooth enough most of the time. Shadow of the Colossus has a terrible framerate, yet some consider it to be a masterpiece. I'm one of them. I don't require everything to run silky smooth as long as the game is great.
 
Y2Kev said:
It's an old demo. Optimization is the last thing they do.

Sooo I need to play this but I am neither European nor PS+...
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We US peasants should get the demo on both platforms Tuesday, almost there!
 
FreedomFrisbee said:
We've seen gameplay and people NOW say that 24 fps will kill it? If it truly would have killed it, wouldn't you have noticed and complained before? Geez.
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Personally, up until release, I always hope a game is optimized.

When a game finally comes out, we then really know how poorly it runs.

At 24fps, I don't know if I can stomach it. 24fps is simply not acceptable under any goddamn terms in this day and age.
 
Amir0x said:
At 24fps, I don't know if I can stomach it. 24fps is simply not acceptable under any goddamn terms in this day and age.
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The gameplay videos tell the truth. every gameplay video I've seen seems to run just fine, statistics aside it doesn't bother me. now if I get the game and it drops a lot and underperforms, that'll be disappointing, but every gameplay video I've seen looks perfectly fine to me.
 
brandonh83 said:
The gameplay videos tell the truth. every gameplay video I've seen seems to run just fine, statistics aside it doesn't bother me. now if I get the game and it drops a lot and underperforms, that'll be disappointing, but every gameplay video I've seen looks perfectly fine to me.
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The fact that you're not sensitive to horrific framerates obviously means zero to me.

At 24fps, it's not going to be something playable for me for any long period of time.
 
Amir0x said:
The fact that you're not sensitive to horrific framerates obviously means zero to me.

At 24fps, it's not going to be something playable for me for any long period of time.
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I think people who played Darksiders will have no issues with this game. Framerates aside, everything else is pointing to the sleeper hit of this year. A shame no one is seeing this game for what it really stands out as Castlevania.
 
Amir0x said:
The fact that you're not sensitive to horrific framerates obviously means zero to me.

At 24fps, it's not going to be something playable for me for any long period of time.
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The framerate of the game is anything but horrific. You guys are just ultra sensitive.
 
~Kinggi~ said:
The framerate of the game is anything but horrific. You guys are just ultra sensitive.
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IF it is 24fps, it's unarguably horrific. You might be totally able to live with it, and that's fine, but like I said I'm not. And I was fully ready to get this game.

I'm not even sure how much lower gamer standards can get at this point, Christ.
 
I suppose if I can stomach Darksiders on 360 pre-patch, I can do this too but I really shouldn't fucking have to.

Are there any good shots of the ltd edition? Is the soundtrack we get with it gonna be the COMPLETE score?
 
Hope it doesn't make me a frame rate whore that I'd like at least 30fps. :/ I don't care about a couple drops but I want it mostly consistent.

FrenchMovieTheme said:
ugh, i think i'll switch my pre-order to 360. ps3 is the "lead" console for this game and its still running at sub 30 fps?

somehow i think the 360 version will be running smoother
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This is a western developed title. I'd be shocked if PS3 is the lead.
 
Amir0x said:
The fact that you're not sensitive to horrific framerates obviously means zero to me.
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I'm sensitive to serious framerate drops, but if a game is locked at a consistent framerate, whether it be 60 or 30 and doesn't fall out too much, no, if the game is great otherwise I can overlook it. SOTC had some horrible frame drops and runs worse than this game ever will, but I still think the game is incredible for its atmosphere, music, and gameplay. Sure, it chugs often and doesn't even run smoothly when it isn't chugging, but I just love the mood and style of the game so much that I really don't care.

So, you're right in that I'm far less sensitive to horrible framerates than you are, but most of the time I admit that I get so caught up in a great game that I don't pay that much mind to it unless it gets distracting, and none of the gameplay videos I've seen of this game even remotely come close to having any distracting technicalities.
 
Mrbob said:
Hope it doesn't make me a frame rate whore that I'd like at least 30fps. :/



This is a western developed title. I'd be shocked if PS3 is the lead.
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Should I give you your pills now or later?
 
Dipping down to 17 is stranger danger, but I'm very much hoping that's a result of an old build and/or doesn't happen often. Actually I'm kind of hoping that extremely variable frame rate (from 17-33) is just a result of an old build, because that's a pretty big range. Reviews so far aren't saying much about the framerate though, so I'd hope it's not a problem in the final build.
 
CcrooK said:
Should I give you your pills now or later?
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I'll take 'em now! Dead Rising 2 might have to wait since this one is coming out so close and it sounds awesome. I have amazon credit running out on Sept 30 I need to know which version to get.
 
Amir0x said:
IF it is 24fps, it's unarguably horrific. You might be totally able to live with it, and that's fine, but like I said I'm not. And I was fully ready to get this game.

I'm not even sure how much lower gamer standards can get at this point, Christ.
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RELATIVELY horrific. The truth is that with adequate motion blur, there is no real need for anything above 24fps. After all, it's what we see on TV and in the movies everyday. The only reason a game might need to be greater than that is because of some functional purpose to it, like in a fighting game where each frame matters.

The only visual reason more than 24fps would be needed in any game is if there was shitty/no motion blur. Then things would just look choppy. With motion blur, you actually can't tell, because (gasp) your eyes see things with built in blur. So it's like you're looking at real life or something!

But ya, my point still stands. Unless you looked at the gameplay videos and went 'this framerate is shitty' your complaints are silly.
 
Amir0x said:
IF it is 24fps, it's unarguably horrific. You might be totally able to live with it, and that's fine, but like I said I'm not. And I was fully ready to get this game.

I'm not even sure how much lower gamer standards can get at this point, Christ.
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I don't know how you ever survived the PSX/N64 days.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Dipping down to 17 is stranger danger, but I'm very much hoping that's a result of an old build and/or doesn't happen often. Actually I'm kind of hoping that extremely variable frame rate (from 17-33) is just a result of an old build, because that's a pretty big range. Reviews so far aren't saying much about the framerate though, so I'd hope it's not a problem in the final build.
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well, the slowdowns apparently happen during cutscenes and I think I read somewhere (Digital Foundry I think it was from the recent Halo Reach article) that optimizing frame-rate in cutscenes is usually one of the last things that is done during development, I don't know if it is true or not or if it applies to all games.
 
FreedomFrisbee said:
RELATIVELY horrific. The truth is that with adequate motion blur, there is no real need for anything above 24fps. After all, it's what we see on TV and in the movies everyday. The only reason a game might need to be greater than that is because of some functional purpose to it, like in a fighting game where each frame matters.
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What the fuck jesus christ seriously i'm not having another framerate debate with people who clearly don't understand the first thing about framerates

I don't mean to be mean, but, there's really nothing I can say here.

FreedomFrisbee said:
But ya, my point still stands. Unless you looked at the gameplay videos and went 'this framerate is shitty' your complaints are silly.
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Just fucking holy shit... *twitch*

Zophar said:
I don't know how you ever survived the PSX/N64 days.
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I barely did? Anyone on GAF can tell you how much I hate that era of games. I can barely play any 3D DS games because of how awful it is. I survived mostly on 2D and PC titles.
 
FreedomFrisbee said:
RELATIVELY horrific. The truth is that with adequate motion blur, there is no real need for anything above 24fps. After all, it's what we see on TV and in the movies everyday. The only reason a game might need to be greater than that is because of some functional purpose to it, like in a fighting game where each frame matters.

The only visual reason more than 24fps would be needed in any game is if there was shitty/no motion blur. Then things would just look choppy. With motion blur, you actually can't tell, because (gasp) your eyes see things with built in blur. So it's like you're looking at real life or something!

But ya, my point still stands. Unless you looked at the gameplay videos and went 'this framerate is shitty' your complaints are silly.
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This is basically the opposite of a truth, but I'm not going to start arguing about that here.

24fps, in an action game, is a potential problem depending on the demands of the combat system. This game doesn't look particularly fast, BUT it does look comparable in combat speed to GOW which ran well above 30 fps and surely benefited from the responsiveness, despite its more leisurely combat speed.

So let people complain about the framerate if they want to and refrain from making profoundly wrongheaded blanket statements like "24fps with blur is all you need!"
 
Amir0x said:
What the fuck jesus christ seriously i'm not having another framerate debate with people who clearly don't understand the first thing about framerates

I don't mean to be mean, but, there's really nothing I can say here.
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I'm an animation student (2d and 3d), and a programmer. Please feel free to hit me with whatever framerate understanding you have, and whatever framerate understanding you feel I don't have.

24fps, in an action game, is a potential problem depending on the demands of the combat system. This game doesn't look particularly fast, BUT it does look comparable in combat speed to GOW which ran well above 30 fps and surely benefited from the responsiveness, despite its more leisurely combat speed.
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The interesting thing about framerate, is it has nothing to do with how fast the machine responds. The visuals could be being rendered 24 times a second, but that doesn't mean everything is happening under the hood at only 24fps.
 
FreedomFrisbee said:
I'm an animation student (2d and 3d), and a programmer. Please feel free to hit me with whatever framerate understanding you have, and whatever framerate understanding you feel I don't have.
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Response times for one. A game with a constant 24fps framerate is horrible, especially for an action game. It may be fine for cinematics but the general rule for games is the higher framerate, the better.

Case in point: Heavenly Sword
 
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