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Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 - |OT| - Dead and Loving It!

Left hand. The icon comes up, I hold down right trigger, I target it, try and shoot the hand and nothing happens.

Make sure you push up on the d pad and your actually selecting to use that move with the void sword equiped. I did the same thing before. Or if that doesn't work, try reloading your checkpoint.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
I beat Agreus and the Toy Maker. Now I'm back in modern day and the game is wearing me down. All in all it feels worse than the first, easily. About how much left do I have?
 
I beat Agreus and the Toy Maker. Now I'm back in modern day and the game is wearing me down. All in all it feels worse than the first, easily. About how much left do I have?

Not a whole lot. You have one last bit of decent modern day story (although not very fun getting to it), then it's the last miserable push to the end. You'll probably be done in, I duno, 2 hours?
 

Dantis

Member
Hey guys, if I turn off the QTEs, I won't miss out on any trophies or anything, will I?

Because they're pretty annoying.
 
I beat Agreus and the Toy Maker. Now I'm back in modern day and the game is wearing me down. All in all it feels worse than the first, easily. About how much left do I have?

I've just beaten Agreus. Who asked for Vampire Rain in their Castlevania? Yuck. It took Kotaku 4 hours though? Man. After 1 hour I would have had my doubts about whether video games were my thing or not. Took me about 15 minutes. 15 horrible minutes, mind.

I really loved LoS1, and was looking forward to this sequel a lot but I agree, it's worse in pretty much every respect than the original, even the combat. It seems a little tighter here but I feel like I'm missing a lot the old moves and resorting to the same combo over and over.

As for the story, I don't really get what's going on. Seems like Dracula his risen from the grave to run errands.
 

isual

Member
played it twice.

both on pc and ps3.

Great game. deserves a higher score. 8/10 at most. but I understand if it shouldn't be bought at 60 USD
 
I've just beaten Agreus. Who asked for Vampire Rain in their Castlevania? Yuck. It took Kotaku 4 hours though? Man. After 1 hour I would have had my doubts about whether video games were my thing or not. Took me about 15 minutes. 15 horrible minutes, mind.

I really loved LoS1, and was looking forward to this sequel a lot but I agree, it's worse in pretty much every respect than the original, even the combat. It seems a little tighter here but I feel like I'm missing a lot the old moves and resorting to the same combo over and over.

As for the story, I don't really get what's going on. Seems like Dracula his risen from the grave to run errands.

The combat is way better in LoS2 imo. The better dodge and actual air dodge make a huge difference for me, and the additional weapons add some much needed variety.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
Stuck this on for a bit before. Was feeling it until defeating the gold paladin but the whole drug company visit was horrible. I just got past all that to the city of the damned and am breaking off for the night, hoping it picks up after this though tbh.

LoS1 was much much better thus far.
 

LaneDS

Member
Got to the second stealth section last night, after returning to the game and playing through the first castle section. Felt fooled because I was like, "hey, this is pretty fun!" followed by the second rat section where it was not clear to me what I was supposed to do (aside from get electrocuted a lot as a rat), which was very not fun.
 
The combat is way better in LoS2 imo. The better dodge and actual air dodge make a huge difference for me, and the additional weapons add some much needed variety.

The dodge is much better, and you can block in the air too. I also do like the weapons but their movesets and combos are all very similar. I used to enjoy mixing up the combat in the first game using chain grapples and divekicks and the like but you don't seem to have those moves anymore.
 
The combat is way better in LoS2 imo. The better dodge and actual air dodge make a huge difference for me, and the additional weapons add some much needed variety.
I liked that the range of your weapons was reduced and as you said air dodging/blocking is fantastic, but overall I didn't feel the combat system was an improvement or much of a difference from the first. Fought with the camera a lot, trash mobs became boring and painful to fight towards the end, and the mastery system didn't flow with my playstyle. None of the new weapons felt that great to me either, and to be honest really just seemed like reskins in terms of combos and moves.
 

Levyne

Banned
I like the combat more in this game, it seems to have a better aerial flow. That's a good thing since that's the primary gameplay mechanic. All of the trimmings around it just seem iffy.

I love just being able to wander around the castle looking for secrets, though. All in all I will probably say it's on par with the first game so far, if not a notch down.
 
The stealth bit that kotaku got stuck on for four hours wasn't bad at all and was surprisingly tense unlike the other ones to that point. Took about 5 minutes to figure out how to use the bells and
mist form

How far into the game is that?
 

TimeLike

Member
How the heck do you double jump? Stuck in an area where it's obvious that's what I need to do to progress, but I can't get it to activate.
 

Facism

Member
How the heck do you double jump? Stuck in an area where it's obvious that's what I need to do to progress, but I can't get it to activate.

double jump is an ability you can't miss in the game. If you can't double jump right now it means you haven't progressed to the part of the story where you're given it in an obvious cutscene.

Otherwise, double jump is just A/X in midair.
 
double jump is an ability you can't miss in the game. If you can't double jump right now it means you haven't progressed to the part of the story where you're given it in an obvious cutscene.

Otherwise, double jump is just A/X in midair.

How much do you bet that he's just at the chain in City of the Damned? Stupid unmarked chain getting everyone stuck.
 

NIN90

Member
It's so easy to get stuck in this game due to poor level design. This is not the "lol u 2 dumb" kind of getting stuck, but the "I don't know what the fuck the level designer wants me to do in here" kind.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
It's so easy to get stuck in this game due to poor level design. This is not the "lol u 2 dumb" kind of getting stuck, but the "I don't know what the fuck the level designer wants me to do in here" kind.

I'm at one of those points right now. In some kind of pipe system, walked around the corner and saw a hatch above me glowing. Obviously where I am supposed to go. I walked around for about 2 minutes and was like "I'll do this tomorrow"....
 

Grisby

Member
The stealth bit that kotaku got stuck on for four hours wasn't bad at all and was surprisingly tense unlike the other ones to that point. Took about 5 minutes to figure out how to use the bells and
mist form

How far into the game is that?
Even though I sorta was disliking that section, I have to agree it was tense. Not to mention you can bum rush for the exit after you do the thingy.

4 hours though? That is a long time for that part.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I'm at one of those points right now. In some kind of pipe system, walked around the corner and saw a hatch above me glowing. Obviously where I am supposed to go. I walked around for about 2 minutes and was like "I'll do this tomorrow"....

If that's the part I'm thinking of you just hit the interact button.
 
I'm at one of those points right now. In some kind of pipe system, walked around the corner and saw a hatch above me glowing. Obviously where I am supposed to go. I walked around for about 2 minutes and was like "I'll do this tomorrow"....

If it's the part where you're chasing the hooded man, just hit the interact button
 

Kysen

Member
So far this game is nowhere near as bad as some of the reviews gave it. Its not as good as the first but I think this is a RE6 situation all over again. I'm currently at the Agreus part and cant wait to see what all the fuss is about.
 

nynt9

Member
The stealth sections in are really super straight forward, the complaints are mind boggling. You have like 3 things you can do (
possess, turn into a rat, distract with bat
) and you just need to to all or some of those in the right order. They're basically puzzles disguised as small stealth encounters. I can't fathom how any of these last longer than a minute or two for anyone. Are the reviewers channeling Darksydephil or something? They're actually quite entertaining. And the solution is usually either obvious or obvious after one failure. I legitimately don't get how people were so frustrated and challenged by this.
 

Levyne

Banned
It actually took me a while to think of
misting through a guard in the segment I just did now. Assumed I would use the double jump somewhere, and the rat portal was a red herring.
 
I think I'm nearing the end. I have a little over 20 hours of gameplay clocked in. I'm going to collect all of the secret stuff before pressing on with the story.

I haven't enjoyed a Castlevania title this much since Order of Ecclesia, and I put that just below Symphony of the Night.

Bad writing.

Yeah, I thought that part was really weird.
Why the Hell did they kill off this character? So much potential for more interaction. It would have been nice to see the past and future Belmonts working together.
Overall, the writing is nothing to write home about.
 

Levyne

Banned
Finally seeing the extended scene from the prologue :eek:
Well, everyone could see the armor guy was alucard -__- . And damn he's got some sense of predicting how things will play out.
 

burgerdog

Member
Not a whole lot. You have one last bit of decent modern day story (although not very fun getting to it), then it's the last miserable push to the end. You'll probably be done in, I duno, 2 hours?

Seriously? You can finish the game two hours after you beat the toy maker!? That would make the game a lot shorter than the first.
 
Seriously? You can finish the game two hours after you beat the toy maker!? That would make the game a lot shorter than the first.

i beat it in 12. i did some exploring too, so it wasn't a completely linear experience for me. and i didn't skip any cutscenes (it says 12 hours on steam. dunno how accurate that can be though)
 

Yuterald

Member
Got the game at launch, only had a chance to play up until the second major "Castle" area. Huge fan of the original Lords of Shadow here, but I'm definitely an old school Castlevania guy at heart. I must say, I must have walked into one of Zobek's portals because I feel like I'm back in 2002 while playing this game! I mean that in the most flattering/positive way too. This is just one wacky/weird game. I went mostly media blackout on this game, so a lot of what I'm seeing/playing is quite a bit of a shock. The "modern" setting stuff feels like it was ripped straight out of something you would have seen in Blood Omen 2. This game is oozing PS2/Xbox/GC-era game philosophies/ideas too and for that reason alone I'm digging it, hah!

I'm still early on, but I'm enjoying it for the most part. I like the additions to the combat system (like the skill/weapon mastery stuff), and the art/enemy design is just as good as it was in the original. The castle design is really good stuff too. Oh, I don't think I've ever seen a game justify/"explain" max heart/health/HP fragment-type items as well/cool as this game. The Pain Boxes essentially crystallize your own blood, presumably strengthening your health/vitality. Love stuff like that, although you hardly ever see it presented like this.
 

Ahasverus

Member
∀ Narayan;102686468 said:
I think I'm nearing the end. I have a little over 20 hours of gameplay clocked in. I'm going to collect all of the secret stuff before pressing on with the story.

I haven't enjoyed a Castlevania title this much since Order of Ecclesia, and I put that just below Symphony of the Night.
Wow glad you liked it that much.
 
I loved the first LOS. Had a sense of epicness and a clear goal for the hero. You went on a journey. It was amazing.

LOS2 feels like cheap level design cobbled together with cutscenes about a story that goes nowhere and those numerous loading sections between rooms. It is so boring to me.

To me, it feels similar to my experience with the Darksiders series. Loved the first one to bits for the same reasons I loved LOS1. And for the same reasons as I'm starting to really dislike LOS2, Darksiders 2 didn't have an enjoyable flow in the gameplay/story department. It felt like a collection of rooms and boss fights that didn't seem to connect to one another.

I'm about 2-3 hours in and I feel like dropping the towel. :(
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
The stealth sections in are really super straight forward, the complaints are mind boggling. You have like 3 things you can do (
possess, turn into a rat, distract with bat
) and you just need to to all or some of those in the right order. They're basically puzzles disguised as small stealth encounters. I can't fathom how any of these last longer than a minute or two for anyone. Are the reviewers channeling Darksydephil or something? They're actually quite entertaining. And the solution is usually either obvious or obvious after one failure. I legitimately don't get how people were so frustrated and challenged by this.

Oh man. I don't watch DSP but I'm looking at his playthrough when he reaches Agreus for sure.
 
I just beat
Carmilla
.
The sight when you finish her, priceless!

Got a lot of backtracking to do now. I spent 9 hours with the game already.
 
Just beat it today. It was a huge step down from the first. At one point, I just wanted this game to end!!

I do like how some of the story came together in the end but still was less than average.
 

Kelegacy

XBOX - RECORD ME LOVING DOWN MY WOMAN GOOD
Game looks great and runs like butter on PC, and I am sure this is increasing my enjoyment of the game. So far, I am pleasantly surprised but I am only a few hours in.
 

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
The ending of the trilogy of the Lords of Shadow saga improves everything that is gameplay but sometimes suffers in erratic level design and poor story. The gameplay is easily better than LoS1 and the World navigation works great for being all interconnected.

The problem with the world is that the modern world sections have monotone/repetitive design while the Castle areas are varied. The enemies on the modern day section are generic for most of the part and do not fit the theme of the game and in some cases feel annoying and poorly thought out (Yes talking about the mutants with shotguns and bombs). The narrative of the game doesn't feel connected at all unlike LoS1 and MoF. Sometimes the main story feels like sidequest with some of the things you must do and then takes a deep nosedive on the last quarter of the game.

As for the positive the combat its meatier and feels more responsive than the previous games. The camera didn't get in the way as much as it was implied by the press reviews. The world on the Castle area was amazing and the boss fight were all memorable thing I can't say about the first one in terms of the boss mechanics and no titan boss fights like the first game make it all better.

Let us talk about the infamous "stealth" moments of the game. IMO they don't feel that important in term of narrative but the execution isn't hard and frustrating as it has been mentioned on reviews. It breaks up the combat to do something different which I would have liked better puzzles instead of the stealth puzzles. (It's goddamn Dracula and he was powerful enough for most of the stealth areas.

Overall if you don't mind much the problems with the narrative and the monotony of the design of the modern world Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 manages to be a great game and worthy of the Castlevania series as this game manages to get the ideas of the Metroidvania and made it work on a 3D world almost perfectly. In the end it was a fun ride with some flaws on the way. I wished the plot was better but it is what it is.

8/10

Well, accidentally beat the game (didn't think I was quite at the end ._.)

Well that ending was
dumb

The plot wasn't great from the start but it went full stupid
with Victor's sacrifice
and it never recovered.
 
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