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Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 - |OT| - Dead and Loving It!
- Thread starter Ahasverus
- Start date
Shmuely Bully
Member
Just finished it after taking a week-long break (it's tough to focus between a kid and work). The ending makes not one damned bit of sense, but despite that I liked it, as Ahasverus has said before the build up to the ending is pretty great.
Overall I'd have to rank it 7.5-8/10 and I'm not really sure which as I keep going back and forth between the two.
The combat is much more fluid and fast-paced at points compared to the first game, the music is great, the castle has some truly breath-taking views, and even the modern city gives off an awesome gothic vibe in most areas. Backtracking once you had more powers felt worth-while and opened up a surprisingly large amount of places that would be entirely missed otherwise, so I highly recommend it. I also really enjoyed fighting most of the enemies and the bosses ranged from good to great.
So why only 7.5-8/10? Technical issues, poor story, sequences and set-pieces that vary enormously in quality, and a couple of maddening design choices that kill much of the atmosphere for most of the game.
Lets get it out of the way first: yes, the stealth sections are poor to horrible (and get worse as they go along IMO), but that makes up a small part of the game. With the exception of the second and last sections they aren't too bad at all. The issues with the game are elsewhere.
For instance, while the game is gorgeous, it comes at a cost. Either the engine or the hardware they were targeting was incapable and it shows in frequent hidden loading screens which can range from very brief (manholes) to extremely long (map rooms). When you backtrack you begin to appreciate how large the areas they load often are, but given how they're connected to each other you spend quite a bit more time in the city than I'd like on elevators, opening bulkhead doors, or pulling levers to load new areas.
The story is also a sticking point for me. While the story is much more minimal than I'd imagined to begin with, what is there quite simply doesn't work. Mercury Steam starts moving in an interesting direction and then derails things or kills off plot points arbitrarily. In particular their treatment of
and the entire
concept seemed ridiculous, offensive, or both. That isn't to say there isn't anything worthwhile: Drac's relationship with Trevor and Marie is heartwarming and
was very, very well done, but they stand out in part because of how poor the rest was.
As for sequences, other than a few they aren't good. To take one example, at one point you need to
which
. I can understand what Mercury Steam was trying to do, but no part of the sequence felt good or seemed to work, and the boss fight at the end more than anything else showed the weaknesses of their camera. There is also a frequent insistence on making you restore power to proceed which is usually just annoying, but can be infuriating at points as they throw enemies in the way of your task that respawn each time the power is turned on.
Finally Mercury Steam has a maddening habit in this game of building up the atmosphere and then killing it moments later. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the OST itself. There is a good bit of music in the game and most of it is good, unfortunately that isn't what you'll be spending most of the game hearing though. There is a dedicated combat theme and a
theme that you'll be hearing a lot of and they will both get old by the time you're half-way through. Combat music also continues to play for as long as you're in the same zip code as foes which makes trying to avoid enemies and soak in the atmosphere a largely futile endeavor. Another example is
.
There is too little broken and too much wrong for me to take 4/10s or 9/10s seriously, but particularly as the game goes on and you backtrack to areas you've been before things open up enormously and you begin to really see how good a job Mercury Steam did with the open world. It features the best castle we've had since the underrated Castlevania 64 and the only real shames are that due to misguided reviews most won't get to enjoy it, and that they didn't manage to go that extra mile to make it a classic.
TL;DR - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a great game hidden behind maddening story and design choices that any fan of 3D action games should play.
Overall I'd have to rank it 7.5-8/10 and I'm not really sure which as I keep going back and forth between the two.
The combat is much more fluid and fast-paced at points compared to the first game, the music is great, the castle has some truly breath-taking views, and even the modern city gives off an awesome gothic vibe in most areas. Backtracking once you had more powers felt worth-while and opened up a surprisingly large amount of places that would be entirely missed otherwise, so I highly recommend it. I also really enjoyed fighting most of the enemies and the bosses ranged from good to great.
So why only 7.5-8/10? Technical issues, poor story, sequences and set-pieces that vary enormously in quality, and a couple of maddening design choices that kill much of the atmosphere for most of the game.
Lets get it out of the way first: yes, the stealth sections are poor to horrible (and get worse as they go along IMO), but that makes up a small part of the game. With the exception of the second and last sections they aren't too bad at all. The issues with the game are elsewhere.
For instance, while the game is gorgeous, it comes at a cost. Either the engine or the hardware they were targeting was incapable and it shows in frequent hidden loading screens which can range from very brief (manholes) to extremely long (map rooms). When you backtrack you begin to appreciate how large the areas they load often are, but given how they're connected to each other you spend quite a bit more time in the city than I'd like on elevators, opening bulkhead doors, or pulling levers to load new areas.
The story is also a sticking point for me. While the story is much more minimal than I'd imagined to begin with, what is there quite simply doesn't work. Mercury Steam starts moving in an interesting direction and then derails things or kills off plot points arbitrarily. In particular their treatment of
Victor Belmont
Inner Dracula
The Toymaker
As for sequences, other than a few they aren't good. To take one example, at one point you need to
board a train
a demon then tries to derail
Finally Mercury Steam has a maddening habit in this game of building up the atmosphere and then killing it moments later. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the OST itself. There is a good bit of music in the game and most of it is good, unfortunately that isn't what you'll be spending most of the game hearing though. There is a dedicated combat theme and a
rat form
Nergal. Nobody should have considered his force lightning a good idea and making you control Dracula as he crawls pitifully to his castle is terrible
There is too little broken and too much wrong for me to take 4/10s or 9/10s seriously, but particularly as the game goes on and you backtrack to areas you've been before things open up enormously and you begin to really see how good a job Mercury Steam did with the open world. It features the best castle we've had since the underrated Castlevania 64 and the only real shames are that due to misguided reviews most won't get to enjoy it, and that they didn't manage to go that extra mile to make it a classic.
TL;DR - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a great game hidden behind maddening story and design choices that any fan of 3D action games should play.
Is that the hold Y/Triangle move? If so I actually found that attack to be pretty amazing on smaller enemies. It can stunlock them and kill surprisingly fast, and you can dodge out of it easily.
Also you can fully master a weapon with some move leeway, they all just seem to autocomplete afterwards.
Yeah, it's that one. I just realized it still counts it towards your percentages when you fail a challenge. So, I just kept doing it in the challenges and mastered it pretty fast!
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
carmella is actually giving me a lot of trouble. any tips?
Discotheque
Banned
robert carlyle does the best with what he has in here. i really liked his line delivery in the scene when he first sees marie in the castle. that was great. good gravitas.
don't really feel like revisiting this game anytime soon but i decided to revisit some tracks from the OST on youtube.
the last minute of this track in particular is incredible. so heroic, and possibly up there with some recent film scores too. dare i say it's better than this game deserves tbh.
that track, dracula's theme and the castle dungeon track are really good.
don't really feel like revisiting this game anytime soon but i decided to revisit some tracks from the OST on youtube.
the last minute of this track in particular is incredible. so heroic, and possibly up there with some recent film scores too. dare i say it's better than this game deserves tbh.
that track, dracula's theme and the castle dungeon track are really good.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Beat her. Clever fight once you figure it all out!
Love the bosses in this one.
Love the bosses in this one.
puffyshirt
Banned
After playing through about two thirds of this, I fired up the original again for the first time in a loooong time. Is it just me, or does it have much better graphics on every conceivable level? The original LoS is incredibly gorgeous, some of the textures are downright breathtaking.
The first game did look better in general, I think. It was also native 720p on consoles, whereas this one is 1024x720p.
The benefits of a fixed camera. 2 still looks very good though.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Nah, the graphics in LOS2 are a big improved over LOS1, I noticed it instantly but I think LOS looks sharper, Which is down to resolution being higher
And that fixed camera helps.
LOS1 would even better in the LOS2 engine.
cormack12
Gold Member
Contains spoilers about Carmilla boss fight in LoS2
When she is protected in the bubble, use the chaos claws and throws bombs at her. Don't bother trying to get too close. Dodge unblockable ball roll and make sure to whip the grunts as soon as well. Jump the electricity pulses.
I think the next stage she surrounds you with lots of clones. Jump the electricity she throws and then wail on each clone until they are all dead. Then when you are arena fighting her again, I found the ice bombs to come in useful just to keep control of her.
Lastly, the spectre section is quite simple as you get free health refills. Just dodge and attack, when your health runs low, go into mist form and suck on Marie's neck to regen your health bar. Eventually you'll get a cut scene - she may still have a tiny ounce of health when this triggers.
I think the next stage she surrounds you with lots of clones. Jump the electricity she throws and then wail on each clone until they are all dead. Then when you are arena fighting her again, I found the ice bombs to come in useful just to keep control of her.
Lastly, the spectre section is quite simple as you get free health refills. Just dodge and attack, when your health runs low, go into mist form and suck on Marie's neck to regen your health bar. Eventually you'll get a cut scene - she may still have a tiny ounce of health when this triggers.
I'm blown away by this game. It just keeps getting better. I'm not going to fully judge it until I beat it, and play the DLC. I may end up preferring LoS1 in the end, but it's a lot closer than I first thought. And I think both are far, far better than Symphony of the Night.
These are the two best Castlevania games. It's just a shame they didn't make it a true trilogy. It's clear that the story in the 2nd game is pretty damn substantial. Imagine if it was a console game, playing as Trevor, Simon and Alucard? Then Dracula in the 3rd game. That would have truly been one of the best trilogies of all time.
These are the two best Castlevania games. It's just a shame they didn't make it a true trilogy. It's clear that the story in the 2nd game is pretty damn substantial. Imagine if it was a console game, playing as Trevor, Simon and Alucard? Then Dracula in the 3rd game. That would have truly been one of the best trilogies of all time.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Agreed, I have fond memories of SOTN, but theres no denying playing it now is like playing MG after MGS3
And I agree I wish MS would do a re-imagine on nextgen of the Mirror Of Fate.
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Completed it, the void whirlwind worked
Order The OST too
But man this theme here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8nncRy9-46c
While fighting the final boss, it actually tells you the story in the music
The whole beginning of it is Dracula, and it gets more sinister as it goes into Draculas Theme and then becomes softer less dark and lighter until the 5:00 mark when something familiar kicks in
In a way the theme represents him and its not until that 5:00 mark you realise Gabriel is still there, and what he is fighting for
Touching really
As for the ending, don't get what the fuss is about
A solid 8/10 or an 8.5 if you don't mind the stealth sections
Would be 9 if they represented the story better, its there but you have to read between the lines and under what is going on which can be mistaken for the story but its not.
Order The OST too
But man this theme here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8nncRy9-46c
While fighting the final boss, it actually tells you the story in the music
The whole beginning of it is Dracula, and it gets more sinister as it goes into Draculas Theme and then becomes softer less dark and lighter until the 5:00 mark when something familiar kicks in
In a way the theme represents him and its not until that 5:00 mark you realise Gabriel is still there, and what he is fighting for
Touching really
As for the ending, don't get what the fuss is about
A solid 8/10 or an 8.5 if you don't mind the stealth sections
Would be 9 if they represented the story better, its there but you have to read between the lines and under what is going on which can be mistaken for the story but its not.
SlasherJPC
Banned
I agree on the ending portion. The main focus the game puts on the idea of stopping the acolytes and Satan himself serves as the starting motivation and plot line, but really beneath is the true story. One about Gabriel, family, and his redemption of his former self. Pretty cool if you ask me. The only thing they could have done really is just put a more definite end to the story, but again, Konami probably wants to see another entry in the series.
cormack12
Gold Member
Need some help on a boss
Corrupt Blood boss with weird head thing...
I can get the head out but I have no magic and little health which means its difficult. I am only taking a tiny amount of health off when I hit the head out the carcass then he goes back into the ogre thing.........
I can get the head out but I have no magic and little health which means its difficult. I am only taking a tiny amount of health off when I hit the head out the carcass then he goes back into the ogre thing.........
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Ha I never thought to throw bombs.
I did it the long way up close... Whoops. Thanks for the tip.
So many combat options in this game!
Shmuely Bully
Member
How far along is your mastery in the blood whip? If it's fully upgraded combined whip+guillotine should do a fair bit of damage and if you're careful you can get two of those off before
Inner Dracula's head goes back into its body
butman
Member
Just finished the game.
GAMEPLAY:
Boring and repetitive. Scale scale, battle, scale scale, battle, cinematic open doors, cinematic quick map opening, cinematic wolf teleport (any of them without skip option) The continuity about where to go next was confusing. In modern times you must add mouse transformation.
BATTLES:
Less strategics than LoS1. Ist's a button mashing fest. You can easily finish the game improving the 20% of the skill tree. Most of the are useless to improve.
I finished it with only X X X X, Y Y Y Y, Dodge, dodge dodge, jump, air to ground smashs. (BIS).
ENEMIES:
All they acted under the same premise, even Bosses: Direct attack, direct attack, area attack, unbocklable attack. The only difference was their strenght and pace.
DESIGN:
- Characters: Really liked the design of all of them, Alucard i liked very much,
- Stages: Castle part was gorgeous, very detailed, the colors and lightnings give to it a great atmosphere. Modern time city monotonous.
MUSIC:
The only item of the game that make me feel in a Castlevania atmosphere. Sadly it was bad profited because all the bad things.
The composer should be kipped in the future of the franchise.
FINAL BATTLE:
ENDING:
THOUGHTS:
After all this Mercury Steam crazy experimental adventure and vision of Castlevania, next one must be IGAVANIA. Enought of 3DVania, unless Konami lose their minds and give the franchise to Platinum game. They make cool games, but Castlevania is not a franchise for their gaming philosophy.
GAMEPLAY:
Boring and repetitive. Scale scale, battle, scale scale, battle, cinematic open doors, cinematic quick map opening, cinematic wolf teleport (any of them without skip option) The continuity about where to go next was confusing. In modern times you must add mouse transformation.
BATTLES:
Less strategics than LoS1. Ist's a button mashing fest. You can easily finish the game improving the 20% of the skill tree. Most of the are useless to improve.
I finished it with only X X X X, Y Y Y Y, Dodge, dodge dodge, jump, air to ground smashs. (BIS).
ENEMIES:
All they acted under the same premise, even Bosses: Direct attack, direct attack, area attack, unbocklable attack. The only difference was their strenght and pace.
DESIGN:
- Characters: Really liked the design of all of them, Alucard i liked very much,
sadly we didn't see him with his vampire clothes too much. I hated him with the Grayfox/Raiden suit.
MUSIC:
The only item of the game that make me feel in a Castlevania atmosphere. Sadly it was bad profited because all the bad things.
The composer should be kipped in the future of the franchise.
FINAL BATTLE:
Meh. First of all, what about Satan? There's McDonalds in hell too?
And the fight. I wanted to fight against him, not Alucard.
I hoped the fight against Alucard will be a little battle, then i will fight normal Satan, and then some big nasty beast of Hell.
The only cool thing was the cinematic ascension of the big beast.
And the fight. I wanted to fight against him, not Alucard.
I hoped the fight against Alucard will be a little battle, then i will fight normal Satan, and then some big nasty beast of Hell.
The only cool thing was the cinematic ascension of the big beast.
ENDING:
What ending?
After all this Mercury Steam crazy experimental adventure and vision of Castlevania, next one must be IGAVANIA. Enought of 3DVania, unless Konami lose their minds and give the franchise to Platinum game. They make cool games, but Castlevania is not a franchise for their gaming philosophy.
Tizoc
Member
Boss fight you mean? Ice the bitch.
You can use the R2 projectile for the Chaos or Void power to get some good damage on her then follow with a whip combo
LordBaztion
Member
Hate thise stealth sections. You step up with the combat, then forced to stealth.
Black_Stride
do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Finished the game.
What the fuck just happened? Is the game really over??
Anyway whatever.
Where do I find these challenges peple speak of?
Ive collect the kleidos thingies but i dont know how to actually do the challenges.
What the fuck just happened? Is the game really over??
Anyway whatever.
Where do I find these challenges peple speak of?
Ive collect the kleidos thingies but i dont know how to actually do the challenges.
butman
Member
To activate the challenges you must go to the Chupacabra's store, Just push action button at the mirror in the wall.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Hey, finished the Russian lady acolyte boss... How much further is the game? I'm really enjoying it but I realize I have no idea how long it is. I only play maybe two hours a day tops and I have dark souls coming Tuesday!
Tizoc
Member
Russian? She looked...french to me >_>
I'd say you're still in the first 1/4 of the game based on that.
I highly doubt you managed to finish it using those moves, especially against enemies with armor.butman said:
I also find the combat similar to LoS1 but you're given some extra abilities to take down enemies, like the ones with armor/those with a guard like the gunner enemies.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
anyone notice the little Easter eggs soldier diary before the greenhouse withe Eddard stark and Robert Baratheon? by the "tree with a face in it"? Haha that that was a nice Game of thrones nod, especially since alucard is king Robb!
LordBaztion
Member
Beat Agreus some time ago. I just realised how pointless the previous snakeing scene is when afterwards you are beating the crap out of him. I though Dracula had to sneak because he was weak, this doesn't seem to be the case here.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
He had to sneak because he didn't want to kill him. He straight up said that haha. He was just trying to get in, get the mirror, and go play chess with his dream child. In and our. Agreus forced him into the battle when Dracula had no place to run anymore.
I think people just want to find excuses to hate on this game, I dunno I've been reading all the scrolls and lisening to the story and played mirror of Fate and it all makes sense to me (so far anyway).
I also JUST finished the agreus part. Took me 11 minutes total, from the sneaking to The bird to the fight win. I'm not even that good At this game but I dont get it, it was really easy. I just threw a dagger at a bell to distract him, entered mist mode and floated over the leaves. When I needed to recharge, I just hod behind a grave. Then floated in mist. Did it in two tries.
The fight was cool top, he had a great design
butman
Member
Obviously in that case i used chaos claws.
liquidekkah
Member
Incredibles-esque skinny dudes?
liquidekkah
Member
Latter half
Sorry for the really crappy images (screen capped youtube) but
these guys
reminded me of
LordBaztion
Member
I think I forgot that during my many tries at the maze. Those stealth section can be really infuriating but the Agreus section was better implemented. Eventhough, it took me like 15 tries, at first I thought you were supposed to advance hanging on the ledges but those are just for you to hide. The point is to lure him once with the bell then scape.
The fight was great, challenging enough and Agreus has many movements for you to block and evade. So far the bosses has been great.
I dont hate the game, I like it mostly for its art direction (I literally walk to appreaciate those gorgeus environments) but can't avoid being annoyed by those stealth sections and the factory setting.
So, no spoilers please. I can tell I'm very, very near to the end of the game.
If I want to max out all secrets found, should I do it now or can I continue on with my game after the story ends to find secrets and complete challenges?
And how does new game + work? Is PoD difficulty starting from scratch also?
If I want to max out all secrets found, should I do it now or can I continue on with my game after the story ends to find secrets and complete challenges?
And how does new game + work? Is PoD difficulty starting from scratch also?
Either way is fine as the game opens up afterwards to let you work on getting any secrets and lore you may have missed.
You keep all secrets and lore discovered as well as having all your exp reimbursed. Only thing that doesn't carry over is mastery. You can switch the game to PoD after completing the game if perhaps you wanted to do all the challenges on that difficulty like I did and then start new game + on PoD.
But yes, you start from the beginning.
Thanks. Good suggestion on the challenges on PoD too. I'll do that.
And done. Just in time too with Dark Souls 2 coming out and Infamous the next week, though I've also got a few others to get to,
One thing I do find fascinating is the lore of the world. There are many indications from the memorials in the city that the world of Lords of Shadow is one in which Dracula's existence is well known as is the existence of various creatures of darkness. I sometimes wish we got to see a bit more of how that world worked given that.
One thing I do find fascinating is the lore of the world. There are many indications from the memorials in the city that the world of Lords of Shadow is one in which Dracula's existence is well known as is the existence of various creatures of darkness. I sometimes wish we got to see a bit more of how that world worked given that.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Wow the toy makers puppet shoe part was phenomenal!
Scarecrow
Member
I'm at the second(?) stealth section. I've had to turn into a rat to chew through wires and the guard calls in a tech to fix the problem. I'm not sure what to do from here. I can't turn back to normal or the guard will get me and hanging around as rats hasn't provided any solution either. What am I supposed to do?
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
super easy. just go behind the tech and possesses him.
then walk him over to the button and the door will unlocked.
you're never more than 60 sec as a rat in the game, it's always quick environment movement and a posession really
Scarecrow
Member
Thanks. I also had to bats the super guard, but I got it!