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[Naeblish]

How anyone can call this game mediocre is beyond me. With all the shit and crappy games that are on the market, 90% of them soulless thrash which don't offer a fragment of joy games used to offer, this one stands head and shoulders above them. Jett makes some valid points, but i think most of them are flaws that don't degrade that much from what is otherwise an incredible experience. The game might not be perfect, but it is certainly not mediocre.

Like the first 2 titan bosses (i'm on ch. 6, don't know if there are more), they get analyzed and discussed to dead here. Who the fuck cares if they are a rip-off, combined they are probably 15-20 min of a 20 hour game, offer a nice change in the chapter and aren't frustrating or anything.

 

[Teknoman]

Really like the titan battle theme.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Really like the titan battle theme.

That makes those fights for me. They are like 5 minute playable cutscenes with appropriate hero music playing throughout.

 

[luka]

I only really like the 3rd and final titan, and not because it's particularly fun to play, but because it looks so fucking incredible, especially the all too short and easy finale.

They're cool if you consider them glorified platforming sections and mostly interactive cutscenes, but it's true that the design and visual cues and directions are fairly unclear and inconsistent between them. If they return to this concept they'd better go all out and make it something incredible or just cut it entirely.

Ultimately though, they're just 3 very small parts of a massive game and get way more attention than they warrant in any discussion.

 

[Noisepurge]

next friday!

i'm turning a complete blind eye to all the mediocracy talk in here for now Atleast i have an attitude of "open to new things" regarding the series. And i liked the demo.

Im also somewhat of a fanboi:

 

[Ledsen]

M 95% of the combat will result in you whipping 3 to 4 times and then rolling to the side. Over and over.

I guess that's true if you suck at parrying. That's probably why it took you so long to beat the bosses as well, parrying is seriously mandatory in this game.

 

[The Bookerman]

I'm at a graveyard in a village.. I have to block the hole with the ghouls comming out, What do I have to do to get that statue blocking the hole?

Move and controls, would be appreciated.

 

[owlbeak]

I'm LOL-ing at people calling the titan battles a rip off.

Ripping off Shadow of the Colossus and complaining about it makes no sense to me. I'd rather play rip offs of SotC than 90% of the crap floating around out there.

 

[Ledsen]

I'm at a graveyard in a village.. I have to block the hole with the ghouls comming out, What do I have to do to get that statue blocking the hole?

Move and controls, would be appreciated.

The first one, you only have to grab it with the whip, tell sean connery to help you and pull it down. The second one, you have to punch it using the statue-pushing punch before you can do the same thing.

 

[JonnyBrad]

I'm about half way through stage 2

Spoiler

When the girl summons a demon to kill a troll

It really doesn't feel like Castlevania atm. I assume it gets better when you go to

Spoiler

The land of the vampires

?

 

[Dascu]

I'm LOL-ing at people calling the titan battles a rip off.

Ripping off Shadow of the Colossus and complaining about it makes no sense to me. I'd rather play rip offs of SotC than 90% of the crap floating around out there.

The complaints are that the Titan battles aren't fun. They look "epic", but they're a slow mess of straightforward climbing and QTE's.

 

[iconoclast]

I'm about half way through stage 2

Spoiler

When the girl summons a demon to kill a troll

It really doesn't feel like Castlevania atm. I assume it gets better when you go to

Spoiler

The land of the vampires

?

Yeah, the latter section was the highlight of the game for me. Really liked it at that point. Chapter 2 was the worst; I didn't like any of it except for the final stage or two.

Anyway, just got my 1000/1000 on this. Game has its ups and downs, but overall I liked it. The combat is fun and the whip + all of the additional abilities add some decent variety to keep the gameplay from getting stale, but with only one weapon it better have some versatility. There's some pacing and control issues, and some of the bossfights are terrrrrible (the titans, specifically), but it didn't ruin the game for me or anything. I'd say it's a good 7.5-8/10 game. I'll be there for the sequel.

I've got no problem with blocking/dodging on the same button too. Ninja Gaiden does it and it works perfectly. I prefer it to the God of War style right stick dodging.

 

[Zzoram]

How much replay value does this game have? I think action games like this all need new game+ modes and combat challenges.

 

[SleazyC]

Soundtrack is soooo good.

I get chills up my spine listening to some of the songs off of the soundtrack, the composer nailed the music to match the game perfectly. Not sure if they will ever release a digital download or a stand alone in the US but I would say the Collector's Edition of the game is worth it just to get a copy of the soundtrack.

 

[iconoclast]

How much replay value does this game have? I think action games like this all need new game+ modes and combat challenges.

It has pretty good replay value. All of your abilities and upgrades carry over between all difficulties, and after you beat the game once you unlock the highest difficulty. On top of that, after you beat each stage once, you unlock a "trial" for that stage that you can complete upon replaying it. They're kinda like stage-specific achievements: stay in focus mode for 60 seconds, kill 15 goblins while only using a dagger, break 100 objects in the time limit, etc.

So it's good for two playthroughs at least. It also takes two playthrough to get 110% completion and all of the achievements, fyi.

 

[Ledsen]

How much replay value does this game have? I think action games like this all need new game+ modes and combat challenges.

There's no new game+, instead you can go back to any stage, at any time, at any difficulty and with all your upgrades intact, the only thing that happens when you clear the game is that Paladin (Very Hard) difficulty is unlocked. There are a lot of power-ups you can't get on your first run-through since you won't have the necessary upgrades to get them, and the chapter select screen keeps track of which collectibles you've found in every stage and what your overall progress is in the level (goes up to 110% if you've finished it in Paladin, found everything and finished the trial). There is also one "Trial" per level (there are like 50+ levels), ranging from "finish the stage without healing" to "kill this boss in x minutes" etc. So I'd say there's a lot of replay value.

edit: beaten

Yeah, the latter section was the highlight of the game for me. Really liked it at that point. Chapter 2 was the worst; I didn't like any of it except for the final stage or two.

Anyway, just got my 1000/1000 on this. Game has its ups and downs, but overall I liked it. The combat is fun and the whip + all of the additional abilities add some decent variety to keep the gameplay from getting stale, but with only one weapon it better have some versatility. There's some pacing and control issues, and some of the bossfights are terrrrrible (the titans, specifically), but it didn't ruin the game for me or anything. I'd say it's a good 7.5-8/10 game. I'll be there for the sequel.

I've got no problem with blocking/dodging on the same button too. Ninja Gaiden does it and it works perfectly. I prefer it to the God of War style right stick dodging.

The problem in this game is the stupid melee move where he thursts his hand forward in a flash of (dark? light?) magic. I don't know the exact command for it, but it involves the left trigger and I always do it by accident when trying to roll, which means that often I end up eating an unblockable or something else I was trying to avoid.

 

[LiK]

How much replay value does this game have? I think action games like this all need new game+ modes and combat challenges.

The ability to revisit any lvl at anytime and multiple difficulties plus achievement/trophies = replay!

 

[Ricker]

next friday!

i'm turning a complete blind eye to all the mediocracy talk in here for now Atleast i have an attitude of "open to new things" regarding the series. And i liked the demo.

Im also somewhat of a fanboi:

:lol Dude, considering you liked the demo and a fanboy,you will absolutly love this game.

 

[Barrett2]

Didn't play much yesterday, still in ch.5. My goal is to beat the damn game this weekend!

 

[Fimbulvetr]

I'm LOL-ing at people calling the titan battles a rip off.

Ripping off Shadow of the Colossus and complaining about it makes no sense to me. I'd rather play rip offs of SotC than 90% of the crap floating around out there.

It's less that it's a rip-off and more that it's bad.

The ability to revisit any lvl at anytime and multiple difficulties plus achievement/trophies = replay!

And optional treasures, and challanges.

 

[jett]

I guess that's true if you suck at parrying. That's probably why it took you so long to beat the bosses as well, parrying is seriously mandatory in this game.

But I did parry, which by the way has a pretty big window, it's not hard at all. I parry, I get in 3-4 hits, and guess what I do after that, yes, I roll to the side. And I agree with what flarkminator said about some unblockables, some are telegraphed really poorly. For instance the battle with Olrox, his unblockable isn't telegraphed at all, you only see the white light in his slash after he's made the attack, and worse is he has a regular attack that's virtually the same. It's just not very well thought out. And btw regenerating bosses fucking blow, I can't believe MS did that more than once.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

If I'm going through the game for the purpose of collecting the trophies, what is my strategy? It sounds like a lot of the trophies come from finishing the trials. Should I do the levels on a certain difficulty to kill two birds with one stone?

 

[Tokubetsu]

If I'm going through the game for the purpose of collecting the trophies, what is my strategy? It sounds like a lot of the trophies come from finishing the trials. Should I do the levels on a certain difficulty to kill two birds with one stone?

If its your first time playing and want to be effecient, Start on knight and after you complete a level, go through it again for things you missed and to do the trial.

Side Note: The more I think about the game, the more I love it. Such great presentation.

 

[Ledsen]

If its your first time playing and want to be effecient, Start on knight and after you complete a level, go through it again for things you missed and to do the trial.

Side Note: The more I think about the game, the more I love it. Such great presentation.

That seems like a good way to get completely sick of the game. I'd say save the trials and collecting for the post-game.

But I did parry, which by the way has a pretty big window, it's not hard at all. I parry, I get in 3-4 hits, and guess what I do after that, yes, I roll to the side. And I agree with what flarkminator said about some unblockables, some are telegraphed really poorly. For instance the battle with Olrox, his unblockable isn't telegraphed at all, you only see the white light in his slash after he's made the attack, and worse is he has a regular attack that's virtually the same. It's just not very well thought out. And btw regenerating bosses fucking blow, I can't believe MS did that more than once.

Oh. I agree about the unblockables, one of the many mistakes MS made that make it really obvious that they've never made a character action game before. Despite all its flaws, I love the game to bits for the stellar combat system (small niggles aside) and amazing environments.

 

[Maffis]

I only really like the 3rd and final titan, and not because it's particularly fun to play, but because it looks so fucking incredible, especially the all too short and easy finale.

They're cool if you consider them glorified platforming sections and mostly interactive cutscenes, but it's true that the design and visual cues and directions are fairly unclear and inconsistent between them. If they return to this concept they'd better go all out and make it something incredible or just cut it entirely.

Ultimately though, they're just 3 very small parts of a massive game and get way more attention than they warrant in any discussion.

thanks for the spoilers.

 

[Volcynika]

But I did parry, which by the way has a pretty big window, it's not hard at all. I parry, I get in 3-4 hits, and guess what I do after that, yes, I roll to the side. And I agree with what flarkminator said about some unblockables, some are telegraphed really poorly. For instance the battle with Olrox, his unblockable isn't telegraphed at all, you only see the white light in his slash after he's made the attack, and worse is he has a regular attack that's virtually the same. It's just not very well thought out. And btw regenerating bosses fucking blow, I can't believe MS did that more than once.

What? I found that incredibly easy to notice. I see him reach his right hand behind him to pull out his blade before he attacks. That attack stood out due to him sticking his hand behind his back.

 

[Hyphen]

thanks for the spoilers.

If you're quoting what are indeed 'spoilers' then thanks for writing "thanks for the spoilers". I have yet to play the game so I haven't read the post by luca.

 

[CitizenCope]

This game is great and looks fantastic. Just starting chapter 4.
Let me ask you something though. Is there a particular move that should be spammed? Playing on 360.
Not going to lie I'm playing on easy. Hey I'm nearly 40 and I don't have the patience of replaying levels or boss battles over again any more. Just looking for a couple of must use moves. I can't remember 1/4 of all these moves.
Thanks!

 

[jett]

What? I found that incredibly easy to notice. I see him reach his right hand behind him to pull out his blade before he attacks. That attack stood out due to him sticking his hand behind his back.

Like I said, he has a regular attack that starts out in the exact same manner. Therefore, I rolled around lots in that battle instead of trying to guess if the unblockable or blockable attack was coming out, although I did parry his other regular attack every now and then.

 

[RavenFox]

I'm at a graveyard in a village.. I have to block the hole with the ghouls comming out, What do I have to do to get that statue blocking the hole?

Move and controls, would be appreciated.

You really asking how to do this?? What have you been doing up to this point?

 

[Volcynika]

Like I said, he has a regular attack that starts out in the exact same manner. Therefore, I rolled around lots in that battle instead of trying to guess if the unblockable or blockable attack was coming out, although I did parry his other regular attack every now and then.

I'll have to look again, because I thought something was uniquely different, like his regular attack would start from his left (your right) side, while the unblockable starts from his right.

 

[jett]

You really asking how to do this?? What have you been doing up to this point?

Hehe, that part is annoying, because recently the game had instructed you to push big boulders like that statue with your gauntlet punch, but all of a sudden the game wants you to to use the hold button. Stupid.

Bookerman: press R2 to initiate a QTE.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Bosses in this are definitely easier than even GoW3....Actually, I definitely prefer the combat system in GoW3 overall, but that might be inpart because it actually feels alot more fluid (ie animates better and at a higher fps)

 

[george_us]

Jett has a good point. I love the game as much as anyone but the attacks are poorly telegraphed imo. The wind-ups all look similar and the windows for the attacks are too small to block/dodge consistently.

 

[RavenFox]

Hehe, that part is annoying, because recently the game had instructed you to push big boulders like that statue with your gauntlet punch, but all of a sudden the game wants you to to use the hold button. Stupid.

Bookerman: press R2 to initiate a QTE.

I understand that but there are sections before this where R2 being the action button is used. Its either one or the other. I just get annoyed when people don't want to play the game. This is not something I would consider a part that would need a cry for help. Gamers have gotten soft bro.

 

[The Elite]

Jett has a good point. I love the game as much as anyone but the attacks are poorly telegraphed imo. The wind-ups all look similar and the windows for the attacks are too small to block/dodge consistently.

I don't know. I had no issues detecting most attacks that were coming at me.

 

[jett]

I understand that but there are sections before this where R2 being the action button is used. Its either one or the other. I just get annoyed when people don't want to play the game. This is not something I would consider a part that would need a cry for help. Gamers have gotten soft bro.

It's not about getting soft, it's just confusing when the game sends mixed signals, and that's not the only time it does that.

 

[RavenFox]

I don't know. I had no issues detecting most attacks that were coming at me.

Same here

It's not about getting soft, it's just confusing when the game sends mixed signals, and that's not the only time it does that.

I'm not going to argue Jett I'm just posting my feelings on the subject. I understand.

 

[thetrin]

Jett has a good point. I love the game as much as anyone but the attacks are poorly telegraphed imo. The wind-ups all look similar and the windows for the attacks are too small to block/dodge consistently.

I really don't agree. I didn't have much issue with getting hit. The only issue for me was forgetting early on that you can't roll through AoE.

 

[panda21]

is it worth playing this on the harder setting to start with or does it just get stupid by the end if you do that? i dont want it to be a complete push over

 

[Relix]

Wtf at Chess :lol

 

[LiK]

I really don't agree. I didn't have much issue with getting hit. The only issue for me was forgetting early on that you can't roll through AoE.

Enemy ground pounds were the only attacks that hit me after chapter 2, the rest of the game's combat gave me no trouble. Always forget to jump sometimes and blocked instead.

 

[jett]

is it worth playing this on the harder setting to start with or does it just get stupid by the end if you do that? i dont want it to be a complete push over

Eh I don't know, I played about 80% of the game on hard, the rest I played on normal because I was fed up and just wanted to be done with it.. The only difference is that you receive much more damage on hard. It can be pretty annoying sometimes with the game's poor locations of health fountains, a few dumb checkpoints, puzzles that dish out damage if you mess up and how your health never regenerates between levels. It will be a decent challenge, but it can get annoying and feel a bit cheap sometimes.

 

[LowParry]

Eh I don't know, I played about 80% of the game on hard, the rest I played on normal because I was fed up and just wanted to be done with it.. The only difference is that you receive much more damage on hard. It can be pretty annoying sometimes with the game's poor locations of health fountains, a few dumb checkpoints, puzzles that dish out damage if you mess up and how your health never regenerates between levels.

Not enough roasts

 

[jett]

Not enough roasts

:lol Somewhat unrelated, but it can't be said enough how much of a bullshitter that Dave Cox guy is. "CV4 is my bible". There is nothing in this game that reminded me of CV4.

 

[panda21]

Eh I don't know, I played about 80% of the game on hard, the rest I played on normal because I was fed up and just wanted to be done with it.. The only difference is that you receive much more damage on hard. It can be pretty annoying sometimes with the game's poor locations of health fountains, a few dumb checkpoints, puzzles that dish out damage if you mess up and how your health never regenerates between levels. It will be a decent challenge, but it can get annoying and feel a bit cheap sometimes.

oh you can switch down when you want? although just taking more damage sounds kind of lame, might not be worth it i guess

 

[jett]

oh you can switch down when you want? although just taking more damage sounds kind of lame, might not be worth it i guess

Yep, you can go to the options and change it.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

Going through the game on paladin now, I didn't really notice on normal but Cornells unblockables instantly hitting you before he's even swung is really annoying. Got to the last phase of the fight with no health and kept getting hit with it. Managed to do it eventually but it was driving me mad for a while.

 

[Relix]

I am sure I also heard the MGS theme =P

 

[Scythesurge]

All the impressions in this thread are really confusing to me, some make it sound like a great game while others make it sound not so great. The demo left me pretty unimpressed, but I'm still considering picking this up with the Kmart deal.

:lol Somewhat unrelated, but it can't be said enough how much of a bullshitter that Dave Cox guy is. "CV4 is my bible". There is nothing in this game that reminded me of CV4.

I thought other people were saying that it does feel like a Castlevania game. I'm so confused.