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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow |OT| The MercurySteam has Vanquished the Horrible Night

F

FrankT

Member
Hydrargyrus said:
Nowgamer

Xbox : 8'3
http://xbox-360.nowgamer.com/reviews/xbox-360/9439/lords-of-shadow

Ps3: 8'5
http://ps3.nowgamer.com/reviews/ps3/9438/lords-of-shadow
Click to expand...

I like how they use two different reviewers, but then this;

This may not quite be the Castlevania we’re all familiar with, but it doesn’t matter – it’s better for it. While it isn’t without rough edges, working your way through Lords Of Shadow’s early niggles will reveal one of the most enjoyable, engrossing and just plain jaw-dropping games on 360. MercurySteam has done itself, and Konami, proud. 8.3/10
Click to expand...

Yet of the two different reviewers he still gives it an 8.6 on the graphics versus the 8.9 for the PS3 reviewer. A little more consistency would be nice. If this statement is correct I would expect at least closer to 9. Still I suspect Gamepro Germany to be close to the money on comparison.

Graphics:8.6/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sound:8.3/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gameplay:8.3/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Longevity:8.6/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Multiplayer:N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall:8.3/10

Versus

Graphics:8.9/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sound:8.5/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gameplay:8.0/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Longevity:8.2/10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Multiplayer:N/A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall:8.5/10

Despera said:
Different reviewers for the same game?

:lol
Click to expand...

Yea coming back to this it is laughable. You use two different reviewers with two different scores yet no real comparison. Does not compute.
 
R

Reluctant-Hero

Member
Awesome OT. I plan on renting this as I couldn't find it try out at PAX. Was it there? Anyways, if it pulls me away from Reach long enough, I'll buy a copy.

Did anyone snag this avatar yet? If not, I call dibs! If it is snagged, PM me and I'll change it.
pj8nh.jpg
 
F

FreedomFrisbee

Member
Draft said:
This forum has no search function and I have absolutely no idea what thread or conversation you are referring to.
Click to expand...

ACTUALLY there's that google search thing up in the corner. That's the search function.

It's the demo impressions thread.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
BruceLeeRoy said:
I have been staying almost completely in the dark for this thing but just tell me one thing. Is it designed as a Metroidvania?
Click to expand...

Think of it like the series taking notes from games like God of War and Shadow of the Colossus (and even Uncharted/Assassin's Creed) and adding some of the elements from the classic games like platforming, focus on boss encounters and the gothic atmosphere of the series. It's closer to the classic games in that it's not a Metroidvania.
 
J

Joe Shlabotnik

Banned
I know I'm an old man yelling at cloud but all the reviews noting that it's "not the Castlevania we're used to" is infuriating. Even if it's probably true for a lot of you.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
FreedomFrisbee said:
I don't remember that being a programmer. I thought he was an artist, who talked about something a programmer had done. And he was commenting on latency.
Click to expand...
Codecow is a developer. He was talking about what _other_ developer did for another game he didn't work on.
Draft said:
This forum has no search function and I have absolutely no idea what thread or conversation you are referring to.
Click to expand...
Draft, he's talking about this. The conversation started a bit before this post and goes on after, but this is the point where codecow came in.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23538057&postcount=454
 
S

Segata Sanshiro

Member
Draft >>>>>>>>>> every other poster on GAF, especially FreedomFrisbee. Sorry FF, but once you've been here a while, you'll realize it, too.

Good to hear the combat is challenging but I won't truly be happy until a goddamn bat cheaply knocks me into a pit.
 
L

Lyonaz

Member
Reluctant-Hero said:
Awesome OT. I plan on renting this as I couldn't find it try out at PAX. Was it there? Anyways, if it pulls me away from Reach long enough, I'll buy a copy.

Did anyone snag this avatar yet? If not, I call dibs! If it is snagged, PM me and I'll change it.
pj8nh.jpg
Click to expand...

The Bookerman already claimed it on the first page like in post #3.
 
H

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
FreedomFrisbee said:
I don't remember that being a programmer. I thought he was an artist, who talked about something a programmer had done. And he was commenting on latency.



I am for real telling you you should go look at that convo. We talked it into the ground.
Click to expand...

How is latency not the issue? Higher framerate allows for more responsive controls. That's what codecow said, that's the widespread belief, that's what I've heard people argue in detail over and over again. If you want people to listen to you, with the preponderance of evidence against you, you need to provide a source for your argument, because "I'm a student" isn't credentials enough to outweigh the other side.

So you need to explain the conspiracy behind this widespread, false belief, or provide a source with more authority.
 
F

FreedomFrisbee

Member
FunkyPajamas said:
Codecow is a developer. He was talking about what _other_ developer did for another game he didn't work on.

Draft, he's talking about this. The conversation started a bit before this post and goes on after, but this is the point where codecow came in.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23538057&postcount=454
Click to expand...

What, an artist isn't a developer? And ya, he posted what I said he posted.

And please don't think anything I'm saying isn't without merit. Coding is pretty much all I do. Before I even made my initial statements about framerates, I checked with one of my project partners (who has written a couple engines and is working on a web development project right now) to make sure I was right.

How is latency not the issue? Higher framerate allows for more responsive controls. That's what codecow said, that's the widespread belief, that's what I've heard people argue in detail over and over again. If you want people to listen to you, with the preponderance of evidence against you, you need to provide a source for your argument, because "I'm a student" isn't credentials enough to outweigh the other side.

So you need to explain the conspiracy behind this widespread, false belief, or provide a source with more authority.
Click to expand...

It's not something that should need a source, it's the way things are. I don't need a source to say the grass is green. I'm not trying to teach a coding class here, which is why I'm not delving into specifics. I could try and find an article for you or something that talks about the stuff I'm talking about, if you want.

I was under the impression that codecow was saying that the other dev was trying to match the control inputs to what was happening on screen so there weren't any latency issues.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Second said:
I don't mind the 24fps. Movies are also 24fps. This is a true cinematic experience.
Click to expand...
Heh, not really. If it could sustain 24 fps without judder it would look decent, but that's usually just an average (or a dip).

That said, despite this, the game looks very smooth in motion thanks to some killer motion blur. I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned this, to be honest, as it seems like quite a feat. The blur seems to be some of the best I've ever seen in a game. So good, in fact, that I was convinced the original trailers and footage were pre-renders.

That right there smooths things out and prevents the dips from appearing ugly. I suppose we saw a similar effect in Crysis. Back in 2007, all machines struggled to run the game in DX10 mode, but thanks to the motion blur, framerates under 30 fps still looked decently smooth (as long as you stayed above 20). This definitely isn't the norm, but really good motion blur can go a long way towards keeping the action looking great even during periods of slowdown.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
FreedomFrisbee said:
What, an artist isn't a developer? And ya, he posted what I said he posted.
Click to expand...
Alright, I don't want to derail this thread, but here you go:
FreedomFrisbee said:
I don't remember that being a programmer. I thought he was an artist, who talked about something a programmer had done. And he was commenting on latency.
Click to expand...
You made the distinction between "programmer" and "artist". Don't backpedal now. He IS a programmer, a coder, a developer. You were wrong on that, I was just correcting you so that you knew what you were talking about.
FreedomFrisbee said:
And please don't think anything I'm saying isn't without merit. Coding is pretty much all I do. Before I even made my initial statements about framerates, I checked with one of my project partners (who has written a couple engines and is working on a web development project right now) to make sure I was right.
Click to expand...
Not sure if this is still directed at me, I've rarely gone into framerate discussions since I enjoy games despite less than ideal framerates (a side effect of being a low end PC gamer wannabe).
 
H

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
FreedomFrisbee said:
What, an artist isn't a developer? And ya, he posted what I said he posted.

And please don't think anything I'm saying isn't without merit. Coding is pretty much all I do. Before I even made my initial statements about framerates, I checked with one of my project partners (who has written a couple engines and is working on a web development project right now) to make sure I was right.



It's not something that should need a source, it's the way things are. I don't need a source to say the grass is green. I'm not trying to teach a coding class here, which is why I'm not delving into specifics. I could try and find an article for you or something that talks about the stuff I'm talking about, if you want.

I was under the impression that codecow was saying that the other dev was trying to match the control inputs to what was happening on screen so there weren't any latency issues.
Click to expand...

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3725/measuring_responsiveness_in_video_.php

Game developers also have to make the decision of whether to go with 60fps or 30fps. 60fps will generally have half the response time of 30fps, which can be a deciding factor (along with the smoother motion, which is visually more appealing on fast moving games). However for some games there are other factors that influence the response time.

Having an accurate way of measuring the response time allows the developer to more accurately and objectively make a decision on if 60fps is necessary, or if they simply need to tighten up their 30fps game.
Click to expand...
 
D

Draft

Member
FreedomFrisbee said:
ACTUALLY there's that google search thing up in the corner. That's the search function.

It's the demo impressions thread.
Click to expand...
I found it. That search function actually worked better than I had expected.

I can barely understand what you're typing. Maybe I'm too stupid. Motion blur makes up for lost frames? My eye, an evolutionary wonder that transcends frames per second but can absorb the equivalent of at least 100, isn't able to discern the difference? My hands, delicate, powerful instruments that have split the filaments of organs or pulled 1,000lbs off the floor, can't react faster than 24 frames a second?

Sounds like exactly the kind of garbage you hear from shitstain producers rationalizing partical effects over gameplay. The only thing a player can do to a game is react. The game does something, you react, the game does something else. I guess there's all sorts of shit that determines how fast that cycle runs, but fps is as good a way of measuring it as any, because outside of rumble the only way you can tell what the game is doing or whether it's realized what you want it to do is visually. I don't need to be a student of animation, 2D or 3D, to understand that the faster a games framerate, the more responsive and satisfying playing the game becomes. Conversely, a game with a poor framerate only frustrates as your commands are carried out by a plodding, inept protagonist who is always one step behind where you need him to be.

Demo's gonna have to be pretty good.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
dark10x said:
Heh, not really. If it could sustain 24 fps without judder it would look decent, but that's usually just an average (or a dip).

That said, despite this, the game looks very smooth in motion thanks to some killer motion blur. I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned this, to be honest, as it seems like quite a feat. The blur seems to be some of the best I've ever seen in a game. So good, in fact, that I was convinced the original trailers and footage were pre-renders.
Click to expand...

Agree on the Motionblur being fantastic. Completely forgot about it being in there...
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
Draft said:
My eye, an evolutionary wonder that transcends frames per second but can absorb the equivalent of at least 100, isn't able to discern the difference? My hands, delicate, powerful instruments that have split the filaments of organs or pulled 1,000lbs off the floor, can't react faster than 24 frames a second?
Click to expand...
Oh my god, Draft is Itagaki.
 
F

FreedomFrisbee

Member
Draft said:
Sounds like exactly the kind of garbage you hear from shitstain producers rationalizing partical effects over gameplay. The only thing a player can do to a game is react. The game does something, you react, the game does something else. I guess there's all sorts of shit that determines how fast that cycle runs, but fps is as good a way of measuring it as any, because outside of rumble the only way you can tell what the game is doing or whether it's realized what you want it to do is visually. I don't need to be a student of animation, 2D or 3D, to understand that the faster a games framerate, the more responsive and satisfying playing the game becomes. Conversely, a game with a poor framerate only frustrates as your commands are carried out by a plodding, inept protagonist who is always one step behind where you need him to be.
Demo's gonna have to be pretty good.
Click to expand...

Human reaction time is .1 seconds, which would equate to 10fps, so no you can't react faster than that. I covered that in the last thread.

I never said codecow wasn't a dev, I just made the more specific differentiation of him being an artist. If he was a coder, he could up and just tell me how the code was working. I'm not trying to lambast him at all.

I'll be back later to talk more. Classes now.
 
LabouredSubterfuge

LabouredSubterfuge

Member
FreedomFrisbee said:
Human reaction time is .1 seconds, which would equate to 10fps, so no you can't react faster than that. I covered that in the last thread.

I never said codecow wasn't a dev, I just made the more specific differentiation of him being an artist. If he was a coder, he could up and just tell me how the code was working. I'm not trying to lambast him at all.

I'll be back later to talk more. Classes now.
Click to expand...


Yes human reaction time is .1 second but that completely disregards a human's ability to anticipate and recognise patterns which feeds into how people are able to react quickly when, say, an enemy is about to strike. So a fast frame rate does still matter because controller latency is lowered and allows for a player to clearly perceive events unfolding around him which aids anticipation and pattern recognition.
 
LowParry

LowParry

Member
FunkyPajamas said:
Nobody who likes Baldur's Gate II is just "some dude", you dirty peasant.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but the rest of you noble kind is shitfesting the thread up with all this frame rate talk. Save it for the comparison thread if there is any. Sheesh.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
CcrooK said:
Perhaps, but the rest of you noble kind is shitfesting the thread up with all this frame rate talk. Save it for the comparison thread if there is any. Sheesh.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, sorry for the derail.
 
F

FrankT

Member
Tokubetsu said:
Any word on a 360 demo? =/
Click to expand...

Yea it's in MS's hands so who really knows. Earlier;

from twitter:


Quote:
@CastlevaniaLOS Is there a 360 demo coming out today? I didn't see it this morning, and I'm hearing mixed reports. Thanks!


Quote:
@JayLJohnston Ask Microsoft :(
Click to expand...
 
D

dvolovets

Member
This game is looking fantastic... I've never played any of the 3D Castlevanias for PS2, but I'm a huge fan of the 2D ones for DS, and of course all the classic ones... but honestly, this does look like an evolution for the series. From the gameplay videos I've seen, the environments are also very diverse -- the atmosphere is RE4-like, also, in a way. Kind of difficult to explain.

One thing I know for sure, though -- I'm definitely not seeing a God of War rip-off when I look at Lords of Shadow, gameplay similarities aside.
 
F

FrankT

Member
MarkMan said:
I LOVE THIS GAME.

<3

Everyone support MercuryS/Konami <3
Click to expand...

Day 1.

Oh wait, it was already day 1. :D

brandonh83 said:
Come on reviews and media embargo, LIFT! Love lift us up where we belong! Need to fancier-up the OP!
Click to expand...

Above post (MM) is all you need in the OP.
 
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