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[SlasherJPC]

Finished this on knight yesterday fellas and WOW!!!! Game was just freaking outstanding imo. So many great boss battles, enemies were mixed up throughout, enviroments outstanding.

My main complaints are the framerate issues from time to time. Some hard to see jumping spots, and the story while interesting really went dead throughout the middle imo. Begining and end was where it was at.

Overall one of my favorite games this year. Yeah it has problems but this game rubbed me in all the very, very right ways!

 

[MarshMellow96]

Chapter IV looks absolutely wonderful..

 

[LiK]

Chapter IV looks absolutely wonderful..

Oh man, more to see later

 

[Hela]

Oh man, more to see later

God, just stop teasing us who are still playing through or I'll have to do nothing but play this till I reach the end.

 

[LiK]

God, just stop teasing us who are still playing through or I'll have to do nothing but play this till I reach the end.

^.^

 

[nelsonroyale]

Yup... Since I'm an arachnophobe, me and a friend are double teaming the spiders through the game.:lol

If you have it on ps3 can you tell me how you are doing that? I kindly recieved a save file, but it doesn't seem to recognise it when I load up the game, it just starts a new campaign, even after I delete the auto save and reload teh game with only the imported save

 

[TimeKillr]

Some of them are in-game. I don't feel QTEs are a good way of interacting with the player regardless. They aren't a skill you develop over the course of a game. Pushing A to kill the end boss takes no more ability or experience than pushing A to kill a regular enemy. It's a cheap "gotcha" that at best wastes the player's time and at worst leaves the player feeling like they were cheated out of the part that actually took skill, because they have to repeat it for not being psychic during cut-scenes.

You gotta realize something -

When the QTE is triggered, basically, you HAVE beat the boss. It's just that a ton of players are ADD-riddled people who absolutely HATE watching a cut-scene. But as a developer, you spend a ton of money doing those cut-scenes, because you actually like them, and some of your audience likes it. If you end up doing cut-scenes and people skip them, it's just wasted money in your dev cycle.

So what do we do? We QTE them, to make them more engaging, so that the ADD folk won't just want to skip the damn thing.

We devs are a fickle bunch, and we mostly all want to be interactive filmmakers, so if we create something and all you wanna do is skip it to get to the action, it makes us sad (also make cinematics designers very very very sad).

Seriously, I understand your point and all, but just think of it as a "Great, you beat the boss, here's a cinematic sequence. But please watch it, and to make sure you're gonna watch it, press a button once in a while".

Seriously, Castlevania uses probably the least offensive sort of QTEs: specific button-presses are mash only, and circle QTEs are SO INCREDIBLY easy I don't see how anyone could fail them. Hell, even if you mash EARLY in a circle QTE it won't trigger until it's almost over the circle.

The only bad ones were the ones where you have to spin the analog stick around, because those fail incredibly quickly and you barely have time to see the prompt.

 

[RavenFox]

You gotta realize something -

When the QTE is triggered, basically, you HAVE beat the boss. It's just that a ton of players are ADD-riddled people who absolutely HATE watching a cut-scene. But as a developer, you spend a ton of money doing those cut-scenes, because you actually like them, and some of your audience likes it. If you end up doing cut-scenes and people skip them, it's just wasted money in your dev cycle.

So what do we do? We QTE them, to make them more engaging, so that the ADD folk won't just want to skip the damn thing.

We devs are a fickle bunch, and we mostly all want to be interactive filmmakers, so if we create something and all you wanna do is skip it to get to the action, it makes us sad (also make cinematics designers very very very sad).

Seriously, I understand your point and all, but just think of it as a "Great, you beat the boss, here's a cinematic sequence. But please watch it, and to make sure you're gonna watch it, press a button once in a while".

Seriously, Castlevania uses probably the least offensive sort of QTEs: specific button-presses are mash only, and circle QTEs are SO INCREDIBLY easy I don't see how anyone could fail them. Hell, even if you mash EARLY in a circle QTE it won't trigger until it's almost over the circle.

The only bad ones were the ones where you have to spin the analog stick around, because those fail incredibly quickly and you barely have time to see the prompt.

I really don't get the crying myself.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I really don't get the crying myself.

Same here. Easiest one's in a game by far! Good lord I loved the ones in the final battle... hell I liked the ones in all the major boss take downs!

 

[Fimbulvetr]

I really don't get the crying myself.

QTEs suck and people wish they would be gone from all games?

 

[The Bookerman]

If you have it on ps3 can you tell me how you are doing that? I kindly recieved a save file, but it doesn't seem to recognise it when I load up the game, it just starts a new campaign, even after I delete the auto save and reload teh game with only the imported save

What type of files do you have?

 

[soco]

and we mostly all want to be interactive filmmakers, so if we create something and all you wanna do is skip it to get to the action, it makes us sad (also make cinematics designers very very very sad).

here's the problem. you aren't interactive filmmakers. you're game devs. interactive film died a long time ago because people generally don't like it. for some insanely silly reason, some people keep trying to resurrect it.

 

[TreIII]

here's the problem. you aren't interactive filmmakers. you're game devs. interactive film died a long time ago because people generally don't like it. for some insanely silly reason, some people keep trying to resurrect it.

Exactly.

To me, the only game that did the whole QTE thing "right" was God Hand. In that context, the game basically only used QTEs for more or less the same end as would be fitting an old school arcade brawler.

"Mash buttons to add on more damage to this stunned/downed opponent."
"Press this button/wiggle control stick in order to escape this grab that you got yourself into."
etc.

In short, there was never a moment where I felt like a QTE was taking me away from the game play, nor was I ever forced to get through a cutscene by way of QTE. And that's all I could ever want, if QTEs must be a part of the mix.

 

[brandonh83]

We devs are a fickle bunch, and we mostly all want to be interactive filmmakers, so if we create something and all you wanna do is skip it to get to the action, it makes us sad (also make cinematics designers very very very sad).

Seriously, I understand your point and all, but just think of it as a "Great, you beat the boss, here's a cinematic sequence. But please watch it, and to make sure you're gonna watch it, press a button once in a while".

The cinematics in the game are awesome. If people want to skip out on them, though, that's their decision. I don't agree with it and I acknowledge the hard work that goes into them. But don't assume everyone has the attention span of a concrete block.

QTE's are never good. You say that they're included so that you are forced to watch the cinematics? For me, I'm paying more attention to an upcoming QTE than I am on the cinematic, so either way, it doesn't work out well for anyone.

If the cinematics in the game are legitimately awesome, people who care enough about them will enjoy and appreciate them. People who don't will continue not to, and having the QTE sequences will ensure that they can't watch or focus even on a great cinematic.

 

[Philanthropist]

I finished it yesterday. What a great game I hadn't enjoyed a game so much for a long time. Long, inspired, well executed. A total must-have if you liked the demo and/or if you like the genre.

I did find the framerate in the full game slightly better than in the demo, for those concerned. Whoever gets the PS3 version must know that the game is perfectly playable and enjoyable.

 

[semiconscious]

QTE's are never good. You say that they're included so that you are forced to watch the cinematics? For me, I'm paying more attention to an upcoming QTE than I am on the cinematic, so either way, it doesn't work out well for anyone...

yep - best way in the world to get someone not to relax'n'enjoy cinematic sequences is to have them nervously anticipating a qte...


finished, &, unlike just about everyone, i thought the environments (not to mention the story) pretty much started strong & then progressively just went downhill. the areas in the last 3rd, particularly, just felt very generic/lifeless (not to mention gow-ish)...

overall, i had fun, but no more fun than i had with enslaved. afa action-adventure, neither of the two managed to get it right, 'total package' -wise, in the way arkham asylum did, imo, & playing them both kinda made me respect just how brilliant that game was even more - still the current champ for me (obviously not including bayonetta here - she's in a class all her own )...

 

[forrest]

I enjoyed the QTE's. They let me interact with what would otherwise be just a cinematic or cut scene. So I get to watch Gabriel half decapitate a boss. Why not let me actually trigger the action itself. I don't find them particularly intrusive, especially when you can practically hit any button for most of them.

 

[d0c_zaius]

Yay back from my ban .

Any news on the PS3 patch? Been waiting to finish chapter 9 for a while now....

 

[ChocolateCupcakes]

Does anyone know what chapter the spiders come in? I freaking hate spiders (a lot) so I'm going to need to get my friend to help me.

 

[.la1n]

Framerate has been a non-issue for me up to the few hours iv'e put into the game. I could see only the most nit picky gamer having issue with it. The evironments are absolutely gorgeous and the enemy design is very nice. I especially enjoyed the Troll, looked like the ones out of the Berserk manga that raided the town in droves.

Unfortunately I promised the girlfriend I wouldn't play it except when she was available to watch because she has gotten into it, making an already long game even longer. Stuck playing The Force Unleashed in preparation for the second one. Actually quite please to find that the game doesn't suck like most people said, ah but that belongs in another thread.

Buy Castlevania, support the devs.

 

[Amir0x]

Framerate has been a non-issue for me up to the few hours iv'e put into the game. I could see only the most nit picky gamer having issue with it.

This right here is why the framerate people have to keep coming back to stir the pot. Only the most low standard motherfucker on earth could possibly be satisfied with the abhorrent framerate that is consistently prevalent throughout this game.

It is consistently at 24fps or less - that's a fact, not up for debate. If calling out a game for being 24fps or less is considered "nit picky" in your mind, I'm not even sure why you bothered commenting. Just because you're blind and/or have standards so low that Satan keeps it company in hell doesn't mean the rest are satisfied to that.

 

[jett]

This right here is why the framerate people have to keep coming back to stir the pot. Only the most low standard motherfucker on earth could possibly be satisfied with the abhorrent framerate that is consistently prevalent throughout this game.

It is consistently at 24fps or less - that's a fact, not up for debate. If calling out a game for being 24fps or less is considered "nit picky" in your mind, I'm not even sure why you bothered commenting. Just because you're blind and/or have standards so low that Satan keeps it company in hell doesn't mean the rest are satisfied to that.

:bow The framerate in this game is awful and the graphics don't even justify it, which is even sadder.

 

[.la1n]

This right here is why the framerate people have to keep coming back to stir the pot. Only the most low standard motherfucker on earth could possibly be satisfied with the abhorrent framerate that is consistently prevalent throughout this game.

It is consistently at 24fps or less - that's a fact, not up for debate. If calling out a game for being 24fps or less is considered "nit picky" in your mind, I'm not even sure why you bothered commenting. Just because you're blind and/or have standards so low that Satan keeps it company in hell doesn't mean the rest are satisfied to that.

I see your point and if it's a factor that destroys your experience with a game that is genuinely fun to play then that's your issue. All I'm saying is that for the average audience I highly doubt it's going to be an issue or hinder their fun. Agree to disagree, opinions are like assholes etc.

Perhaps nit picky was the wrong word, I can't think of any other that come to mind to describe it though. You must have suffered quite regularly during the early days of gaming. I imagine you were probably unable to play the majority of the software library due to technical issues, small glitches and the like?

 

[TimeKillr]

here's the problem. you aren't interactive filmmakers. you're game devs. interactive film died a long time ago because people generally don't like it. for some insanely silly reason, some people keep trying to resurrect it.

I'm well aware we aren't interactive filmmakers. I'm just saying it's how people feel in the industry. Believe me.

It's one reason why games have gotten easier in the past 10 years. Why the HELL would a game dev spend millions to only have a small portion of their player base even be able to enjoy it? The way it works now is that we make games so that ALL the content we work on will be seen by every player, otherwise it's wasted money.

It's why WoW became much easier - I remember stats during vanilla where only 2% of the userbase was seeing the high-end raid content. Why spend so much money on content that nobody sees, rather than improving the rest of the game for the remaining 98%?

The cinematics in the game are awesome. If people want to skip out on them, though, that's their decision. I don't agree with it and I acknowledge the hard work that goes into them. But don't assume everyone has the attention span of a concrete block.

QTE's are never good. You say that they're included so that you are forced to watch the cinematics? For me, I'm paying more attention to an upcoming QTE than I am on the cinematic, so either way, it doesn't work out well for anyone.

If the cinematics in the game are legitimately awesome, people who care enough about them will enjoy and appreciate them. People who don't will continue not to, and having the QTE sequences will ensure that they can't watch or focus even on a great cinematic.

I know the cinematics are awesome, but again, if only half of your players see them because they are skipping them or whatever, it's money you could've spent somewhere else in the dev process. But we DO want to make cinematics, because they're awesome, but we make it so that people have to watch them so that it's not wasted money. It's simple

It's a business. People who spend money want to make sure it goes to make the best possible product, and if players are skipping over parts of the game, it makes those people think it was money that was not wisely invested in the product. It's simple, really.

I'm not saying I condone it all or anything.

I like watching cinematics.

Hell, I don't mind QTEs myself.

I completely understand why some people don't like QTEs, though. Especially when they are very invasive. Castlevania's QTEs, however, are anything BUT invasive or even hard.

If you're talking Shenmue, where you have 20 button-press long QTEs with a ton of branching paths and missing a single one fucks up your goal, then yes, QTEs are bad. If you're talking Castlevania, where it's hard to mess up a QTE, then, well...

QTEs are not inherently bad. Just like every game mechanic, they can be used well, or they can be used badly. Jumping can be used badly (see a ton of NES games which shitty jumping mechanics or jumping in first person games) or they can be used perfectly (see the NES SMB series, or hell, every single Megaman game).

 

[Fimbulvetr]

I see your point and if it's a factor that destroys your experience with a game that is genuinely fun to play then that's your issue. All I'm saying is that for the average audience I highly doubt it's going to be an issue or hinder their fun. Agree to disagree, opinions are like assholes etc.

Perhaps nit picky was the wrong word, I can't think of any other that come to mind to describe it though. You must have suffered quite regularly during the early days of gaming. I imagine you were probably unable to play the majority of the software library due to technical issues, small glitches and the like?

You have to take context into account as well.

This is a busy combat focused game, you can't have sub-30 and inconsistent framerate hindering your ability to react, either because of twitchy animation or control lag.

 

[brandonh83]

I think if someone likes the product enough, they won't skip the cutscenes. And just because there are people out there who would skip them, that doesn't really count for everyone. I know I loved a lot of the cutscenes in the game, and I know that I would have been able to enjoy and appreciate them more without having to worry about timed button reactions.

I don't deny the developers' intentions with QTE's, but I do not find them to be a solution to get more people to pay attention to the cutscenes because like I said it's hard to pay attention to them, especially the crafting, camerawork, music, and action if they're worrying about when they're going to have to press a button.

Yes, it forces people to actually watch, but they're not paying as much attention to how well-done the cinematic is as they are about when the QTE is going to pop up. Either way I just don't feel that QTE's are the answer to get people to watch cutscenes.

Some people have no appreciation for this sort of thing, so forcing them to watch in anticipation of a QTE isn't actually getting them to watch and enjoy the cutscene-- they're just watching and waiting (probably impatiently) for the prompt. They're a distraction more than anything.

 

[SNIKT!]

Just finished the game. HOLY SH*T! I Loved it. Perfect game for Halloween time! It is definitely my GOTY. That's with stiff competition from RDR and ME2! It hit all the sweet spots for me.

I did have some frustration here and there with the camera and the framrate. But, if a game has these issues and I still enjoy the ride, does it really matter? I don't think so.

Playing this game gave me that feeling of being a kid again. Wondering what was around the next corner, or the next chapter. Haven't had true excitement playing a game in a long time. I don't think I can explain why really... just worked for me, I guess. Bring on the DLC and the sequel already!

 

[Amir0x]

Perhaps nit picky was the wrong word, I can't think of any other that come to mind to describe it though. You must have suffered quite regularly during the early days of gaming. I imagine you were probably unable to play the majority of the software library due to technical issues, small glitches and the like?

Yes, my distaste of PS1/N64 era games is well, well, well known. I usually stuck to 2D games, and the 3D games I did play...well, it was hard enough to suffer. We've moved on. Standards have evolved. I don't want to play games that look like PS1 titles. I don't want games that have the framerate of Ps1 titles either.

Anyway, the problem is not that you don't care about it. It's that you lack of care is attempting to translate into "other people who do care about a framerate this bad are nitpicky." This is as low a framerate can be before it pretty much becomes completely unplayable altogether. It dips into the 15fps at times. I mean, how much lower do you accept before it stops being nitpicking?

In other words: you don't notice framerates whatsoever. That's perfectly ok too. It also means you should not be commenting on it, or others who notice it.

 

[RavenFox]

QTEs suck and people wish they would be gone from all games?

Maybe you suck and should stop playing games?

This right here is why the framerate people have to keep coming back to stir the pot. Only the most low standard motherfucker on earth could possibly be satisfied with the abhorrent framerate that is consistently prevalent throughout this game.

It is consistently at 24fps or less - that's a fact, not up for debate. If calling out a game for being 24fps or less is considered "nit picky" in your mind, I'm not even sure why you bothered commenting. Just because you're blind and/or have standards so low that Satan keeps it company in hell doesn't mean the rest are satisfied to that.

:lol I love when Amirox post like this

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Maybe you suck and should stop playing games?

Hmmmm.... nah.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

You gotta realize something -

When the QTE is triggered, basically, you HAVE beat the boss. It's just that a ton of players are ADD-riddled people who absolutely HATE watching a cut-scene. But as a developer, you spend a ton of money doing those cut-scenes, because you actually like them, and some of your audience likes it. If you end up doing cut-scenes and people skip them, it's just wasted money in your dev cycle.

So what do we do? We QTE them, to make them more engaging, so that the ADD folk won't just want to skip the damn thing.

We devs are a fickle bunch, and we mostly all want to be interactive filmmakers, so if we create something and all you wanna do is skip it to get to the action, it makes us sad (also make cinematics designers very very very sad).

Seriously, I understand your point and all, but just think of it as a "Great, you beat the boss, here's a cinematic sequence. But please watch it, and to make sure you're gonna watch it, press a button once in a while".

Seriously, Castlevania uses probably the least offensive sort of QTEs: specific button-presses are mash only, and circle QTEs are SO INCREDIBLY easy I don't see how anyone could fail them. Hell, even if you mash EARLY in a circle QTE it won't trigger until it's almost over the circle.

The only bad ones were the ones where you have to spin the analog stick around, because those fail incredibly quickly and you barely have time to see the prompt.

Okay, well if I've beat the boss, then clearly I can't lose by failing the QTE, right? Because if there's still a win/loss condition remaining in order for me to progress, then I haven't, in fact, beaten the boss. I know why you're doing it, you're pandering to the retards, but it still sucks.

I really don't get the crying myself.

"If I have a complaint, it's constructive criticism. If someone else has a complaint, it's crying!"

Hey Raven, stop bawling over people criticizing things you like. Seriously. Stop the sniffling. Do you need a tissue to wipe the tears streaming down your widdle cheeks? Shall I give you an extra to blow your little nose with? There's a muffin. There, there.

I completely understand why some people don't like QTEs, though. Especially when they are very invasive. Castlevania's QTEs, however, are anything BUT invasive or even hard.

If you're talking Shenmue, where you have 20 button-press long QTEs with a ton of branching paths and missing a single one fucks up your goal, then yes, QTEs are bad. If you're talking Castlevania, where it's hard to mess up a QTE, then, well...

QTEs are not inherently bad. Just like every game mechanic, they can be used well, or they can be used badly. Jumping can be used badly (see a ton of NES games which shitty jumping mechanics or jumping in first person games) or they can be used perfectly (see the NES SMB series, or hell, every single Megaman game).

I don't like them at all. When they first came back into vogue, they were kind of fun. But as I was playing God of War 3 (I feel God of War probably uses QTEs more intelligently than most), all I could think of was how fucking empty everything felt because all I was doing was playing Simon with a different movie playing. Why even play the game? I could just queue up Die Hard and smack the buttons on an unplugged controller. My interaction means about as much in the end. As a result, even though I used to love God of War to death, I've decided I'm completely done with the series.

I'm at the point where if a game features QTEs, it's a negative that knocks points off the game for me. I'm well aware I don't represent the average gamers, but all I can control is my own purchases. I'm very cagey about supporting this kind of dumbing down of gaming, particularly in games that prove they don't need to dumb things down to make the fights look awesome.

 

[Amir0x]

Hmmmm.... nah.

Castlevania copied all this other stuff from a billion games, might as well copy QTE too.

I understand developers want to keep gamers constantly 'involved' with the proceedings, but this has got to be the worst possible way to do it.

Better tip developers: LET US ACTUALLY PLAY THE EPIC SCENES YOU'RE SHOWING US. :lol

 

[RavenFox]

Okay, well if I've beat the boss, then clearly I can't lose by failing the QTE, right? Because if there's still a win/loss condition remaining in order for me to progress, then I haven't, in fact, beaten the boss. I know why you're doing it, you're pandering to the retards, but it still sucks.


"If I have a complaint, it's constructive criticism. If someone else has a complaint, it's crying!"

Hey Raven, stop bawling over people criticizing things you like. Seriously. Stop the sniffling. Do you need a tissue to wipe the tears streaming down your widdle cheeks? Shall I give you an extra to blow your little nose with? There's a muffin. There, there.


I don't like them at all. When they first came back into vogue, they were kind of fun. But as I was playing God of War 3 (I feel God of War probably uses QTEs more intelligently than most), all I could think of was how fucking empty everything felt because all I was doing was playing Simon with a different movie playing. Why even play the game? I could just queue up Die Hard and smack the buttons on an unplugged controller. My interaction means about as much in the end. As a result, even though I used to love God of War to death, I've decided I'm completely done with the series.

I'm at the point where if a game features QTEs, it's a negative that knocks points off the game for me. I'm well aware I don't represent the average gamers, but all I can control is my own purchases. I'm very cagey about supporting this kind of dumbing down of gaming, particularly in games that prove they don't need to dumb things down to make the fights look awesome.

Easy Sagata. There is to much crying at times. I do agree about much you have posted though but I have to pull QTE's out of there. I understand you disagree and I respect that.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

"If I have a complaint, it's constructive criticism. If someone else has a complaint, it's crying!"

Hey Raven, stop bawling over people criticizing things you like. Seriously. Stop the sniffling. Do you need a tissue to wipe the tears streaming down your widdle cheeks? Shall I give you an extra to blow your little nose with? There's a muffin. There, there.

Who needs arguments when you can use baseless insults?

It's all of the failure, only more annoying and with way less effort. Kind of like a QTE actually.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Easy Sagata. There is to much crying at times. I do agree about much you have posted though but I have to pull QTE's out of there. I understand you disagree and I respect that.

Raven. You need to stop crying. You're making a scene.

Spoiler

Sorry, I just find it really, really irritating when people classify opinions they disagree with as 'crying', 'hating', 'whining', or things like that. All it shows is a lack of respect for the criticism the person is making, maintaining a low level of discourse that rarely results in anything good.

 

[Stripper13]

I played the demo a couple of weeks back on PS3 - and while I enjoyed myself, I didn't really see myself buying it as I generally don't enjoy GOW/QTE style combat.

Long story short, I get the game on XBOX 360 as my wife gets it for my birthday (because I've been playing the shit out of Castlevania HD on XBLA)... I'm not disappointed, but I would have preferred the preorder/money spent on Vanquish releasing a week later.

Cut to today, I have just completed Chapter 3 (I am playing on Knight? 3rd highest difficulty) and holy shit this game is amazing. The graphics are mind blowing, the music is epic and I'm really enjoying the story (though it really is random in terms of locations etc - I have no idea where I am or why until the end of the level... and then I think "Oooohhh - now it makes sense".

The best part of course, is the gameplay - I just love the platforming elements (not as automatic as say Enslaved, but certainly not as overdone/intense as Uncharted... it's a good balance - and the secrets/gems etc really encourage exploration without slowing down your progress too much. More importantly however, is the combat. Don't let the demo fool you, this is probably the most fun I've had fun combat-wise since NG2 and Bayonetta (and leagues ahead of DMC for me). What starts out as a GOW style dial-a-combo/QTE romp quickly becomes very difficult and intense. The orb/combo-meter/magic system is perfectly implemented and tweaked just right so that I don't have too many orbs/magic to play with, but assuming I am playing correctly, never completely fucked.

The battle system feels very DMC in the sense that alot of the basic moves/combos can switch into others quite easily, it also shows similarities with the air combat/combos. The direct/wide attack system is so simple but contains so much depth that you're almost fooled into thinking that it's button mashing - but as soon as you reach Greater Lycans and some of the battles there onwards, I really find myself having to think about my next move.

Bosses are also amazing - I really haven't enjoyed boss fights like this since perhaps DMC3. The titans are interesting albeit familiar, but the 1v1 fights are particularly entertaining and make good use of the dodge/parry system (parry system borders on being a tad too forgiving against certain enemies).

My only issues are fairly common ones - framerate... I'll be honest - I don't notice the drops all that much - and when I do, they never affect my enjoyment of the game or the gameplay itself - but it can be jarring dropping an already low framerate and seemingly random moments... and even more annoying - suddenly jumping into what feels like 60fps for several seconds for no reason?

Camera/Controls - both of these are not real issues on their own, but combined - you have to deal with a camera system that moves quite alot for that 'dramatic angle' while your controls take a few seconds to realign/calibrate... I can see why it is done - it can help in several moments of the game when, if you had still been pressing the direction you were going when the camera moved - you'd be in trouble... but it's still a niggling issue that gets annoying when you find yourself stuck inbetween two camera angles/changes and have difficulty moving smoothly between them.

Difficulty - I know it sounds stupid due my complimenting the difficulty earlier - but it really is very frustrating entering a particularly difficult battle (Greater lycans are a pain in the ass in any battle - it only gets worse in numbers combined with lesser lycans) with little to no magic and health. Sure, if you had played better earlier on you'd be fine - but it really doesn't feel fair entering an entirely new stage in a chapter with the the same hp as you finished the previous one with. Which leads me to my next and biggest issue.

Checkpoints - It really is an amateur mistake more than anything - but checkpoints should always be placed just prior to the next difficult battle or perhaps even the last health fountain... never between both. In one particularly frustrating area of Chapter 2 (my first encounter with greater lycans + lesser lycans) I would restart nowhere near a way to heal or get orbs (and had next to no health to boot), had to complete a good 15-25 second platforming area where I then entered into a small skippable cutscene - and then began the battle where one hit = death until I could build enough orbs to start healing. I died no less than 15 times on that fight... I could have killed someone for real after that.

Anyways - thoroughly enjoying the game - and outside of a few design decisions - this really is a brilliant game that has me excited for whatever Mercury Steam do next.

 

[RavenFox]

Raven. You need to stop crying. You're making a scene.

Spoiler

Sorry, I just find it really, really irritating when people classify opinions they disagree with as 'crying', 'hating', 'whining', or things like that. All it shows is a lack of respect for the criticism the person is making, maintaining a low level of discourse that rarely results in anything good.

I agree good buddy. It would be wiser for me to think about it properly before I typed. I also should have put an explanation on why I felt that way and maybe worded it differently.

 

[rhino4evr]

Just finished chapter 1, holy crap they were not kidding when they said this game rips off other games. I think it was the most blatant rip off I've ever seen by such a major franchise.

 

[.la1n]

Yes, my distaste of PS1/N64 era games is well, well, well known. I usually stuck to 2D games, and the 3D games I did play...well, it was hard enough to suffer. We've moved on. Standards have evolved. I don't want to play games that look like PS1 titles. I don't want games that have the framerate of Ps1 titles either.

Anyway, the problem is not that you don't care about it. It's that you lack of care is attempting to translate into "other people who do care about a framerate this bad are nitpicky." This is as low a framerate can be before it pretty much becomes completely unplayable altogether. It dips into the 15fps at times. I mean, how much lower do you accept before it stops being nitpicking?

In other words: you don't notice framerates whatsoever. That's perfectly ok too. It also means you should not be commenting on it, or others who notice it.

Point taken. I think had this been two years ago you would have seen a very different opinion as I felt like 30fps should be a minimum. I think I have just come to accept flaws in games and have fun where fun is to be had. I understand though the issue with demanding more out of a game, like a framerate that is acceptable to you, that doesn't hinder your enjoyment.

On that matter I understand what you mean. Nit Picky is not correct. It's more of a different way of judging whether a game is up to your standards to have fun. Basically, I respect your opinion.

edit: I dont see an issue with posting that I personally do not notice a framerate problem and it does not hinder my fun with the game. I will agree that people who do have an issue with it should not be made to seem any less simply because they do not see it the same way I do.

 

[Abylim]

Awesome game, end of chapter 8 here.
I was preparing to be bombarded with eyeball bleedingly bad frame rate when I started it up. Yeah, it slows down. I also agree that it has no reason to be so low. But to those who refuse to play it just because it's 24 fps, I feel sorry for you. This game is awesome.

There is nothing going on in the game that makes me refuse to play it. It doesnt seem to be any worse than Dead Rising 2.

Edit: Forget it, not worth mentioning.

Suffice to say I am lovin the game. I have some suspicions about how its going to end, but I'll keep it to myself!
Enjoy !

 

[Hellion]

Just finished chapter 1, holy crap they were not kidding when they said this game rips off other games. I think it was the most blatant rip off I've ever seen by such a major franchise.

Download Dante's Inferno demo :/

 

[ArachosiA 78]

I've made it to Ch 8, and my opinion thus far is that it's a pretty good game, but there's really no need for its existence. I mean, God of War 3 does pretty much everything this game does, but only better. GoW3 looks far superior, has a better framerate, has much better puzzles, has better combat, and has more interesting enemies. C:LoS is longer and has a better story, but that's about it... so far, at least.

Also, it still does not feel like Castlevania to me. The only real link I see to Castlevania is that your weapon is a whip. That's not enough for this to deserve the Castlevania title. And how in the hell is this anything like CV4? Didn't the developers state that CV4 was their "bible?" The only thing it has in common with CV4 is that you spend a good deal of time making your way to the castle.

I am enjoying this game, but I am annoyed at the lack of "Castlevania-ness, and the fact that I have already played the superior GoW3 makes this seem somewhat pointless.

 

[Footos22]

Finished this on Sat night, took me 19 hours or so on knight difficulty. Loved the ever loving crap out of it. But then again i've never really played a castlevania apart from SOTN when i had a ps1. (loved the hell out of that too though)

Game really gets better technically after chapter 2. Well it looks like it does i know it doesnt really.

The framerate really does not detract from the overall experience and isnt that bad at all and the game really looks incredible in cetain areas. The Outer wall (I think) in paticular was probably the standout.

Anyway, Im just going back through cleaning up the trials. up to chapter 9 trials now and im finding them really simple. Havent had one problem so far.

The Light mirror puzzle i was dreading due to a couple of posters here but cleared that with about 20 seconds left on the clock.
Shadow punch is your friend.

Up to 26 hours now i think and 92.8%

Love you can ake screenshots from the xmb of the concept art

Motorstorm artic rush dynamic theme with the ice titan concept art as the background looks awesome.

 

[Ledsen]

I've made it to Ch 8, and my opinion thus far is that it's a pretty good game, but there's really no need for its existence. I mean, God of War 3 does pretty much everything this game does, but only better. GoW3 looks far superior, has a better framerate, has much better puzzles, has better combat, and has more interesting enemies. C:LoS is longer and has a better story, but that's about it... so far, at least.

Also, it still does not feel like Castlevania to me. The only real link I see to Castlevania is that your weapon is a whip. That's not enough for this to deserve the Castlevania title. And how in the hell is this anything like CV4? Didn't the developers state that CV4 was their "bible?" The only thing it has in common with CV4 is that you spend a good deal of time making your way to the castle.

I am enjoying this game, but I am annoyed at the lack of "Castlevania-ness, and the fact that I have already played the superior GoW3 makes this seem somewhat pointless.

I'd say Castlevanias combat is far superior to GoW's.

 

[Stripper13]

I'd say Castlevanias combat is far superior to GoW's.

Without a doubt.

Castlevania LoS is the closest I've experienced to NG/Bayonetta/DMC levels of combat in any of these types of action adventure games. It retains the scale and exploration/puzzle elements of GoW (and by association, Dante's Inferno etc) but all the elements of the battle system really shine. It's not often you find a game that has a fantastic group/multi enemy battle system that still works as well, if not better in intense 1v1 battles (add to that a smooth and organic battle system vs Titans) and I really have to compliment Mercury Steam's efforts over and above the rest of the great work they've done.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

You know, I've never really found out if the trials do anything.

 

[JohngPR]

Personally I don't have a problem with QTE's, and in most cases I enjoy them. It's when developers require too much precision or make them last too long that it fails for me.

I like that they took the new approach of having the placement of the button press correspond with he direction of the face button. Makes it easier to be able to watch and press at the same time.

 

[hank_tree]

I'm loving this game so far. Reached chapter 11 last night so I'm hoping to get it finished tonight. Just in time for Fallout.

 

[JohngPR]

I'm about halfway through this game and halfway through Enslaved and I can safely say that from a game play perspective, Castlevania definitely has Enslaved beat.* I'm surprised by how small Enslaved's move set is, even after you upgrade. As far as story, too early to tell right now.



*- The reason I'm comparing the two is because A) They came out on the same day and are both third person character action games and B) I'm playing both at the same time. :lol

 

[Solo]

You know, I've never really found out of the trials do anything.

I don't know what you're trying to say, but you aren't saying it.