MoonsaultSlayer
Member
Joe Shlabotnik said:
Man, you guys. I love the chupacabra's because they add a light hearted element to the game which gives me memories of Jim Henson fantasy films.
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow |OT| The MercurySteam has Vanquished the Horrible Night
- Thread starter brandonh83
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Man, you guys. I love the chupacabra's because they add a light hearted element to the game which gives me memories of Jim Henson fantasy films.
MrMephistoX
Gold Member
So enemy variety gets better after chapter 2? I really like the game so far but if I see another damn werewolf or giant spider I'm going to snap.
Just got it today and I'm about halfway done with chapter 2. Enjoying it quite abit so far, loving the combat even though I'm fucking awful at it.
So far gameplay wise I'd say it's pretty Castlevaniary but the setting seems wrong. Like Lords of Shadow is to fantasy what Castlevania is to horror though obviously I'm not very far and I know it gets better from the trailers I've seen. Load screen Patrick Stewart is getting kind creepy with all the watching in the bushes stuff.
I don't get why the Bog of Eternal Stench wasn't the demo level, it seems like a much better showcase of what to expect then a combat tutorial and a gimmick level.
So far gameplay wise I'd say it's pretty Castlevaniary but the setting seems wrong. Like Lords of Shadow is to fantasy what Castlevania is to horror though obviously I'm not very far and I know it gets better from the trailers I've seen. Load screen Patrick Stewart is getting kind creepy with all the watching in the bushes stuff.
I don't get why the Bog of Eternal Stench wasn't the demo level, it seems like a much better showcase of what to expect then a combat tutorial and a gimmick level.
CitizenCope
Member
At chapter 12 right now(360). 1fps is not uncommon.:lol
I finally had time to play a bit more (PS3)and I've been through chapters 3 & 4 ... and OMG, when there's no framerate problem, the game plays & looks really good. Almost as if another team took over the programming job. Design-wise those chapters were better as well.
If only they had more time to get the framerate stable everywhere. I'm also happy to report that on some (very rare) occasions, they forgot to put in the camera shake effect :lol
Overall, I'm pleased, combat is very well designed and environments are beautiful. Can't wait to play more!
If only they had more time to get the framerate stable everywhere. I'm also happy to report that on some (very rare) occasions, they forgot to put in the camera shake effect :lol
Overall, I'm pleased, combat is very well designed and environments are beautiful. Can't wait to play more!
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
MoonsaultSlayer said:
Oh, I *love* the '80s fantasy vibe running through most of the game, believe me. I still wanted the chupacabra bits to pay off though. I have nothing against the design or that it was silly. It just needed a conclusion, and ultimately it was a little too obvious that they just wanted to slow you down for a few minutes.
MrMephistoX
Gold Member
jett said:You're in the Lycan lands.
Yes it gets better. This game has a surprising amount of enemy variety actually.
HYPE for weekend rising. Glad to see it doesn't suffer from War for Cybertron itus...everything else is great so far.
Nearing the end, I think. At the
. I'm really, really enjoying it and have found it's best played in small doses (few chapters a night, say). It doesn't drag, necessarily, but can become tedious.
As a Castlevania game I think it's fantastic. Very much what I'd want tonally and narratively. I don't mind the chapter-to-chapter readings, as I think too much character development happening in-game or through cutscenes would remove from that 'Castlevania-feel'. Gabriel's character I don't think was too high on the priority list, and it shouldn't be. Minimal dialogue for him works great (that being said, I would've loved to see some physical changes - either in animation or cosmetically - to show the emotional and physical wear on him as the game progresses. But it's about the world. And MS seems to have gotten that. And I mean, they could've done worse - Patrick Stewart is a boss and does a great job here. Actually pretty great all-around voice-wise.
The variety in the game is fantastic, but a lot of it is hit and miss. Like everyone, could do without the hide-and-seek shit, but stuff like
is fucking great. Platforming and combat are well-enough, too.
Very much worth my 60 bones
Titan Graveyard
As a Castlevania game I think it's fantastic. Very much what I'd want tonally and narratively. I don't mind the chapter-to-chapter readings, as I think too much character development happening in-game or through cutscenes would remove from that 'Castlevania-feel'. Gabriel's character I don't think was too high on the priority list, and it shouldn't be. Minimal dialogue for him works great (that being said, I would've loved to see some physical changes - either in animation or cosmetically - to show the emotional and physical wear on him as the game progresses. But it's about the world. And MS seems to have gotten that. And I mean, they could've done worse - Patrick Stewart is a boss and does a great job here. Actually pretty great all-around voice-wise.
The variety in the game is fantastic, but a lot of it is hit and miss. Like everyone, could do without the hide-and-seek shit, but stuff like
the music box
Very much worth my 60 bones
One thing that I am dissapointed with in the combat is the fact you got too many combos. Well, technically it isn't that many, but basically 80% of them are useless. If you want to get anywhere on Paladin you have to dodge like a madman, so you'll only get a few normal hits in because most enemies never flinch when struck.
boutrosinit
Street Fighter IV World Champion
I'm in
and the game's quality is just so consistently strong, save for an annoyingly [cinematics > gameplay] camera.
It's amazing that the same people who put these last few chapters together, are the same arse-goblins who put together Chapters 1 and 2.
I sincerely hope they work on the design consistency and camera issues in the sequel. There's definitely potential now and I'm really pleased I stuck through it. Might not have, had I not entered this thread.
the castle
It's amazing that the same people who put these last few chapters together, are the same arse-goblins who put together Chapters 1 and 2.
I sincerely hope they work on the design consistency and camera issues in the sequel. There's definitely potential now and I'm really pleased I stuck through it. Might not have, had I not entered this thread.
ArachosiA 78
Member
DenogginizerOS said:
I've only noticed a couple times where the framerate dropped a bit. Hardly game breaking. People claiming this game has serious framerate issues are overracting.
LordPhoque
Banned
22£ on game UK... bomba ?
http://www.game.co.uk/Games/PlayStation-3/Action-Adventure/Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow/~r347154/
http://www.game.co.uk/Games/PlayStation-3/Action-Adventure/Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow/~r347154/
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
Just completed chapter 10 and have played for 18 hours and change. How is it that this is the only game in this genre this gen that provides more bang for the buck? Why is it putting some of my favorite games to shame?
As far as length, bosses, puzzles, enemy variety, replay value, landscapes and level variety, this game eclipses GOW3 and DMC4. I love those games but felt they were a bit lacking given the new hardware they were on. GOW3 spent more time with graphics than providing an enriching game on par with GOW2 and DMC4 was half a game that was played again in reverse with a new (old) character. Still love them, but Everything that I've played so far in Castlevania has blown my mind more so than those games.
As far as length, bosses, puzzles, enemy variety, replay value, landscapes and level variety, this game eclipses GOW3 and DMC4. I love those games but felt they were a bit lacking given the new hardware they were on. GOW3 spent more time with graphics than providing an enriching game on par with GOW2 and DMC4 was half a game that was played again in reverse with a new (old) character. Still love them, but Everything that I've played so far in Castlevania has blown my mind more so than those games.
Fimbulvetr
Member
ArachosiA 78 said:
No. The framerate problems exist.
How much it effected you is a different matter all together:
Amir0x couldn't survive it.
It's noticeable for me, but I could still play and like the game.
You didn't notice it at all.
MoonsaultSlayer said:
Huh. Castlevania is definitely longer than GOW3, but it's very poorly paced and some chapters/levels are really really awful and badly tested to boot. More is not better. In fact it would have benefited CV to shitcan some stuff. GOW3 is a much tighter and cohesive experience. I can't really comment on your opinion that Castlevania blew your mind more than GOW3, but all I can say is "lol".
As far as replay value goes the trials are kinda nice(although not that fun) but the harder difficulties add nothing to the game and they don't offer an incentive to replay the game multiple times, like DMC4(blood tower alone provides more incentive to replay than anything in CV) does and GOW3 does to an extent(Chaos mode is a hard as nails challenge). Castlevania is poorly balanced in this regard and Paladin difficulty is almost a joke when you are completely powered-up.
The variety in art design is kind of a achievement yeah, especially for a small-ish team such as this. And the bosses are awesome(except the Titans). These two are the standout features of CV no doubt. But I don't think it's fair to belittle GOW3 in these regards, as that game no doubt has much better lighting and framing composition than CV, immeasurably better camera angles that are perfectly suited for the gameplay at all times and level design that is made to always benefit the gameplay. That takes time to figure out and design. A lot of time in CV it seems like they're just throwing levels out there without actually testing them. Bosses in GOW3 are top-notch and the set-pieces are unmatched by CV, or well any other game out there!
And the "puzzles" of CV are the most derivative crap I've seen in a game yet.
ArachosiA 78 said:
Jesus christ. You guys are like religious fucking nutters - denying facts for your fake God
The game factually has serious framerate issues. You just don't care about framerates enough to care. That's ok, but nobody on fucking God's green earth is gonna abide being accused of "overreacting" for acting like a game's factually abysmal consistently 24fps and under framerate is NOT some perfectly OK thing. Lower your standards and further and you might as well open up a power point presentation to play games.
Amir0x said:
Some people are either suffering from some sort of cognitive dissonance or truly have super low standards. Last night I booted Assassin's Creed 2 on the PS3(a game I have serious framerate issues with) and the fucking thing looked liked the smoothest game ever compared to CV.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I will say as far as the puzzles in the game go, it's not about originality, but presentation. They're presented very nicely and worked well into the game thematically. I wasn't bothered by them; it's not like I was hoping the game would be Professor Layton
Fimbulvetr
Member
Nemesis556 said:
They're shooting him down for implying there's something wrong with people who do see it as a problem.
Nemesis556 said:
It only fucking matters when certain individuals are trying to claim there is no framerate problem, and that those who say it's bad are "overreacting". I don't give a flying fuck if his standards are at that level, but to try to infer the problem doesn't exist or that the framerate isn't horrendous is insulting to everyone's intelligence. You can't get framerates much worse from a game without it basically looking like a complete slide show, and Castlevania already DOES in moments.
Nemesis_
Member
Amir0x said:
I am enjoying the game so far, and don't see the framerate as a major problem. I acknowledge the framerate isn't amazing, however I wouldn't consider it a problem since I am enjoying the game so much as it is.
By no means do I infer that there is not a framerate issue.
jett said:
Lords of Shadows is almost more than double longer. Yes, it has pacing problems in the first chapters but the variety of enviroments and situations more than make up for that.
And it's impressive because both games had the same development time, 3 years, or even shorter in LoS case considering that MercurySteam probably didn't start working on "Castlevania" just after finishing Jericho. And had to work on two platforms to boot.
While not as polished, it was definitely the better experience for me.
GoW2 is the superior game though. But for a first attempt, LoS is VERY good.
Nemesis556 said:
That just means you have ZERO standards as regards for framerates. It is OK to have zero standards for this subject or another - it is not ok to claim the framerate isn't a major problem when a game like this has a framerate consistently at 24fps or less.
In other words, if Castlevania's framerate is not a major problem then you never consider framerates a major problem. That effectively means your opinion on framerates is worthless.
Spiegel said:
Eh about 5 hours longer for me, I finished GOW3 in 10 hours the first time. And the development time is not comparable at all to me considering this game runs like shit, the image quality is ass and all the other multitude of problems CV has. To have a game that looks like GOW3, with great performance, and is as polished takes time.
I have actually ended up liking Castlevania a fair amount, but people really need to stop the GOW3 comparisons, especially if you're putting CV ahead.
Fimbulvetr
Member
Speaking of replayability.
What changes for LoS in higher difficulties?
Do encounters get redone? Or do enemies just do more damage/take less damage?
What changes for LoS in higher difficulties?
Do encounters get redone? Or do enemies just do more damage/take less damage?
Shin Kojima
Banned
I have seen the issues with Castlevania on my PS3 and I don't consider them to be a problem, yet I did consider them to be a problem in Shadow of the Colossus.Amir0x said:
Is it possible the game performs differently on different systems?
(this is a serious question. If you consider it to be a dumb question I kindly ask you to remain civil about it).
robertsan21
Member
Just completed it and this is one awesome game.
thank god there is a sequel in development ( according to gamespot)
thank god there is a sequel in development ( according to gamespot)
Fimbulvetr said:
You receive more damage.
That's it.
Shin_Kojima said:
Castlevania performs slightly better on the PS3, from the comparisons I've seen. Really both the 360 and PS3 versions are almost exact. It's funny you mention SotC as I haven't been this bothered by a game's framerate exactly since the time that game came out five years ago. But SotC has the "excuse" that you can see on screen why is the PS2 having such a hard time. I see nothing of the sort here.
Shin_Kojima said:
The PS3 version is the best performing version of the game. Both the 360 and PS3 games have unarguably abysmal framerates, though, so the only question is whether you are bothered by framerates at all. If Castlevania doesn't bother you, then you're either forcing yourself to ignore it in this case or you never had a problem with a framerate.
Either is OK. Nobody is saying you have to care about framerates. But please, don't bother commenting on it or trying to say others are overreacting because you decided to start not caring about framerates. Framerates for big games rarely get this bad. Dead Rising 2 has a similarly awful framerate on consoles, and it too was ugh-worthy imo.
Host Samurai
Member
Maybe I am blind to FPS but I did not notice it for one instance and if it did drop it did not hinder the experience in the least bit. It would be a shame if anybody passed on this awesome game because of some very minor issues.
Host Samurai said:
Yes, you probably have vision problems. It is OK to be blind. However, saying the framerate is only a "minor" issue says more about you than the framerate. It says "Hello, my name is Host Samurai, and if I'm commenting about a framerate, you can safely ignore my opinion! I don't know shit about framerates or worse, I have glaucoma and who the hell knows I can even see the screen to play videogames! I am commenting about framerate only as a gut reflexive borderline fanboy reaction to how much I love Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which due to my almost religious fanaticism for the game, has rendered my ability to cast a critical eye toward one of the titles most fundamental failings useless!"
Look, the point I'm trying to make is that all the people here who love the game and keep making terrible comments like this need to STOP commenting on the framerate. It's clear you either have become intentionally ignorant because it doesn't serve your purpose or you simply never were impacted by framerates to begin with. Again, for the millionth time, it is OK to not give shit about framerate. It is not OK to act like the game does not have significant framerate problems, when it is a fact it does.
Let me highlight why we keep responding:
Host Samurai said:
Let me be as completely clear about this as possible.
There is no "IF" in this discussion. If you have the urge to act like the problem isn't a fact, do not comment on it. In fact, do everyone a favor and never comment about framerates again.
The issue of the framerate here is not some subjective thing open to your warped interpretation. It is something that has been demonstrated and proven to be a horrific problem on both platforms, through actual verifiable methods. And anyone who isn't blind can feel how bad it is within seconds of booting the game up, and it's consistently awful throughout the entire game. We're talking 24fps or less for the vast, vast majority of the game.
So, i hope this explains why this reaction elicits in me this sort of requirement to keep commenting on it.
I do not approve of people trying to ignore facts because they like a game. It is up to those who have this factual information to decide whether it's worth buying the game or not - but they can only make an educated decision if they HAVE THE TRUTH. Many have said they love the game DESPITE the framerate problems, which is a perfectly respectable opinion.
NeoUltima said:
the only way it's gonna stop is if people stop acting like the game doesn't have problems with framerate and that people commenting on it are overreacting
i hereby promise to end all framerate discussion as soon as the last person who says this bullshit concedes.
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