The_Darkest_Red said:Wow, this thread got a lot of activity over the past few days.
Regarding the combat in LoS, I actually prefer it to GoW as well. The combat isn't as polished, that is basically inarguable, but I found the general flow to be more complex and enjoyable in LoS. diddles keeps mentioning that the combos in LoS are worthless but that is the complete opposite of my experience with the game beyond the first few hours. Strangely enough that actually seems like a more accurate description of GoW's combat to me as most of the more involved combos in those games are far less efficient than a steady stream of Square+Square+Triangles. In LoS I found myself referring to the combo screen quite often and soon afterwards finding a useful niche for each particular move in combat. The key is learning how each move affects a particular enemy and training yourself to use different moves depending on which type of baddie you're fighting. I also loved the use of light and dark magic in the game as it gave the combat another level of enjoyable complexity.
There is just so much depth in the combat system of LoS and I feel like a lot of that is lost on people who aren't willing to take the time to learn how to use the moves efficiently. Unlike GoW, LoS punishes you for sticking to the most basic attacks by reducing your damage output significantly, which probably leads to a lot of frustration. I can understand why some people never see past the simple moves in LoS's combat though, as the complexity does seem kind of hidden.
I will agree that there were some strange design decisions made regarding combat though. I don't understand why the roll button and block button are the same but for me it basically meant that blocking was out the window, and rolling became an essential part of my combat strategy. Oh well, I think that makes things more fun anyway. I also felt like it was weird how all of the combat display options defaulted to "off," but I guess that has to do with what most modern gamers expect out of this type of game. The health bars and numbers probably aren't for everyone but they improved the experience drastically for me.
Yeah, I prefer the graphics and aesthetics of LoS to GoW, as well as the music, story, and character design. I know the story didn't do it for everyone but I found it to be fairly captivating and interesting, especially from about Chapter 4 onward.TheExplodingHead said:I agree with this 100%, well said. I also found myself preferring this game much more to GOW3, mainly for the reasons you stated the combat being more complex and technical (especially on harder difficulty). I also thought that graphically/aesthetically, the scale and imagery here was best in class. So even if those two aspects were a bit unpolished I still think they hit a higher mark than GOW3, for me anyway. Dare I say the story was even better in LoS, even if both games are nothing to write about story-wise.
I agree with everything you said The Darkest Red but I think this quote from Ninja Scooter is the major reason the fight system discourages most from replays. Why in the world would they make the tells impossible? The unblockable flash comes halfway through their windup!Ninja Scooter said:my biggest beef with the combat in LoS was that the enemy tells are hard to figure out sometimes, especially when you are surrounded by a bunch of them. Can get frustrating to have a combo flow broken.
pakkit said:I love the combat system in this game to death. I'm in the final stretch now however, and countering isn't simply a means to survive, it's a necessity. But I can't nail the timing. Sometimes I'll think I've perfectly timed a counter only to get torn a new asshole. Any pointers?
keltickennedy said:God this thread is making me wanna playthrough again. I know its epic long but I F'n love it. As was stated before, some people didn't dig the story, but I was so sucked into it. My jaw was open all the way till the end. So good!!
The_Darkest_Red said:Yeah, I prefer the graphics and aesthetics of LoS to GoW, as well as the music, story, and character design. I know the story didn't do it for everyone but I found it to be fairly captivating and interesting, especially from about Chapter 4 onward.
I love the GoW games but I honestly think the only thing they have over LoS is polish.
Yeah i dont know why but people were bashing the soundtrack around release date. Glad critics didnt think so, composer won some music award for it so i am happy to see the great music recognized. It really had a lot of beautiful stuff in it.Rated-Rsuperstar said:Started playing this tonight and just finished chapter 1. I say holy shit. Lords of Shadows has the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a game. It's epic, it's grand, it's beautiful. It makes me want to fight yet cry at the same time.
~Kinggi~ said:Yeah i dont know why but people were bashing the soundtrack around release date. Glad critics didnt think so, composer won some music award for it so i am happy to see the great music recognized. It really had a lot of beautiful stuff in it.
I really hope they get this guy for the 2nd game.
I didnt think its usage was bad at all. Definitely didn't notice anything off.Y2Kev said:Its use in game is poor. It's repetitive sometimes and is just disconnected from what is going on. Sometimes.
The game's opening scene with the great warg is absolutely fantastic. But then you have like the Sanctuary levels with that awful blaring brass piece that just...loops forever.
Yeah i guess, but that hour sure was good!Y2Kev said:It's a 20+ hour game with an hour of music. It's tough to stretch music out like that.
Well the elements you mentioned were basically what I was referring to when I said that GoW was more "polished." Those aspects were more polished as a result of design. GoW's gameplay systems are more finely tuned but I don't think that makes them inherently better.Y2Kev said:Well, that's sort of important in an action game. Framerate, enemy hit boxes, level design quibbles...all that stuff. I don't really consider that necessarily "polish" as much as I would just regular design. But in terms of sheer ambition...I've always thought it was the most impressive thing about the game.
They probably bit off more than they could chew, but the end result holds together well enough that you can admire the effort.
The_Darkest_Red said:Well the elements you mentioned were basically what I was referring to when I said that GoW was more "polished." Those aspects were more polished as a result of design. GoW's gameplay systems are more finely tuned but I don't think that makes them inherently better.
In other words, I don't think the more polished of two combat systems has to be the better one by default.
Thanks for summing up my feelings perfectly!Kaijima said:I find LoS's combat system infinitely more exciting and enjoyable to actually explore than God of War's - it's just buggy and poorly tested. GoW is "polished" but to me, stiff and not worth really getting into the depth of it. It's very flat.
Lords of Shadow by comparison, really makes it feel as if most of those combos, techniques, and options can be built into an efficient style tuned for each encounter, and it has a wonderful visceral sensation with the whip really slamming into things, especially when it smashes into the ground. Unlike GoW, where your attacks feel as if they're just hitting air, and the surfaces or enemies aren't really there.
I say you're out of your mind because you don't share my opinion. What do we do now, huh?Thrakier said:I think I know now what's wrong with this game. Castlevania was always a very iconic series with a strong sense of (it's own) style in asthetics, mechanics and music. This game, though, while quite ok or competent in what it's doing, is missing all of this. It ditched everything what was awesome about CV and replaced it with a generic mix of ideas they found in other videogames. Man, they even ripped of Portal.
Oh, and the framerate is horrible. Whoever thinks that this game has better combat is out of his mind.
jett said:If there's one thing Lords of Shadow does is show potential for what could be a fantastic sequel. Who knows if that sequel will ever come though...
Ledsen said:I say you're out of your mind because you don't share my opinion. What do we do now, huh?
I think the sense of style in aesthetics is just as strong here as with any other CV, and certainly more than any of the other 3D titles (which I'm guessing you're ignoring here). As far as mechanics I'm not sure how you can state that Castlevania was always a very iconic series (even ignoring the other 3D titles), most of the gameplay mechanics in the modern 2D CV's are taken straight from Metroid and RPG's. The only time the series was as iconic as you're trying to make it sound was back in the NES days, and there are simply too many games now for any one to stand out in a similar fashion, especially one that is using a license as common as the Castlevania one.Thrakier said:I think I know now what's wrong with this game. Castlevania was always a very iconic series with a strong sense of (it's own) style in asthetics, mechanics and music. This game, though, while quite ok or competent in what it's doing, is missing all of this. It ditched everything what was awesome about CV and replaced it with a generic mix of ideas they found in other videogames. Man, they even ripped of Portal.
Oh, and the framerate is horrible. Whoever thinks that this game has better combat is out of his mind.
Kaijima said:Lords of Shadow by comparison, really makes it feel as if most of those combos, techniques, and options can be built into an efficient style tuned for each encounter, and it has a wonderful visceral sensation with the whip really slamming into things, especially when it smashes into the ground. Unlike GoW, where your attacks feel as if they're just hitting air, and the surfaces or enemies aren't really there.
Philanthropist said:Sorry to quote myself. I just think this detail will get more appreciation here.
From the videogame facts thread:
The_Darkest_Red said:I think the sense of style in aesthetics is just as strong here as with any other CV, and certainly more than any of the other 3D titles (which I'm guessing you're ignoring here).
As far as mechanics I'm not sure how you can state that Castlevania was always a very iconic series (even ignoring the other 3D titles), most of the gameplay mechanics in the modern 2D CV's are taken straight from Metroid and RPG's. The only time the series was as iconic as you're trying to make it sound was back in the NES days, and there are simply too many games now for any one to stand out in a similar fashion, especially one that is using a license as common as the Castlevania one.
Personally I thought the aesthetics, music, and level design all helped make this game stand out from others in the genre, so I guess our opinions just differ there. Out of curiosity though, what generic game do you feel the aesthetics for LoS were taken from?
Zeal said:One of the funnest, most egrossing games I have played in years. Matter of fact, I will play this game every halloween as a ritual from now on.
Absolutely cannot wait to see what this amazing developer does with its inevitable sequel. This IS Castlevania now as far as I'm concerned.
sphinx said:it's pretty sad that we have no news about a proper sequel. A re-release with the DLC is long overdue as well.
diddles said:i finally beat this p.o.s. (on hard). it got slightly less horrible when i figured out a little combo pattern or two that let me beat pretty much every stupid enemy without taking too many invisi-hits. still, didn't want to really play it, only finished it because i hate leaving games unfinished. it never got very fun.
there were some cool moments here and there, buried under tons of bad gameplay, bad story, bad pacing, bad game design, and other bad things. some good artwork also, i'll give it that. in the end, this game just doesn't belong. they shouldn't have tried to call it a castlevania game, because it isn't. last boss and the ending were stupid too. peace out!
Zeal said:One of the funnest, most egrossing games I have played in years. Matter of fact, I will play this game every halloween as a ritual from now on.
Absolutely cannot wait to see what this amazing developer does with its inevitable sequel. This IS Castlevania now as far as I'm concerned.
Philanthropist said:Mercury Steam stated that they are working on something different, yet we should think about the kind of games they make. Neither confirms nor denies a sequel, but Konami is glad with LoS.
i finally beat this p.o.s. (on hard). it got slightly less horrible when i figured out a little combo pattern or two that let me beat pretty much every stupid enemy without taking too many invisi-hits. still, didn't want to really play it, only finished it because i hate leaving games unfinished. it never got very fun.
there were some cool moments here and there, buried under tons of bad gameplay, bad story, bad pacing, bad game design, and other bad things. some good artwork also, i'll give it that. in the end, this game just doesn't belong. they shouldn't have tried to call it a castlevania game, because it isn't. last boss and the ending were stupid too. peace out!
Zeal said:One of the funnest, most egrossing games I have played in years. Matter of fact, I will play this game every halloween as a ritual from now on.
Absolutely cannot wait to see what this amazing developer does with its inevitable sequel. This IS Castlevania now as far as I'm concerned.
Zeal said:One of the funnest, most egrossing games I have played in years. Matter of fact, I will play this game every halloween as a ritual from now on.
Absolutely cannot wait to see what this amazing developer does with its inevitable sequel. This IS Castlevania now as far as I'm concerned.
The only problem with that fight was how easy it was compared to the earlier LOS (Same problem I had with the final boss).bluebird said:OH MY FUCKING GOD
This game was fucking amazing, holy shit holy shit holy shit. I could not stop playing this. I finally got around to it after having it sit in my backlog for the nearly the better part of a year. WOW. There were parts were I was audibly losing my shit. This happened mainly at theOH MY GOD, THAT SHIT WAS INSANE. I was going nuts. I WAS SERIOUSLY GOING CRAZY!!! I MEAN JESUS CHRISTVampire Queen boss fight. Bear in mind I've only very briefly played God of War, I found this setting and this style of art way more interesting - that's just my opinion however. Man, just wow. There is so much to do in this game, the combat system is deep, the controls are tight, not once did I get frustrated at this game or die because of poor game design. It was absolutely great throughout. EVERYBODY MUST PLAY THIS GAME, a massive sleeper hit. And the ending was really depressing too.that part where you stab her in the heart with THE GOD DAMN FUCKING TOWER, WHAT!??.The ending in the city I'm still a bit confused about though :lol
Damn!!!! This game was absolutely amazing.
EDIT: I know I sound like a prepubescent teenage boy in this post, but I just found this game a whole lot of fun. Good old fashioned fun!
They're awful. Its 1 or 2 hours total for both, depending on how much you die. It'd be like paying $20 for two more of the worst levels in a game. Watch them on Youtube. Save your money and thank me later.Tizoc said:Platinum'd this game a few weeks ago.
Felt good man X3
Overall I really liked this game, never had a frame issue when playing, everything was smooth and beautiful.
Say the DLCs get sold at a discounted price, are they worth getting?
I'll thank you now and go watch them on YT =)junkster said:They're awful. Its 1 or 2 hours total for both, depending on how much you die. It'd be like paying $20 for two more of the worst levels in a game. Watch them on Youtube. Save your money and thank me later.