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[Teknoman]

On the flipside, G4TV gave it a 4/5.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

IGN review...uh...7.5?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1124296p1.html

Same as Gamespot. Criticized it for not being Castlevania enough and borrowing too much from other games. Says at the end that he'd rather play a 2D traditional Castlevania instead.

Says it has framerate issues.

 

[brandonh83]

Says at the end that he'd rather play a 2D traditional Castlevania instead.

Luckily for him, there are about 30 he can choose from.

 

[depths20XX]

And I seriously doubt that Gabriel having a more traditional whip would go any way in changing the overall atmosphere and tone of the game as it stands.

You might be right there. I still think they could have found a better way for the whip to function in the game instead of going with the whole retractable chain thing that we've seen before. At least then maybe it would feel a bit more unique and people wouldn't instantly say "God of War" when they see the combat.

 

[RyuHayate]

Thanks for the responses guys; much appreciated.

In that case, I will be picking this up.

 

[Teknoman]

I guess they're going to do a seperate one for the PS3 version? Maybe a .5 to graphics because of the better framerate.

360 version:


7.5 Presentation
A reboot for the franchise that throws away everything you expect in a Castlevania game and cherry picks features from other popular titles.

8.5 Graphics
A beautiful, richly detailed world that suffers just a bit from drops in framerate.

7.5 Sound
The orchestral soundtrack is exciting and reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. Great voice actors are here, but their dialogue is melodramatic.

7.5 Gameplay
Combat becomes repetitive, but the quiet moments of puzzling and platforming in between are a lot of fun.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a giantic game with lots of replay value.

So IGN actually liked the puzzle and platforming sections while the others liked the action more?

Also i'm really not sure what else could be done to make it more Castlevania. Its got a guy with the last name Belmont, uses a whip, features Drac and his right-hand man plus others, and its drenched in atmosphere with what seems to be a good soundtrack.

As long as I fight against bats, skeletons, werewolves, strange creatures that arent normally seen in horror movies, and the mentioned above...it's Castlevania.

 

[depths20XX]

You were most definitely doing it wrong if you had the leather whip for more than about ten seconds in the old games.

Of course I know there's chain whips in the other games :lol They sure as fuck arent retractable and dont function anything like the one in this game. Barely looks like a whip in the videos.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Luckily for him, there are about 30 he can choose from.

I hate reviews like this. If the game is good it should get credit where it's due.

Same thing happened with Darksiders and Singularity. These games are great and really fun but these reviewers tore them up for being too much like Zelda or BioShock.

 

[RyuHayate]

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a giantic game with lots of replay value.

Hm, judging by the text, the score should be higher.

 

[FrankT]

I guess they're going to do a seperate one for the PS3 version? Maybe a .5 to graphics because of the better framerate.

[/I]

That or they don't have it. Gamepro Germany said they both suffer in that department however. Hating some of these scores, but I'll deal with it. I'd rather have that demo first however.

 

[aparisi2274]

When this was first shown at E3 2009, I got pretty annoyed because as far as I was concerned this was not a Castlevania game. I even think that Konami originally introduced at another show as just "Lords of Shadow" and then at some point they tacked on Castlevania, but according to the producers it was always to be a CV game, but who knows....

All I know is that as much as I want to play it, I still look at it as a God Of War style game, set in the middle ages... like the other reviewers said, it doesn't feel like a castlevania game.

I enjoyed what I played at E3, but again, it just felt like a standard GoW/DI clone... Nothing about it really made me say "Ohhh look a new Castlevania game" and I feel that that will happen when the game comes out. If people saw it running on a monitor in a store, and dint know what it was already, there is no reason why they would even suspect it to be a CV game... and that is what is going to either make or break this game...

 

[keltickennedy]

I guess they're going to do a seperate one for the PS3 version? Maybe a .5 to graphics because of the better framerate.

360 version:


7.5 Presentation
A reboot for the franchise that throws away everything you expect in a Castlevania game and cherry picks features from other popular titles.

8.5 Graphics
A beautiful, richly detailed world that suffers just a bit from drops in framerate.

7.5 Sound
The orchestral soundtrack is exciting and reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. Great voice actors are here, but their dialogue is melodramatic.

7.5 Gameplay
Combat becomes repetitive, but the quiet moments of puzzling and platforming in between are a lot of fun.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a giantic game with lots of replay value.

So is this official about ps3 having better framerate? Because I am still on the fence about which version to buy.

 

[dimb]

I was pretty much indifferent to the game before the demo, but I came away really impressed.

The combat is significantly better than I expected in terms of feel and weight, and it actually seems challenging enough that the enemies will all feel deadly rather than just groups of fodder.

Best thing coming off of the game is the atmosphere. Really just a coupling of great aesthetic level design and an appropriate accompanying score. Definitely going to pick this up.

 

[Maffis]

Here's hoping formating my PS3 yields results so I can play the game day 1. I've been having problems with the system running very slow with stuttering in games and demos since 3.50. I hope my ps3 hasn't borked or something.

 

[brandonh83]

Items to find are scarce -- much less than in a typical Castlevania.

:lol :lol

Personally disregarding this review entirely. His idea of "typical Castlevania" is not entirely in conjunction with mine. I'm not saying his points are invalid, I'm just saying that his personal criticisms do not gel with my perception of the series as a whole.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

I guess they're going to do a seperate one for the PS3 version? Maybe a .5 to graphics because of the better framerate.

360 version:


7.5 Presentation
A reboot for the franchise that throws away everything you expect in a Castlevania game and cherry picks features from other popular titles.

8.5 Graphics
A beautiful, richly detailed world that suffers just a bit from drops in framerate.

7.5 Sound
The orchestral soundtrack is exciting and reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. Great voice actors are here, but their dialogue is melodramatic.

7.5 Gameplay
Combat becomes repetitive, but the quiet moments of puzzling and platforming in between are a lot of fun.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a giantic game with lots of replay value.

So IGN actually liked the puzzle and platforming sections while the others liked the action more?

Also i'm really not sure what else could be done to make it more Castlevania. Its got a guy with the last name Belmont, uses a whip, features Drac and his right-hand man plus others, and its drenched in atmosphere with what seems to be a good soundtrack.

As long as I fight against bats, skeletons, werewolves, strange creatures that arent normally seen in horror movies, and the mentioned above...it's Castlevania.

It's funny but this IGN reviewer is the same editor who reviewed Brutal Legend and gave that a 9.0!

Oddly enough, the Gamespot reviewer also reviewed Brutal Legend and gave that a higher score than Castlevania LoS.

Both of these editors gave Castlevania Lords of Shadow a 7.5!

I have nothing against Brutal Legend. I like the game but I'm sure the general consensus on GAF would think that Castelvania is a much better game, right?

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Hm, judging by the text, the score should be higher.

Yeah. Here's what he said about Brutal Legend:

8.0 Lasting Appeal
The Legend is a little on the short side, but there are plenty side quests to be accomplished even after the credits roll.

 

[Teknoman]

When this was first shown at E3 2009, I got pretty annoyed because as far as I was concerned this was not a Castlevania game. I even think that Konami originally introduced at another show as just "Lords of Shadow" and then at some point they tacked on Castlevania, but according to the producers it was always to be a CV game, but who knows....

All I know is that as much as I want to play it, I still look at it as a God Of War style game, set in the middle ages... like the other reviewers said, it doesn't feel like a castlevania game.

I enjoyed what I played at E3, but again, it just felt like a standard GoW/DI clone... Nothing about it really made me say "Ohhh look a new Castlevania game" and I feel that that will happen when the game comes out. If people saw it running on a monitor in a store, and dint know what it was already, there is no reason why they would even suspect it to be a CV game... and that is what is going to either make or break this game...

The same could be said of Symphony of the Night though. Aside from the intro with Richter and having Alucard in the game (which looks totally different from the original design), Could you tell it was a Castlevania game without having seen the title screen?

Most people never had a chance to play Rondo, so all the resused sprites looked totally new, and you would've have known any different with another title.

 

[Phenomic]

Just saw an interesting article and totally something I forgot existed. Back at TGS in 2008 IGA gave us this teaser and we never got anything else other then that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcI6j0Y24FM

We haven't heard of it since Lords of Shadow and makes me wonder if it's Vaporware, maybe this was his bid for the Castlevania game that ended up being Lords of Shadow.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Man, playing that demo sure made me want to do a 180 and absolutely not purchase this game. Has to be one of the least interesting demos I've ever played in my life.

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

From the mix of reviews so far, it's obvious that every outlet likes different parts of the game for different reasons. I am not worried having this pre-ordered, and most of these major sites don't influence me one way or the other regardless. I'd rather take impressions from people here if given the choice.

 

[depths20XX]

It's funny but this IGN reviewer is the same editor who reviewed Brutal Legend and gave that a 9.0!

Oddly enough, the Gamespot reviewer also reviewed Brutal Legend!

Both of these editors gave Castlevania Lords of Shadow a 7.5!

I have nothing against Brutal Legend. I like the game but I'm sure the general consensus on GAF would think that Castelvania is a much better game, right?

Considering it isn't out yet, who knows? Ad hominem attacks like that are pointless also. Just because he liked another game more doesn't invalidate his opinion on a different game.

 

[Maffis]

So IGN thinks the music and voice acting is great, but because of melodramatic dialogue it warrants a 7.5?

How inconsistent can reviews be? It's odd that gamesradar, EDGE and eurogamer all gave the game alot more praise, while they usually tend to be lower than the other 3.

 

[NeoUltima]

It's funny but this IGN reviewer is the same editor who reviewed Brutal Legend and gave that a 9.0!

Oddly enough, the Gamespot reviewer also reviewed Brutal Legend and gave that a higher score than Castlevania LoS.

Both of these editors gave Castlevania Lords of Shadow a 7.5!

I have nothing against Brutal Legend. I like the game but I'm sure the general consensus on GAF would think that Castelvania is a much better game, right?

Must be buddies IRL, both the reviews even read similarly

 

[FrankT]

Man, playing that demo sure made me want to do a 180 and absolutely not purchase this game. Has to be one of the least interesting demos I've ever played in my life.

Comments like these are like mixed feelings at this point. Need a demo MS.

 

[brandonh83]

I'm also tired of "music like LOTR" hello, LOTR did not invent epic film scores. It's generally way more well-composed and executed than a lot of epic film scores but it's not altogether unique and Lords of Shadow's music does not remind me of LOTR's music, it just reminds me of an epic film score; not LOTR specifically.

 

[Maffis]

Man, playing that demo sure made me want to do a 180 and absolutely not purchase this game. Has to be one of the least interesting demos I've ever played in my life.

It was a pretty bad demo. They didn't showcase anything special about the game. If you haven't already, you should definitely see the 11 minute long trailer and then form a opinion from that.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

So IGN thinks the music and voice acting is great, but because of melodramatic dialogue it warrants a 7.5?

How inconsistent can reviews be? It's odd that gamesradar, EDGE and eurogamer all gave the game alot more praise, while they usually tend to be lower than the other 3.

Edge stands out the most to me because they're usually the ones that give God of War a lower score than those other big review sites.

Yet they liked Castlevania LoS.

Must be buddies IRL, both the reviews even read similarly

Exactly! :lol

 

[heringer]

PS3 version got 9.0 in graphics. Overall score is the same.

 

[2real4tv]

Just played the demo gameplay was ok but so far does not remind me of Castlevania. Graphics did not impress definitely not on gow level but more comparable to dantes inferno. Castlevania is one of the best franchises for me so its a definite purchase hope i am not disappointed

 

[Tokubetsu]

I guess they're going to do a seperate one for the PS3 version? Maybe a .5 to graphics because of the better framerate.

360 version:


7.5 Presentation
A reboot for the franchise that throws away everything you expect in a Castlevania game and cherry picks features from other popular titles.

8.5 Graphics
A beautiful, richly detailed world that suffers just a bit from drops in framerate.

7.5 Sound
The orchestral soundtrack is exciting and reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. Great voice actors are here, but their dialogue is melodramatic.

7.5 Gameplay
Combat becomes repetitive, but the quiet moments of puzzling and platforming in between are a lot of fun.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a giantic game with lots of replay value.

So IGN actually liked the puzzle and platforming sections while the others liked the action more?

Also i'm really not sure what else could be done to make it more Castlevania. Its got a guy with the last name Belmont, uses a whip, features Drac and his right-hand man plus others, and its drenched in atmosphere with what seems to be a good soundtrack.

As long as I fight against bats, skeletons, werewolves, strange creatures that arent normally seen in horror movies, and the mentioned above...it's Castlevania.

The GT review had opposite complaints. They seemed to hate all the puzzles but loved the combat.

 

[Pooya]

IGN review...uh...7.5?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1124296p1.html

Same as Gamespot. Criticized it for not being Castlevania enough and borrowing too much from other games. Says at the end that he'd rather play a 2D traditional Castlevania instead.

Says it has framerate issues.

That said, Lords of Shadow also has framerate issues on the Xbox 360. It can drop when the action heats up -- or just during a cut scene. During one cinematic moment the game was literally chugging at just a few frames per second. Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it. The game runs more smoothly on the PlayStation 3.

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124315p2.html

9.0 for graphics instead of 8.5 which 360 got,

 

[RyuHayate]

Just saw an interesting article and totally something I forgot existed. Back at TGS in 2008 IGA gave us this teaser and we never got anything else other then that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcI6j0Y24FM

We haven't heard of it since Lords of Shadow and makes me wonder if it's Vaporware, maybe this was his bid for the Castlevania game that ended up being Lords of Shadow.

Lords of Shadow wasn't actually supposed to be a Castlevania title at all, actually.

Konami saw a lot of potential and value in a reboot and told likely IGA, "No thanks, there's only room for one!"

 

[FrankT]

That said, Lords of Shadow also has framerate issues on the Xbox 360. It can drop when the action heats up -- or just during a cut scene. During one cinematic moment the game was literally chugging at just a few frames per second. Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it. The game runs more smoothly on the PlayStation 3.

Eh hate to hear that then. Choices, choices.

Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it.

Is this what someone was talkng about earlier from the PS3 demo?

Graphics
A beautiful, richly detailed world that suffers just a bit from drops in framerate.

Weird they left it the same.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124315p2.html

9.0 for graphics instead of 8.5 which 360 got,

The overall score is the same though.

 

[Cloudius12]

Something is fishy :lol

 

[HYDE]

I hope Lords of Shadow is at least on par with Dante's I.

 

[brandonh83]

I hope Lords of Shadow is at least on par with Dante's I.

The Castlevania demo install sequence is better than DI.

 

[ACE 1991]

So IGN thinks the music and voice acting is great, but because of melodramatic dialogue it warrants a 7.5?

How inconsistent can reviews be? It's odd that gamesradar, EDGE and eurogamer all gave the game alot more praise, while they usually tend to be lower than the other 3.

News at 10: People have different opinions about stuff.

 

[Simo]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124315p2.html

9.0 for graphics instead of 8.5 which 360 got,

Oh dear. Well if it's going to be that noticeable now I need to decide whether to switch preorders from the 360 for the PS3 version...

 

[Henchmen21]

Lords of Shadow wasn't actually supposed to be a Castlevania title at all, actually.

Actually, yes it was. There are several interviews with Dave Cox explaining how this game came to be.

Simply put, there were 3 games all vying to be the next CV game. Lords, Iga's TGS '08 vid, and an Unknown American developer game. Lords won. The reason why it wasn't titled Castlevania at first was because Konami didn't want it to overshadow (no pun intended) Judgement for the Wii. They knew (and rightly so) that LoS would blow Judgement out of the water.

 

[Darklord]

I hope Lords of Shadow is at least on par with Dante's I.

I hope it's not that bad.

 

[FrankT]

IGN Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is pretty much a Castlevania game in name only. | http://go.ign.com/bzyd4f

Love the twitter IGN. Stay classy.

Edit: Eh, on the edge of a cancel. Too many great games right now and I have to put the dollars on the best. Framerate ain't everything, but this kind of game deserves a decent one( I tend agree with those in here on this point), and some of these reviews are bit under my expectation. 360 demo should have been out this week. I moved off another pre-order for this so tough choices all around.

 

[RedAssedApe]

IGN gave 360 8.5 graphics and PS3 9.0 graphics.

I recommend Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, but not to Castlevania fans. Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Castlevania game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun if they can excuse a lot of mindless button mashing and a couple technical issues. The developers have successfully adopted ideas from several popular games (God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Uncharted, Resident Evil) but that also means this isn't a very original effort. In the end, I'd rather play a more traditional 2D Castlevania game, but there is no denying that this is a beautiful and enjoyable change of pace.

Read more: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1124296p2.html#ixzz10xRWPHEH

So the game gets a lower score because its not just another 2.5D SOTN rehash?

 

[Phenomic]

IGN gave 360 8.5 graphics and PS3 9.0 graphics.



So the game gets a lower score because its not just another 2.5D SOTN rehash?

This is always how this comes across to me. It just sounds like he only is interested in a 2.5D game, which I love to death don't get me wrong but you shouldn't go in expecting it to be like those that wasn't the point of the project, really just drags down the reviews credibility as I see it.

 

[Spike]

I know it is just a demo, but I'm disappointed with it.

 

[Snaku]

I recommend Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, but not to Castlevania fans. Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Castlevania game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun

:lol

 

[HYDE]

I hope it's not that bad.

I like just about any game that is derivative of God of War, except Force Unleashed. Are there any other wannabes that are that bad? I just think Lords of Shadow will be a similar game, but very fun.

 

[RedAssedApe]

This is always how this comes across to me. It just sounds like he only is interested in a 2.5D game, which I love to death don't get me wrong but you shouldn't go in expecting it to be like those that wasn't the point of the project, really just drags down the reviews credibility as I see it.

Seriously. :lol This would be like reviewers reviewing the latest Tomb Raider game (which is GREAT BTW.) and saying:

"I recommend Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, but not to Tomb Raider fans. Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Tomb Raider game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun. In the end, I'd rather play a more traditional 3D Tomb Raider game, but there is no denying that this is a beautiful and enjoyable change of pace."

 

[HYDE]

The Castlevania demo install sequence is better than DI.

Dante's Inferno is a fun game, and a decent God of War clone. Castlevania will be no different in most people's eyes. I even like Rygar, so people like me enjoy this type of game usually.