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

RoadHazard said:
So, GAF, should I be getting this or Enslaved? I love both the GoW and Uncharted series, so I guess I would be pleased with either. I did like the Castlevania demo more though. The combat in Enslaved didn't feel very good, and neither did the totally automatic/scripted traversal mechanics. Plus, the screen tearing wasn't very nice.

(PS3 version either way, if that makes any difference.)

I'd say pick up Castlevania. I've only just cleared chapter 2 and from what I hear, it's probably just as much time it'd take to clear Enslaved. I'm loving everything about this game. Sure, there are some invisible walls but that doesn't mean tis game is linear. There are branching paths which at first I found daunting and intimidating because I never wanted to get lost or miss out on something but eventually they all come together. So you're never "stuck" going one way even if it initially feels that way.

Also, I'm liking the option to travel back to previous levels to open up previously blocked off areas thanks to a certain power you've gained. And besides that, you also have incentive to replay levels to tackle each levels' trials. From defeating X amount of enemies before completeion to time limits and such. very fun.
 
MoonsaultSlayer said:
I'd say pick up Castlevania. I've only just cleared chapter 2 and from what I hear, it's probably just as much time it'd take to clear Enslaved. I'm loving everything about this game. Sure, there are some invisible walls but that doesn't mean tis game is linear. There are branching paths which at first I found daunting and intimidating because I never wanted to get lost or miss out on something but eventually they all come together. So you're never "stuck" going one way even if it initially feels that way.

Also going back and collecting all the gems and item upgrades in preparation of that dreaded Paladin playthrough :lol
 

Barrett2

Member
I'm amazed at how long this game is. I've been playing for hours & hours and don't think I'm even halfway through! Dat' value...
 

Volcynika

Member
JohngPR said:
I think you still don't get 100% for that level if you do that though.

Why would that affect something? That'd be sillly to be able to beat a level on a higher difficulty then do the extra stuff on something easier, and not get all the credit.
 
RoadHazard said:
So, GAF, should I be getting this or Enslaved? I love both the GoW and Uncharted series, so I guess I would be pleased with either. I did like the Castlevania demo more though. The combat in Enslaved didn't feel very good, and neither did the totally automatic/scripted traversal mechanics. Plus, the screen tearing wasn't very nice.

(PS3 version either way, if that makes any difference.)
Castlevania son.
 
JohngPR said:
I think you still don't get 100% for that level if you do that though.

The completion for the Trial and the completion for the difficulty levels are tracked separately.

To get 100% in a level you have to find all gems (Life, Light and Shadow), find any weapon upgrades, complete the trial and finish it on Knight. It appears that you get credited for any difficulties below what you completed it on, as I've been playing on Warrior and getting the completion for Squire as well.
 
just got to chapter 2.... these production values are incredible.... what did mercury steam do? smoke crack and drink spielberg's piss?

so much loveliness
 
CaptYamato said:
They carry over?

You can switch difficulties at any point in time and play the levels in any order you want after you've beaten them. I assume it doesn't just delete your save file after you finish the game... (I think there's a joke in there somewhere)
 
Sigh just because they call something a puzzle shouldn't be a excuse for making something so stupid and annoying.

edit: Unless of course the puzzle is figuring out that the mechanics are shit and you have to abuse the system to even finish it. Which is probably as meta as anything Kojima can come up with.
 

Cowie

Member
Okay, question here. Is my 360 fucked, or is this game almost unplayable without an install? Whenever I'm playing on a disk I don't have installed (I only have room for one on my shitty 20gb drive), The game freezes almost every time I kill an enemy and they explode. I feel like this is the sort of thing that would never make it out the gates without being mentioned, so maybe it's just me? I've had the problem on both disks when uninstalled now.
 
Y2Kev said:
it was actually kinda fun

And it's added to the Extras menu so you can play 2 player, in case anybody hasn't noticed. It reminded me a lot of Battle Chess.

ST_Battle_Chess.png


That was a sweet game.
 

Cowie

Member
john tv said:
In 5-3,
how do you work the portals? I must be missing something super obvious -- I see that you can point the device in the direction you want the portal to appear, but then how the $%&# do you use it? Standing on it does nothing for me - what am I missing?

There's a big one you can run through that should pop you up on the smaller one, no?
 

Shinjitsu

Banned
Picked up a Korean copy of this dirt cheep at one of the local ma and pa places here. Totally in love with this game. Best 30,000 Won I ever spent.

Just beat chapter 3. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
 

Hyphen

Member
I'm currently holding out for the EU Collectors edition, so I play through demo every now and again to keep myself happy. I'm just wondering if there is a lot more to see/do than the end preview portrays when you complete the demo!?
 
Y2Kev said:
Ooooooooooooooooooooh

Vampire Killer
IS in the game!

Twice. If you have the soundtrack that came with the limited edition, it shows up in "Labyrinth Entrance." Go to around 2:10 into the track and you can hear a peaceful rendition. It may take a minute to notice it but it's quite obvious when you realize.

Here it is. Again, go to 2:10 and listen on. You'll notice it.

I didn't really notice until I was replaying a level, the level where you have to get the crystal shards and it hit me that time.
 

JohngPR

Member
Volcynika said:
Why would that affect something? That'd be sillly to be able to beat a level on a higher difficulty then do the extra stuff on something easier, and not get all the credit.

Ah, I didn't know that you initially beat the level on a higher difficulty.
 
Whoever thought it would be a good idea to not give you max life at the start of each level should be fired. I'm playing on hard the first time through and I just beat the witch boss, low and behold at the start of the next level I get all my abilities taken away so if I get hit I die and I've no fucking means to recover my health.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
Brandon and everyone else who beat it: Doesn't the
titan graveyard panover
remind you of the konami logo FMV in sotn?
 
Y2Kev said:
Brandon and everyone else who beat it: Doesn't the
titan graveyard panover
remind you of the konami logo FMV in sotn?

I would have to compare them together, but if so, that is an awesome catch "indeed."/Stewart
 

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
Fucking yeah. Just started Chapter 6. That last Sewer level was devious, especially that last stupid button puzzle. Ate my brain for 5 minutes :lol Skeletons are awesome, they pose a serious challenge and you gotta be have your wits ready to take them out.

This game gets so much better as you go :D :D
 

LaneDS

Member
john tv said:
The further into the game you get, the more bored Patrick Stewart sounds. That must've been a looooong afternoon.

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm hoping they have a good explanation for why he seems to know so much. Also, the writing is really inconsistent. He calls him "old friend" quite a bit despite them, y'know, meeting in the game. I am also amused how Gabriel's sleep patterns apparently change quite a bit outside of what we see (and in the course of a few hours it seems like).

His voice is awesome, shame the writing isn't.
 
Relix said:
Skeletons are awesome, they pose a serious challenge and you gotta be have your wits ready to take them out.

I like how they also have attributes of the red skeletons in the older games, how they reform, if only one time.
 

Chris_C

Member
Picked this up this afternoon, pleased to see it does have a Castlevania-esque vibe, I just got done with chapter one and while I think it's got promise...

1 - LET ME PLAY FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE MINUTES, DAMN YOU! It seems the game wrests control from you every opportunity it gets, I haven't even had time to get used to the damn control scheme!

2 - I'm... sort of underwhelmed by the graphics. I love the drawings in the journey book, but I was expecting a graphical showpiece on the scale of something like Uncharted 2. That said, they're still some of the best this generation.

3 - I love Patrick Stewart, but his chapter readings are making me want to kill myself.

I think I shall start over to see if I can get in the groove, things just haven't clicked. Also, I kinda just want to hurry up and get to the castle!
 

john tv

Member
Sad realization just set in that I'm not gonna be able to beat this until next weekend. I'm up to 5-5 but it seems like there's still a ton left. Game clock is at 10:32...

This game would benefit from being a fair bit shorter and tighter IMO. Chapter II especially - super long and mostly tedious. Was about to give up if not for some of you guys, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because it definitely gets better from Chapter III on.
 
Started this today and finished Dead Bog. My first impression was "holy shit". I'm hooked immediately. Presentation is top notch. Music is very good.

I see framerate problems that means it is bad because I'm usually not good at that. I think I will still enjoy this game very much.
 
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