Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

I was really looking forward to playing a new Castlevania game as it has been a few years since myself and a Belmont teamed up to take on the evils of the night. This game started a little slow but after a hour or so I was hooked.

The graphics were pretty good for the most part, a little fuzzy in a few parts but overall crisp and sharp. The music I really enjoyed as I felt it set the environment well for the dark and gruesome world. Controls I had a bit of a problem with, I found that often while walking from one section of a level to another the camera angel would change the control scheme wouldn't adjust with the new angel the character was facing. Fixed simply with letting go of the right stick and it would reset instantly. Only was a problem when fighting bosses and you would move form one screen to another and the change would cause you to walk directly into the boss and take damage or worse.

The game is decently long somewhere between 12-15 hours I spent playing through my first time. I liked the level up system where as you would collect experience from fighting enemies to distribute on your choice of skills to strengthen the character. There are lots of little odds and ends to collect, gems for life and magic and what not, to make it worth a replay.

I enjoyed the story line, especially the narrative before the start of each chapter so think twice about just skipping it. Game play was really fun most of the time, only a few boss battles that made me want to pull out my hair, tons of combos and attacks to slay the hordes of dark minions.

Good taste Castlevania, I have to say I really enjoyed the game a lot more than I anticipated I would. I have to say the the ending movie after the credits was worth playing the entire game itself so don't miss that.

I think most of the reviews will and have focused on the comparison to the original immortal classics that are Castlevania. I wonder if a 2d game would interest the current generation of gamers. I'd imagine you could make a 600 hour 2d game with the technology these days.

Things I really liked about the game:
Favorite thing was... the music. I often found myself listening to it and really enjoying it.

Things I liked about it:
Scenery, it was majestic. I enjoyed mass slaughter on occasion. The boss were very interesting and I found myself even intimated by them. I would look at the boss and say how the heck am I going to kill that.

Things that were neutral:
The similarity to any other game that is out nowadays... ie god of war. I haven't played GoW so I enjoyed it.

Not a super great story line.. kind of interesting. I'm glad patrick stewart read.. he rules.

Things I didn't like:
Of course not being able to change the camera was awful. This leads to other annoyances... Ie trying to pick up items in a weird spot (items used to open doors or what have you). This was also frustrating when you were trying to activate something while something else was around. I'm a constant pain for the programmers to figure out spacial relationshions and order of priority.

Things I hated:
Some moves made many of the creatures too easy to kill. For instance... If I grappled.... the world stopped so I could kill one critter with ease after a splatter of blood. It was super annoying figuring out how the circle ring worked... after that I don't think I missed it more than twice. If I did miss it I was more annoyed than challenged. It didn't add much other than giving me some interaction.

I haven't played on the harder levels so if the game is more difficult in the areas I complained... then oops.

Overall fun to play through... It was a hopefulness of what might be next around the corner and some sweet mahem. Didn't bring me back but hey.. it's reborn....!

I was really looking forward to a fresh Castlevania game. The hordes of undead monsters, clearing the castle room by room, getting new powers and weapons, and using them to get to new areas.

I was extremely disappointed. This is yet another God of War wanna-be...and a poor one at that. I was hoping for at least a decent story, but what's there just feels incomplete. The vast majority of the storyline is told through reading the pages of a book, and while several of these pages are read aloud to you beautifully by Patrick Stewart, it still doesn't do enough to immerse you into the game.

You can download a free demo on the PSN which consists of the first two levels. I could see absolutely no difference between the demo and the finished product, so feel free to use it for an accurate preview of the game itself. But like I said...long story short, it's just not a "Castlevania" game.

I can tell you this and I can tell you right now, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a fantastic game. Its a title that should definitely not get passed up and I strongly recommend it!
LOVE
Beautiful. So beautiful...almost too beautiful. Yes, C:LoS is a great looking game, with its detailed textures, fluid models, awesome effects, and pristine environments it is a pretty game to behold. Combot-wise, C:LoS is very similar to God of War, but has its own unique flair and magic system. Goblins, lycans, vampires, stone giants, spiders, you name any mythological monster and Castlevania just might have it! Platforming and puzzles are sure to please as well as the wonderfully told story (Patrick Stewart, I am in love with you). The music is pleasing to the ears and its sound is epic and rich with orchestrated tone. The game has 12 different chapters, each taking a few hours or more depending on skill to complete so as far as the main story goes, its a good length. Also, there are many collectibles to obtain (what game doesn't have any?), so the replay value is a plus. C:LoS makes a very great impression!
LIKE
The book style menu is nice and when you want to upgrade a power or get a new combo, there's a hand-drawn type sketch displaying what it looks like which is cool.
MEH
Hmm..can't think of anything.
DISLIKE
The combat can be very hard and really frustrating so be careful of which difficulty you choose! Also, the stationary camera is fine and all, but it can be a bit annoying at times.
HATE
N/A
Really, you can't go wrong with this game. Rent it and have a great time!
9/10

Castlevania - Lords of Shadow,

This game is beautiful to say the least. There is so much detail put into the backgrounds, boss battles, and combat features. The gameplay is much like everybody's favorite God of War. Shadow of Colossus also seemed to inspire the developers as some of the bosses are huge titans that you climb and pick apart at their weak spots. You use a whip that is upgradable as well as many other weapons, but the whip is the most effective. The story is a little lacking, but is made up for by the impressive visuals.

Pros:
-Beautiful Visuals
-Epic Bosses
-God of War combat engine
-Weapon system

Cons:
-Lacking Story
-A little repetative
-Not much to replay for once beat

I played up to the lord of the lycans 2nd phase, and I gave up. Just ripped the game out of my ps3 put it in the envelope and Im actually considering running to the post office right now at 6am on Sunday to send this one back. The graphics are nice but the game play lacks everything the Castlevania legacy should deliver on and the frustration just isnt worth working my way through a ho-hum generic action game wearing a Castlevania skin. Its obvious Konami was milking the licence to sell units and I so wish they wouldnt have soiled the franchise name with this trash.

I know what you are thinking.
How can it be possible? If the trailers looked so great.
Well, I can tell you that I was also fooled by the f###! trailers.

Except for the name of the main character (Gabriel Belmont) and the battle cross (a new version of the vampire hunter whip) The game has nothing to do with the Castlevania saga.

Repetitive enemies (werewolves, gremlins, trolls and cute little devils that explode if they touch you)
I've been playing the game for a whole week and I have not encountered any of the traditional Castlevania enemies (vampires, skeletons, bone dragons, etc.)

With so many great original songs in the Castlevania saga, not one of them was included in this game.

Puzzles are easy to solve even for 10 year old kids.

Great environments, but they all fall apart with the lack of the Castlevania game experience.

One last thing, the controls also suck, parry and roll are completely useless and you end up looking like a f###! armadillo rolling all over the place.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!!

The only positive think about having this game in my game queue is that I didn't buy it

I dream of a new GOOD version of the Symphony of the Night game

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow borrowed concepts from every hit adventure title out there (God of War 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia, Resident Evil...) -- and in the process, it lost its identity. By the end it felt like it was a third party game borrowing elements from Castlevania. And listening to Patrick Stewart's narration made me think I was playing Legend of Kyrandia again, only to find I had to keep playing this uninspired "reboot".

The fighting is repetitive and uninspired, even with move upgrades. Triggered dialogue during the puzzle stages (such as the crystal stage) can be monotonous and extremely annoying. It was a huge buzz kill for me. The hit detection can be way off, most notably during boss battles, and critical blocks can be difficult to pull off during unexpected slow downs. It was an ambitious title that missed the target in many ways.

Slow to start + been there done that + frustrating gameplay = 5.

However, the musical score is fantastic and the moves list UI is beautifully done with hand-drawn animations. And Patrick Stewart is the man. He could make Devil May Cry dialogue sound exciting.

-thebrudio

I didn't like this game. To me it does feel a lot like god of war, the game play is very guided in a similar way. There is a lot of timed button push scenes, and boss walkthroughs where there is only one way to win.

The story line was also a little strange to me. It was packed with lots of stuff about old gods, and spirit worlds. I was hoping it would stick to the basic Dracula story, where the only thing more powerful than the dark lord is Simon Belmont.

really didn't like it wassent for me

Thing that are good: NOTHING.
Thing that are BAD: Let's see; Everything!
Mindless button pushing to kill mindless AI enemies.
Camera angles that frustrates you to commit suicide.
Listing to Pickard (sic) talk to you for HOURS.
Controls that are arguably the worst in the gaming industry.
I can't write anymore ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Pros:
-Great Graphics
-Nice Cinematic
-They add a light/dark power feature where when used in combo's gives different effects which I thought was cool.

Cons:
-To get some weapon upgrades you have to go back through the levels you've already played
-Play style of a combo slasher game such as Dynasty Warriors gets old quick.
-Unlocking new weapons gives you practically the same combos as the old weapons.

All around I gave it a 6, it had nice graphics and a decent story but it did not hold my interest and I ended up not playing the whole thing. But I am not one for the combo slasher game styles.

This game by far does not get what rating it deserved. The story was solid as were the characters. I played this game with my 9 year old daughter and she was floored. I was not allowed to even play this game with out her watching.

Do not skip this game. A must have or rent for fans looking to be engrossed into a deep story line that teases with a possible second addition to this series.

I have never written a review on games, however my daughter insisted due to the pitiful 7.5 game rating this was given.

Father & Daughter 2 thumbs up!!!

i recieved the game and im only on the second chapter but so far the game is very beautiful the bosses are great to fight i beleave this is a konami game and hideo kojima is one of the makers so if u like how beautifull metal gear solid 4 was you will like how this game is any way i love the game so far i recomend you try it out !

This edition of Castlevania, at for me, is the best yet. It combines the awesome graphics, and game play, similar to that of Assassin's Creed, some Colossal fight scenes much alike to Shadow of the Colossus, and the same interesting story lines that I am used to seeing from Castlevania. But maybe that's just me.

I wanted something to tide me over for the holidays and this was the wrong game to get.

Not only is it boring, but it is broken meaning you wont be able to finish it. Your going to have to do a dash on one of the 50 million puzzles on this game where you have to run a sqaure, sounds easy right? Well given how clunky the controllers are its pretty much impossible.

After spending 30 mins trying to light the square puzzle tile up, I put it back in its wrapper and sent it back to gamefly. Dont waste your time with this game.

the first boss fight is what made me what to get this game. but after right after that the game was slow and boring. you walking around and there is alway an alternative path for you to take, even if it leads to you the the place (this does change later on). you fight here and there and the fights to me are boring, i swing my whip and and i roll. the story is okay but you are not told much even after a few hours all you know is that your wife was kills and you are trying to get her back. you find out that souls are trap in limbo and you are trying to lift a curse. the controls are terrible but you get used to it my main problem was that i would jump twice sometimes and since the camera is fixed when you move to a different area and the camera changes you the direction you are facing changes as well. but if you are moving up and the camera changes and you are now facing down if you continue hold up you will still head down this is good unless there is a wall in the way or a pit. you do not encounter that many enemy or fight them later on but there is a reason for this. you are not in a castle you are traveling the country. in my option i did not fine the game fun or intriguing until the very last boss. fight. it made me want to play part two and see what happens. but it seems a lot of people like this cause the maybe use to this game play. but i rather be mentally involved in a game and i want to care about the events that are happing. this game did not do this for me until the end like i said before. i say, rent the game but there is no point is wasting 60$ on this.

I bought this game, didnt rent it. When i saw the trailer i was midly amused with it, i never much cared for the predecers but i love anything Konami touches so i thought that warranted furher review. As the months went on I was getting more and more excitied about it, than release day came. At first i was angry cause it was very had and theres just so much to do, after i set a path for myself i started to have alot of fun. The story is rich and with lots of twist and turns, the gameplay is amazing to say the least. Its like GOW on steroids, I absolutely love the upgrade system. Visuals in the game are unlike anything ive seen (except maybe MGS GOP). If you own a PS3 and possibly even if u own a 360 BUY THIS GAME!!!!

I have waited for C:LoS for quite some time. I have NEVER played a Castlevania game prior to this; so my review is based off this game alone and not a comparison to the older ones, which many have been doing.

Story - 8
At the start, the story is very vague, but begins to grow greatly through out the chapters. The main character is a bit hard to get attached too since he is your typical strong man hero type with few words really, but like the story takes awhile to grow on you.

Gameplay - 8.5
It is a combination of GoW and Dante's Inferno's fighting mechanic; with Uncharted and Assassin's Creed. Very easy to use but at occasion I just saw myself hitting the triangle since it hit area around you. Also new attacks just seemed the same after awhile.

Graphics - 10
AMAZINGLY STUNNING!!!! Simple as that. This is definitely Metal Gear Solid style graphics. Extreme detail to every texture. Everything from character design to level design looked AMAZING!!. Also levels did not look or feel reused.

Sound - 9
Soundtrack fits perfectly with story. Voice-overs are extremely well done. Although soundtrack is great it can also get annoying if stuck one a level.

Overall - 9
If your a first timer to the series and you love games such as Gow, MGS, Dante's Inferno, then this is just another great addition to the genre. The game is lengthy anywhere between 12 - 15 hours. If your are unhappy that it is nowhere similar to older Castlevania games then do not look at it that way. Castlevania has been changed and it is an amazing change for what it is.

The camera angle comes very close to ruining the game. I didn't think it was a big deal before rental, and many times I found myself saying why couldn't they make it like Tomb Raider where you could look around??? Defiantly dissapointed and almost came to a point where I was just going to send back for another game. When I start thinking I don't care about learning the moves to beat the game I knew there was a problem. I gave it a 5, just ok.

Growing up playing Castlevania on NES was always great but when it hit the PS2 something went terribly wrong and its been all down hill from there

This is the single worst entry into the Castlevania series I've ever had the misfortune to play. And I have played almost every single one they've made. This game is an over complicated barrel of rotten fecal matter. It shouldn't be called Castlevania, you could call it anything and it'd still be the same. The only mention to the Castlevania series at all is Patrick Stewart's character and then its not even a well known character just some random Belmont they added to tie it to Castlevania. UGH HATE HATE HATE IT!!!

all i can say is terrible

I had great expectations for this game, even more so because Hideo Kojima had a hand in its making. But this game really did turn out to be a carbon copy of God of War that just fell short of coming into its own. The scenery and background imagery was actually very stunning, but that was really the shining factor for me. The actual gameplay left much to be desired.