Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Review from w w w.smart-bombs.c o m

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is not a creative game. Aside from the brilliant two-character gameplay, there is no innovation over the previous 2-D entries. The storyline and characters are bland at best, the enemy types are recycled from previous titles, and the environments are cliched and even a little ugly sometimes.
So why the high score? Because for every artistic fault, they make it up for in math. You can almost feel the perfect code as you slash away at that boss. The RPG elements are exquisitely crafted, matching the pacing and striking an ideal balance between complexity and accessibility. Bosses are visceral and exciting, and the DS rune-tracing mechanic from Dawn of Sorrow is thankfully missing.
Although it doesn't stray drastically from the series' "metroid-vania" powerup/exploration gameplay, Portrait of Ruin does add a couple of ideas to the formula. The two character system works wonderfully (although co-op is sadly MIA, except in Boss Rush mode). The AI isn't just awesome, but the game affords you enough control deal with any problems. Unfortunately, the level design never really takes intellectual advantage of the two-character system, and it leaves a lot of puzzle potential untapped.
In short, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin continues to further the pedigree that began with Symphony of the Night. Plus, with plenty of extras, like extra playable characters and endings, this baby will be snuggled in your DS card slot for a while.