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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate |OT|

P

Phenomic

Member
Anyone who already has the game mind answering a question for me?

I'm a completionist so I don't want to miss stuff. Since you play as multiple people does this game have points of no return? If so, are these points really obvious? Perhaps you could in a way list in spoilers without super spoiling anything what these points are.

Thanks!
 
MagiusNecros

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Phenomic said:
Anyone who already has the game mind answering a question for me?

I'm a completionist so I don't want to miss stuff. Since you play as multiple people does this game have points of no return? If so, are these points really obvious? Perhaps you could in a way list in spoilers without super spoiling anything what these points are.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You an backtrack anywhere. You can't miss anything.
 
C

Call Me Maybe

Banned
Phenomic said:
Anyone who already has the game mind answering a question for me?

I'm a completionist so I don't want to miss stuff. Since you play as multiple people does this game have points of no return? If so, are these points really obvious? Perhaps you could in a way list in spoilers without super spoiling anything what these points are.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the game allows for complete backtracking. However, I have only played the game for a few hours, so I don't know if this changes later.
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Phenomic said:
Anyone who already has the game mind answering a question for me?

I'm a completionist so I don't want to miss stuff. Since you play as multiple people does this game have points of no return? If so, are these points really obvious? Perhaps you could in a way list in spoilers without super spoiling anything what these points are.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The game has teleport stations ala Metroidvania, so you can always backtrack.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
KevinCow said:
The bolded isn't true. If you press the jump button while doing an attack, you'll do a launcher.

And your complaint is just generally nitpicky as fuck. Being able to cancel into dodges at any time is just another way the game's copying God of War, because it worked well in God of War. You're not a fan of that design? Okay, sure, fine. But this is like the fifth time I've seen you bring this up, along with a statement of how the game is TERRIBLE and HORRIBLE because they designed the combat differently from the way you prefer.

I personally quite like how you can cancel most attacks into a block, roll, or air dodge.
Click to expand...

he wanted clarification on concerns with the combat so i explained it to him.

the launcher takes you into air and allows to avoid shockwave attacks fulfilling the purpose the standard jump would. i find the system far too forgiving and strips away any sort of repercussions for your decisions. it's not about being a fan of a different design it's an issue that i find flawed on a fundamental level.

i don't give a crap what gow does, i'm judging the combat by how it's implemented in mof.
 
U

Unstoppable Lionheart

Banned
brandonh83 said:
it's probably cheap and shitty going by the pictures I have seen of it (stock photos) as well as past Gamestop 3DS cases like Revelaitons.



I was more or less commenting on you saying that nothing Castlevania has ever did compares to Prime. :p

At any rate I wasn't meaning to be hostile at all; I never intended as much, so my apologies.
Click to expand...

No worries.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
I think the reviews will be pretty predictable, roughly in the 6/10 or C range. Maybe some 8's from more generous reviewers that don't equate Castlevania with Metroidvania.
 
X

xxbrothawizxx63

Member
That's my biggest concern honestly. It would be a shame if the reviewers can't get over the fact that the game is not trying to be like any 2D Castlevania prior and instead slam the game for what it's not. Outside of fans of the series, many seem to be optimistic about the title after the demo and are waiting on reviews. With so many games to choose from this month and in the coming months it's going to be a hard sell for the game is reviews aren't at least around the 8 range.

Considering the fact that Revelations only sold 200k in the US though (and had much more buzz), I was already concerned for the game's sales numbers.
 
S

SlasherJPC

Banned
Put.in a little over an hour now. I feel its definetly better then the demo. 3D is pretty damn good. One boss fight so far I thought was alot of fun. Will post more impressions later. :)
 
N

NateDrake

Member
For those curious, North America outlets received the game on Monday. So, unless they rush thru the game, reviews won't make embargo lift and will likely come later in the week. EU outlets got the game late last week, so expect their reviews to be the first to show.
 
F

Father_Brain

Banned
xxbrothawizxx63 said:
That's my biggest concern honestly. It would be a shame if the reviewers can't get over the fact that the game is not trying to be like any 2D Castlevania prior and instead slam the game for what it's not. Outside of fans of the series, many seem to be optimistic about the title after the demo and are waiting on reviews. With so many games to choose from this month and in the coming months it's going to be a hard sell for the game is reviews aren't at least around the 8 range.

Considering the fact that Revelations only sold 200k in the US though (and had much more buzz), I was already concerned for the game's sales numbers.
Click to expand...

Well, if DmC and Tomb Raider's Metacritic scores are any indication, I'd say most professional game reviewers are pretty good at judging games for what they are, rather than what they're not. Though those might not be the best examples, depending on your perspective.

Regardless of reviews, it's going to bomb anyway, due to demographic mismatch with the (type of) platform it's on and the fact that Castlevania just isn't that big an IP. I'd be surprised if it reaches 100K in the US by the end of the year.

NateDrake said:
For those curious, North America outlets received the game on Monday. So, unless they rush thru the game, reviews won't make embargo lift and will likely come later in the week. EU outlets got the game late last week, so expect their reviews to be the first to show.
Click to expand...

...why would Konami do this? I know it's developed in Spain, but it's not out in Europe until Friday.
 
N

NateDrake

Member
Father_Brain said:
...why would Konami do this? I know it's developed in Spain, but it's not out in Europe until Friday.
Click to expand...

Who knows. The original plan was likely to get final copies in the hand of reviewers by late last week in US but they didn't ship them out until the end of the week, leading to outlets getting copies in today.
 
S

sfried

Member
slasher_thrasher21 said:
Put.in a little over an hour now. I feel its definetly better then the demo. 3D is pretty damn good. One boss fight so far I thought was alot of fun. Will post more impressions later. :)
Click to expand...

Better in what way? Do you mean pacing wise or technical wise (because framerate in the demo apparently wasn't good enough for many)?
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
brandonh83 said:
I think the reviews will be pretty predictable, roughly in the 6/10 or C range. Maybe some 8's from more generous reviewers that don't equate Castlevania with Metroidvania.
Click to expand...

I think it'll be surprisingly higher. So far from the three reviews, one from a Spanish magazine, a German site, and the new Italian review. All of them loved it and gave it a 9 or higher. The Italian review claims it's the best Castlevania they played. The German and Spanish review says the game is 9hrs long.

It's looking pretty good. I'm interested to see what the rest of the reviews say tonight. Almost there!
 
M

mollipen

Member
NateDrake said:
For those curious, North America outlets received the game on Monday. So, unless they rush thru the game, reviews won't make embargo lift and will likely come later in the week. EU outlets got the game late last week, so expect their reviews to be the first to show.
Click to expand...

Some North American outlets got the game before Monday.
 
K

KevinCow

Banned
IGN gave it a 4.7, lol. He basically spends the first few paragraphs bitching that it's not like any of the previous Castlevania games.

xxbrothawizxx63 said:
That's my biggest concern honestly. It would be a shame if the reviewers can't get over the fact that the game is not trying to be like any 2D Castlevania prior and instead slam the game for what it's not.
Click to expand...

So basically that was spot on.
 
J

JebusF

Neo Member
It's more God of War than Castlevania, really. I mean, think of the last Castlevania...it's like that, but in 2.5D.
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
Colin is answering questions in the comments section of the IGN review. He even said the following

"I'm a huge Castlevania fan (and even enjoyed Lords of Shadow on PS3), but no, I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone, nonetheless fans"
 
R

RyougaSaotome

Member
Wait, do bosses seriously keep their current health after you die? That's ridiculous.

IGN review sort of points out the stuff that worries me: the game tries to be multiple things and doesn't do any of them particularly well. I thought Lords of Shadows was super mediocre, but I was hoping this'd be better. The focus on story is also a but concerning. My favorite Castlevania stories are the ones that are short and to the point. I don't need long 'poetic' monologues and cutscenes.

We'll see I guess. I'm hesitant to drop the cash on this.
 
Moff

Moff

Member
the only thing that keeps me from buying this is the frame rate, is it any better in the final version?
 
P

PaulExcellent

Member
Just read the IGN review.

Cute.

I'm thinking about buying it tomorrow, or next week.
My backlog could be lowered by then, so I could play it more.
 
E

Eight Diagram Bat Fighter

Banned
Got my review copy, embargo lifted, quick GAF review:

  • Don't expect this to play like a classic 2d/DS/SoTN Castlevania.
  • Nice engine, graphics are pretty cool, 3d is nice.
  • FALL DAMAGE, even for Alucard.
  • Hit boxes will keep you guessing. It's very wide for some enemy attacks leaving you shouting at the game in disbelief.
  • Can't cancel out of some attacks, leaving you wide open. You don't feel as in control of your character like you do on previous games in the series.
  • If you want to dodge an attack by jumping over attacks or obstacles, you almost have to plan early to do so.
  • Game is trying to be serious, but throws in some cringe-worthy comedy that pulls you out of the heaviness of the story. Conbine that with the cell-shaded comic book cutscenes, and you get all these variables of mixed styles that doesn't fit well together.
  • Music is great, but it blows out your speakers. A lot of audio clipping.
  • Alucard uses whips.
  • FALL DAMAGE.

The game tries at parts to be something it's not. And although it shares elements of the more popular Castlevania titles as well as Lords of Shadow, it ends up feeling like a cheap knock off of both.

But even through all of that, it's quite fun once you get over these issues and it is a really good looking game, but in the end it leaves you wanting a traditional Konami-made Castlevania in this 3D/2D style.

If you want and expect a traditional 2D Castlevania, don't buy it.
If you liked LoS and the lore behind it and don't mind the things listed above, buy it.
 
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