Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

This was initially a "retro-fix" idea for me, being a huge fan of the Castlevania franchise. For those who have never played a Castlevania game, all of the originals were 2D side scrolling adventures (a la classic Mario). This game evolves into a more immersive environment akin to more modern 'Hack 'n Slash' titles, the God of War franchise and Dante's Inferno are good titles to compare layout to.

As soon as I booted it up it just Oozed quality, now the first thing you will really noticed is that it is developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions. MercurySteams work on the horror hack n slash title "Clive Barker's Jericho" obviously lent a hand to the dynamics of this game. But to me more importantly is Kojima Productions involvement. For those unfamiliar with this developer, they are most famous for creating the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It is a matter of opinion but to me the Metal Gear Solid games and especially the fourth title are just life changing. Now with these two powerhouses working together you just know that the game itself is going to have a lot to live up to.

The first real point of real quality I noticed was the narrating it was a voice I knew I'd heard before A quick internet search had revealed that the narrator and character companion is voiced by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart! One of my favourite actors! Then you notice the main character speak and who do you hear? Robert Carlyle! Again an awesome actor! But what good are these amazing talents without a good game to voice act in?

Now to the part everyone wants to see. Just how good is the game? Simply put its great. The lush surroundings are done very meticulously, no shortcuts and obvious texture copying was done which is always a nice touch. The enemies are cool and scary in there own right (well maybe not the goblins!) and the control layout is just great and easy to get used to. In no time you will be slashing your way into the echelons of history within this world. The story itself is good enough to keep you nicely interested but not confused, and it is a surprisingly large game. I currently have it as a rental and I have spent about 5 hours on it so far and I am about 60% through the game, even then you can revisit areas and unlock secrets once your character has obtained the required skill set to do so, which is a great motivation to 'grind' a little.

The lore in this universe is very cool and the main bad guys are equally as impressive. Fighting them is always fun! You will also enjoy the way the cut scenes are bled into the game. Admittedly they could do with a few more cut scenes but each to there own regarding that.

I will not reveal the plot of the game! I know some people like to read reviews of the plot, but I do not want to spoil it by giving a sub standard plot description, especially as I have not completed it yet. Get the game yourself, you won't regret it!

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