Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Review) Playstation 3

Review Score:

Have you ever imagined what Castlevania would be like if its whip-welding, platform climbing hijinks were suddenly merged with the stealth mechanics of Metal Gear Solid? It’s doubtful there are few (if any) gamers who would even consider (let alone imagine) stealth mechanics in a Castlevania game, and rightfully so. After all, the Castlevania series is like the Holy Grail of platform games – it’s been an established staple of gaming since the days of 8-bit gaming. When you play a game in the series, the objective is relatively clear — explore Dracula’s castle, eliminate a horde of nasties, and uncover a secret or two along the way before the final confrontation with Dracula.

Since the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, gamers have seen developer MercuryStream take the series in a new direction. While its gameplay left little to the imagination, LOS was still a solid attempt at modernizing the series. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 chronicles the life of Gabriel Belmont as he transforms into Dracula and then re-emerges in modern times weakened from starvation.

The game starts with the Knights Templar sieging Dracula’s castle. As the game’s first battle ensues, a simple tutorial explains the in-game controls and how to feast on weakened foes. When an enemy is dizzied (i.e. flashes yellow), you can feast on them by pressing Circle button. When you start to feed on a victim, you must wait for two circles to join and then press Circle button again to be successful. Dracula’s feeding frenzy varies on the amount of health he has remaining. If his health meter is almost depleted, Dracula will violently devour his victim’s blood. In some cases, the victim’s body will explode into a pool of bloody entrails and organs.

Combat is based on the previous Lords of Shadow game, albeit with some changes. For starters, Gabriel’s Combat Cross has been replaced by a new weapon called the ‘Shadow Whip’. Combos are still executed in the same fashion by mixing light and strong attacks together. Similar to the Light and Dark Magic system from LOS, Dracula can absorb the ‘blood essence’ of his enemies and channel it into ‘Void and ‘Chaos’. By activating the former with L1, Dracula will summon the Void Sword – a weapon that will replenish his health when it strikes an adversary. By pressing R1, Dracula will switch to ‘Chaos’ and summon a pair of claws that can break through enemy defenses. Like the magic system from LOS, the Void and Chaos meters deplete rapidly and they must be restocked constantly.

Once the skirmish at the castle ends, the game switches to a modern day setting where we see a starving, emaciated Dracula stripped of his powers. This is when LOS2 feels less identifiable with the series than its predecessor, as you walk onto the streets of the modern day world. At this point in the game, you’re left to chase (or rather stagger) after a ghostly image of a ‘girl’ into a dark alley. While it may only serve as a precursor of things to come, the alley sequence ends rather quickly with Dracula succumbing to a blood-thirsty adversary. This is where LOS2’s story takes shape and where we are reintroduced to Dracula’s arch nemesis turned ally, Zobek.

The modern world has fallen pray to the Acolytes and their mission to raise Satan from the depths of Hell. In exchange for defeating the Acolytes, Zobek promises to give Dracula the eternal peace he desires. From this point forward, the game plays out in a very disjointed fashion as you battle through ‘flashbacks’ involving Dracula’s castle and sneaking through facilities owned by the Acolytes. The stealth segments are not only similar to Metal Gear Solid, but they leave little room for error. They also feel out of place in the Castlevania universe. Moreover, Dracula is incapable of fighting his Acolyte adversaries; he must instead possess his enemies to unlock doors and use the shadows to transform himself into a rat to solve level specific puzzles.

When you’re in rodent form,  you can scurry along the floor to avoid detection and explore air vents to collect special items and chew through wires to short-circuit doors. Obstacles such as electrical wire and fire can kill you, but you’re given nine rats (i.e. lives) before dying. The only drawback to avoiding the electrical wires as a rat is the hit detection — there are times when the wires will still electrocute you when you’re nowhere near them. Ironically, this is the only time during the game when the hit detection becomes an issue.

It’s also difficult to possess your Acolyte adversaries because some rooms are cramped by objects. As a patrol walks through a room, you must sneak up behind an Acolyte, press Circle button, and hope you’re positioned properly for it to work. Failure to possess an Acolyte results in instant death for Dracula, which is quite frustrating since he is portrayed as this all-powerful being at the beginning of the game. As the game progresses, things tend to improve as the stealth sequences become less frequent, and Dracula reacquires his abilities. Unfortunately, none of  these abilities work during later stealth sequences.

Lords of Shadow 2 shines the most when it panders to the Castlevania fan base. The castle sequences are abundant and contain a healthy dose of action and platforming. The combat is rock-solid as you battle flesh-eating beasts, giants wielding war hammers, and spear-wielding harpies. Bosses like Medusa make their return (in rare form I might add) and they are challenging to say the very least. In spectacular fashion, some bosses require you to climb onto their massive bodies to gouge out their eyes and tear out their tongues to gain the advantage. It’s a bloody affair that only a Castlevania game can deliver. And while the stealth sequences are LOS 2’s Achilles heel, the aforementioned castle sequences make up for it.

LOS 2’s skill system hasn’t changed much since its predecessor. As you kill creatures during battle, experience points are earned to enhance Dracula’s skill set. Experience can be spent in the following categories –  Shadow Whip, Void Sword and Chaos Claws. Each category is represented by a comprehensive skill tree that can build a Mastery level to increase Dracula’s efficiency and strength. Unlocking skills will not only help Dracula learn new combos, but it will teach him recovery moves necessary to his survival.

LOS 2’s graphics have not improved much since the first Lord of Shadows. While the modern environments feel barren, the castle environments come to life with piles of debris, crumbling ceilings and enormous statues. The in-game cinemas have been taken up a notch as they feel more cinematic and portray a much darker atmosphere.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a grandiose adventure that tells a story of love, betrayal and personal sacrifice. Despite some of the pitfalls mentioned earlier (i.e. the stealth segments, for example), LOS 2 is still a brilliant game that delivers rock-solid gameplay and a compelling story that makes you feel for Gabriel’s eternal affliction as the Prince of Darkness. While LOS 2 may not be the best  game in the series, it does a good job of tying up any loose ends in the Castlevania lore. At the end of the day, this is all that matters.

Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: $59.99

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Official Website

Review Score
Graphics
The 3D engine from the original LOS returns with some spit and polish.
Sound
A compelling collection of memorable sound tracks.
Gameplay
Rock-solid gameplay complimented by an intuitive skill system. The stealth segments were unnecessary and felt out of place, though.

Overall
While not the crowning achievement of the series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 does an admirable job of tying up loss ends in the Castlevania lore.