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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow; It's out! Mind ye spoilers!

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Posts

  • JebralJebral The guy nobody pays attention to Down South in the land of free thinkingRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, while fun, were two of the most bland games I could ever possibly imagine. Endless hallways, endless square rooms.

    They were also fairly DMC inspired in their mechanics.

    Give us better environments and a little more.... Zest maybe? I don't think it will be hard to out do the last few console games.

    I just hope they don't throw the continuity Iga established out the window. Though I know a few people would love that since he conveniently ignored a few games in the timeline.

    Jebral on
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  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    Since quite a few of the 2D Castlevanias since Symphony have rather outshone it, I'm thinking you're a bit off the mark here.

    Xagarath on
  • PrincepeachPrincepeach Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    This man knows what's up. None of the portable titles have displayed half the amount of care and quality that went into every inch of SotN. And the 3D titles...well...

    Princepeach on
  • sethsezsethsez Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    Since quite a few of the 2D Castlevanias since Symphony have rather outshone it, I'm thinking you're a bit off the mark here.

    Not in terms of environments, which have all been rather dire thanks to the short development cycles and small budgets Iga has been given. He's even complained about it in interviews (backhandedly since he doesn't want to risk his job, of course, but it's easy to read between the lines), and the reason they focus so much on new systems and skills is because they take comparatively less time and budget than making new content or refining what they have. It worked out for them quite well in Aria, but they haven't put any attention into level layout since Symphony gave them the time and money required to do so.

    I mean, I still enjoy the series for the most part, but it's pretty hard to deny that the level design has consisted almost entirely of rectangular rooms with a few platforms and different tile sets since Harmony.

    sethsez on
  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    Since quite a few of the 2D Castlevanias since Symphony have rather outshone it, I'm thinking you're a bit off the mark here.

    Not in terms of environments, which have all been rather dire thanks to the short development cycles and small budgets Iga has been given. He's even complained about it in interviews (backhandedly since he doesn't want to risk his job, of course, but it's easy to read between the lines), and the reason they focus so much on new systems and skills is because they take comparatively less time and budget than making new content or refining what they have. It worked out for them quite well in Aria, but they haven't put any attention into level layout since Symphony gave them the time and money required to do so.

    OOE had pretty good level layout, and blew Symphony away on everything else.
    Unless, of course, you go with the nostalgia lenses.

    Xagarath on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    This man knows what's up. None of the portable titles have displayed half the amount of care and quality that went into every inch of SotN. And the 3D titles...well...

    Yeah man, having half the game take place in the exact same castle only WOW FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN is totally bitchin' and innovative!

    I'm not saying SotN is a bad game. But Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and even Order of Ecclesia (which was loosely stage-based) all improved on that formula.

    Henroid on
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »
    Yeah man, having half the game take place in the exact same castle only WOW FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN is totally bitchin' and innovative!
    It was when it pulled the rug out from under you in a big way when you though the game was over. Few games had pulled that sort of thing at the time (and honestly I think few have since).

    I forget, wasn't it even only unlocked if you did some specific things as well? A hidden second half?

    UncleSporky on
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  • ZxerolZxerol for the smaller pieces, my shovel wouldn't do so i took off my boot and used my shoeRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Yeah, you had to beat Richter correctly, and it was entirely possible you didn't even have the specific item to do so. I know I fucked up the first playthrough of SOTN and didn't even realize the inverted castle existed until I read about it.

    Zxerol on
  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    You had to get the holy glasses so you could see the spirit possessing richter and kill it instead of him.

    Madpanda on
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  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    And to do that you had to get the bat echo ability and use it to get the spike breaker armor and get to the one part of the castle behind the door with the spiked ceiling and floor.

    If you're a completionist, it was something you would find.

    Henroid on
  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I still remember talking to a friend back then who had rented SotN and said "Yeah, it was cool and all, but that ending...what a disappointment!" He stared blankly when I asked him if he had done the inverted castle.

    SteevL on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid on
  • Mustachio JonesMustachio Jones jerseyRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I feel it necessary to reiterate the fact that Kojima isn't developing it. MercurySteam is developing it, a dev based in Spain, who is also responsible for the likes of Scrapland and Jericho. Kojima and his team are certainly involved (I think that's the extent of it, might be more, I haven't checked up on the updates from E3 yet about it all), but the footwork's being done mostly by MercurySteam by the looks of it.

    This could be pretty interesting to follow, granted how the game is shaping up. 'God of Castlevania War' developed by the team that brought us the wonderfully scripted, locked arena, kill waves of horrible things before you can advance is a risky thing to do, considering they've said it's open world.


    edit:

    oh hey Patrick Stewart, and oh hey really pretty looking game that looks fun to play.

    Mustachio Jones on
  • BlackDragon480BlackDragon480 Bluster Kerfuffle Master of Windy ImportRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »

    Damn, nice cast. Patrick Stewart and Jason Issacs.

    Here's hoping there's more to their roles than an intro scene like Stewart did for Oblivion.

    BlackDragon480 on
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  • sethsezsethsez Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    Since quite a few of the 2D Castlevanias since Symphony have rather outshone it, I'm thinking you're a bit off the mark here.

    Not in terms of environments, which have all been rather dire thanks to the short development cycles and small budgets Iga has been given. He's even complained about it in interviews (backhandedly since he doesn't want to risk his job, of course, but it's easy to read between the lines), and the reason they focus so much on new systems and skills is because they take comparatively less time and budget than making new content or refining what they have. It worked out for them quite well in Aria, but they haven't put any attention into level layout since Symphony gave them the time and money required to do so.

    OOE had pretty good level layout, and blew Symphony away on everything else.
    Unless, of course, you go with the nostalgia lenses.

    I actually found it to be the least interesting of the DS Castlevanias thus far, though I can't tell if that's because I'm tired of the formula and it had the misfortune of being the most recent. Either way, I certainly don't remember anything particularly special about the level design, as it seemed to be the same copy-pasted hallways and rooms as all the other portable ones outside of Circle (which certainly had its own issues, but had the best level design of the portable series by a long shot).

    I'm still waiting for Iga to top Symphony's level design and Aria's gameplay mechanics.

    sethsez on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Guys, I just realized what this is.
    Remake of LoI?

    Henroid on
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »

    They even got Patrick Stewart in on it. Also, is this guy Gabriel.....Belmont?

    Krathoon on
  • sethsezsethsez Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    After watching the trailer I'm cautiously optimistic. The production values certainly seem high enough, which indicates that Konami's giving it a real shot rather than shortchanging the developers yet again. The little gameplay we can see looks solid enough but there's just not much to go on, and I don't care for the music but I'm sure that's just here for the trailer. I also like the tone they're going for... it's definitely a more western (as in Europe and NA, not as in cowboys) take on the franchise, and at least here it seems to work. Whether it'll go all Van Helsing in the final product remains to be seen, but I think Kojima's familiar enough with cheese (both intentional and unintentional) to know what to steer away from.

    sethsez on
  • jeddy leejeddy lee Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Patrick Stewart? Ghasp! I must run home to this trailer immediately!

    jeddy lee on
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  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I certainly feel better about the game after seeing the trailer. I have enough info about the story to know it could fit into the Castlevania arc, and I hope it plays a major piece in it (since, y'know, Konami handed the reigns over elsewhere).

    I think my skepticism (not just for this, but E3 this year in general) is the fear of being let down.

    Henroid on
  • sethsezsethsez Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    At least it can't be any worse than Lament of Innocence.

    sethsez on
  • ChenChen Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    It looks very Western, which is good since it's supposed to take place in Eastern Europe. Let's hope the plot isn't too convoluted considering Kojima's pedigree. I'd be satisfied with the usual Dracula has been resurrected go get 'm, but I imagine they're going for a more cinematic approach. Fortunately, the Dracula lore has enough room for a decent plot. The challenge is to bring it over without being overly cheesy. That said, it looks promising so far, especially the voice acting. <3

    Chen on
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  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Updated the OP just a bit, trying to jazz it up and will do so as more details come (obviously). I've gotta do the same for the other threads I've made on behalf of E3.

    Henroid on
  • B:LB:L I've done worse. Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I miss the mask.

    B:L on
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  • VeritasVRVeritasVR Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    "I'm interested in this."

    VeritasVR on
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    Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
  • SteevLSteevL What can I do for you? Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Hm, looks good. I never thought I'd hear Patrick Stewart narrating a Castlevania game.

    SteevL on
  • HedgethornHedgethorn Associate Professor of Historical Hobby Horses In the Lions' DenRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    sethsez wrote: »
    Xagarath wrote: »
    If there is one series they should be copying it is not the shallow, dreary antics of God of War.
    Open-world's not a bad thing, but it needs more than superficial combat to fill it.

    "Big empty spaces with superficial combat to fill the tedium" is what pretty much all the Castlevanias have been since Harmony or so. Here's hoping Kojima's involvement will mean that the series finally gets the budget, polish and development time the series deserves so we get an environment that's more than just a series of identical hallways and rooms with enemies randomly scattered about, and we get back to the full-budget, spit-and-polish shine of Symphony.

    Since quite a few of the 2D Castlevanias since Symphony have rather outshone it, I'm thinking you're a bit off the mark here.

    Not in terms of environments, which have all been rather dire thanks to the short development cycles and small budgets Iga has been given. He's even complained about it in interviews (backhandedly since he doesn't want to risk his job, of course, but it's easy to read between the lines), and the reason they focus so much on new systems and skills is because they take comparatively less time and budget than making new content or refining what they have. It worked out for them quite well in Aria, but they haven't put any attention into level layout since Symphony gave them the time and money required to do so.

    OOE had pretty good level layout, and blew Symphony away on everything else.
    Unless, of course, you go with the nostalgia lenses.

    I actually found it to be the least interesting of the DS Castlevanias thus far, though I can't tell if that's because I'm tired of the formula and it had the misfortune of being the most recent. Either way, I certainly don't remember anything particularly special about the level design, as it seemed to be the same copy-pasted hallways and rooms as all the other portable ones outside of Circle (which certainly had its own issues, but had the best level design of the portable series by a long shot).

    I'm still waiting for Iga to top Symphony's level design and Aria's gameplay mechanics.

    OOE's redeeming feature was that it was actually difficult again, something the series had been missing for over a decade. Symphony's the worst offender of all here; I shouldn't be able to kill Shaft and Dracula by standing in one spot and spamming Alucard's Sword. Richter's quest was even worse, as the Holy Water crash killed every enemy, including Shaft, in one hit.

    Hedgethorn on
  • CadeCade Eppur si muove.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Title should mention Castlevania starring Captain Picard, make it so number one.

    Cade on
  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm very optimistic indeed.

    UnbreakableVow on
  • HaikiraHaikira UKRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    GT just put up an HD version of the trailer.

    http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-castlevania-lords/50687?type=flv

    Handy, since you can't fullscreen it on the Kojima site.

    Haikira on
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  • HaikiraHaikira UKRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cade wrote: »
    Title should mention Castlevania starring Captain Picard, make it so number one.

    Pfft. I dont care what order those names were in. This is the true star.

    19703-19946.gif

    Haikira on
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    PSN:Hakira__
  • LCDXXLCDXX A flask of wood and glass Terre Haute, INRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm an easy sell when it comes to Castlevania so...

    SOLD!

    LCDXX on
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  • MinionOfCthulhuMinionOfCthulhu Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    That looked...like God of War. Not God of War-like, but God of War with a different guy.
    At least the voice actors are good. I hope they use Patrick Stewart better than Oblivion did. No, really Bethesda, thanks for blowing all your voice actor money on Patrick Stewart and then killing him off in the first 10 minutes, thereby causing us to suffer through the FOUR PEOPLE you got to do every other goddamn voice.

    MinionOfCthulhu on
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  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Also a big LOL to people that think Kojima is going to "mess up" Castlevania.

    They've been following the same damn formula since SOTN, it's gotten a bit stale (though still good), so this could be just what it needs. As long as Kojima doesn't fix what isn't broken (the great exploratory bits) and makes the combat better than it is now (anyone that thinks it's somehow deeper or better than God of War is fooling themselves) I'm all for it.

    EDIT: Also if you think Konami is going to let him make fucking Castlevania (not exactly known for having good stories) as convoluted as MGS you are a dipshit of the highest order.

    UnbreakableVow on
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm expecting Kojima to pull the shit I'm glad Iwata didn't do - make the Church into the bad guy. I'm not saying this as a good expectation.

    Also, it'd be hilarious if we got to see Vamp!

    Henroid on
  • MinionOfCthulhuMinionOfCthulhu Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »
    I'm expecting Kojima to pull the shit I'm glad Iwata didn't do - make the Church into the bad guy. I'm not saying this as a good expectation.

    Also, it'd be hilarious if we got to see Vamp!

    I want Dracula to be Vamp.

    MinionOfCthulhu on
    mgssig.jpg1152dt.gif
  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »
    I'm expecting Kojima to pull the shit I'm glad Iwata didn't do - make the Church into the bad guy. I'm not saying this as a good expectation.

    Also, it'd be hilarious if we got to see Vamp!

    I want Dracula to be Vamp.

    Doesn't work, he dies in 1999.

    Henroid on
  • SyphonBlueSyphonBlue The studying beaver That beaver sure loves studying!Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    oh god yes

    this looks like castlevania of war

    very excited!

    SyphonBlue on
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  • MinionOfCthulhuMinionOfCthulhu Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »
    Henroid wrote: »
    I'm expecting Kojima to pull the shit I'm glad Iwata didn't do - make the Church into the bad guy. I'm not saying this as a good expectation.

    Also, it'd be hilarious if we got to see Vamp!

    I want Dracula to be Vamp.

    Doesn't work, he dies in 1999.

    Look, we had Liquid Snake live on...in this arm! If anyone can do it, Kojima can.

    MinionOfCthulhu on
    mgssig.jpg1152dt.gif
  • AiranAiran Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Henroid wrote: »
    I'm expecting Kojima to pull the shit I'm glad Iwata didn't do - make the Church into the bad guy. I'm not saying this as a good expectation.

    Also, it'd be hilarious if we got to see Vamp!

    I want Dracula to be Vamp.

    Along with tongue slurping action :winky:

    Airan on
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