#SDCC 2013: Hands-On with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Steve Barton
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While at Comic-Con, I had the luxury of stopping by the Konami suite to get my hot little hands on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2… and it was good. Read on for my impressions and much more!
This latest edition to the franchise sees Gabriel Belmont a.k.a. Dracula (voiced by the returning Robert Carlyle) resurrected once again in a weakened state, yearning to be set free from this “life.” This time around, he has to reacquire his powers and make a pact with Death in order to defeat Satan, also returned to kickstart his revenge of being defeated centuries before by bringing the apocalypse and laying waste to the land. If Drac can defeat the Devil, he gets his promise of eternal rest.
NOW, to the meat of the matter… the gameplay itself.
While utilizing the demo’s tutorial, I quickly learned not only how to drain my enemies of their very lives but how to wield the mighty “Void Sword” and switch back and forth from that to the “Blood Whip” and “Chaos Claw” which, for lack of a better term, destroys shields (that sound like breaking plates) and scratches the holy fuck out of any enemy in your path.
As with most games, the running/jumping/climbing trees elements can sometimes be frustrating and troublesome but being able to hit the trigger to illuminate the navigational helps even the greenest of gamers traverse the nooks and crannies without much problem. And the moveable camera is (pardon the pun) a godsend in this open world fighter.
The demo led me to battle a HUGE golden double-fisted sword-wielding big boss known as the Golden Paladin and he is NO SHIT. But before I could get to HIM, I had to deal with his minions while keeping balance on a giant mecha controlled by GP as well as avoiding being hit with giant arrows he would loose upon me when the moment suited him, which was when I was either surrounded or traversing the sides of the castle trying to get to him.
And JUST as I was ready to do battle with GP, the demo ended. (BOO)
Having had little experience with the Castlevania franchise (I know, I suck), I was immediately enamored with not only the story but how the game played as well; those who want a lot of ass-kicking and evisceration in their gameplay, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be more than happy with what Konami’s bringing to the table. Plus the ability to play as Dracula for the first time is the icing on the Castlevania cake.
Not to mention the game is BEAUTIFUL to look at and (so far) flows as smooth as, well, blood.
And good news for you PC gamers: Konami has said that the first Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be coming to Steam (for the first time EVER) this August 27th, and not only will the full original game be available, the add-on content (Reverie and Resurrection) will be there, too!
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will emerge for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this winter, so sharpen your fangs and get ready for battle.
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