Written by: PlayDevil.com Staff

 

 

 

Konami’s long running franchise Castlevania has taken a few dips in to the pool of 3D before but with limited critical and commercial success. Will the European studio Mercury Steam, under the watchful eye of Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid series), achieve more of a splash with their reboot of the series Castlevania Lords of Shadow.

 

With promises of both platforming and puzzles in the final release, a combat focused demo offered only a taster of this upcoming October title. Aesthetically the tone recreates well the series gothic style, and the rainy night the action took place in was certainly evocative of the opening of many of the previous Castlvania games.

 

As I fought villagers circled the action doing an impressive job of showing off the games textures and lighting, with the unfortunately upshot of highlighting hair and cloth effects that seemed unaffected by rain that soaked the glistening environment.

 

I controlled the chain-whip wielding Gabriel Belmont. Using this weapon I was able to create impressive looking combos that move with impressive fluidity as I hacked my way through a pack of werewolves.

 

In addition to the whip, Gabriel also possessed special weapons that will be instantly familiar to series fans. Knives were all that was on offer during the brief demo, but their range allowed attack combos to last longer while keeping opponents at bay when necessary. Blocks, grabs and rolls were also on hand to provide the foundation of what could be a very competent combat mechanic.

 

Hacking through the demos opponents felt natural after games such as God of War and other similar third person action games.

 

Unfortunately this demo only seems to highlight the fact that Castlevania Lords of Shadow offers nothing new to the genre in a year that has seen some fantastic example of the genre released.

 

Without seeing exploration and puzzle elements that are for many the franchises main appeal, Castlevania only offers a hack and slash experience that brings nothing new to the table but the competence of the combat does give hope that Mercury Steam could come through on their promises.