Topic: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -> Update - Ultimate Edition for PC in August

[MysterD]

NEW -> 3/18/2013:
Destructoid -> Castlevania: LOS - Ultimate Edition hitting PC this August 27th.



OLD:
Joystiq -> Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has made its way into Steam Registry.
Shacknews -> Announcement for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for X360 and PS3 set for 2010

[TheOtherBelmont]

Some of the screenshots look neat, but its way too early to tell much of anything right now.  I know a bunch of people are going to bitch about the 3D aspect of the game, but maybe the new developer can do something good with it.  I hope this turns out good.

[Quemaqua]

People are also going to say "Oh noes, Jericho was such shit!" but don't listen to them.  I think that game was way, way better than it was made out to be.  Not perfect, but it had a lot of really cool elements that most consumers and reviewers overlooked *completely*.  I suspect other outside circumstances may have hurt the game ultimately, because what was there was pretty solid and shouldn't have gotten bashed the way it did.  I think working on a big title like this could be a great thing for that team, give them a little extra guidance and possibly a chance to shine.

[Dragonlor]

I might actually want to try playing this game.  I honestly don't like side scroll games.  only ones i have been able to play like that are the Mario games.  I'm to new to the game world to get into that old of a style.  So if it turns out to be good and belmont buys it I might give it a shot myself.

[Xessive]

This one won't be side-scrolling though. It's more akin to God of War.

[sirean_syan]

So I watched the trailer and while I think it actually looks pretty cool, but very little in there strikes me as something obviously from Castlevania save for the chain whip. That really isn't a bad thing, but when why bother calling it Castlevania? Idol told me that it really didn't even started as a Castlevania game and it was simply called that later, which is kind of sad to me. We're really at the point where it not only takes an established name for recognition, but appear as a reboot as well because apparently people are claiming to be tired of the same old stuff. At least, I'm assuming this is what publishers are thinking (look at all the reboots and remakes lately).

But yeah, the same itself actually seems pretty cool. It's even more strange that Kojima is involved.

[Cobra951]

My turn to pull a D.

According to this joystiq blurb, not only was Lords of Shadow always meant to be a Castlevania game, but it was also meant to be a remake of the original game, complete with Simon Belmont.  One of the links within that explains that it was Konami's cold feet that had the game introduced simply as Lords of Shadow (without "Castlevania" in the title) at Games Convention 2008.  Apparently, it's looking pretty good.  Hope the gameplay lives up to the in-game visuals demoed.

[MysterD]

My turn to pull a D.

See, I knew my "resurrection of thread" gimmick would catch-on!

According to this joystiq blurb, not only was Lords of Shadow always meant to be a Castlevania game, but it was also meant to be a remake of the original game, complete with Simon Belmont.  One of the links within that explains that it was Konami's cold feet that had the game introduced simply as Lords of Shadow (without "Castlevania" in the title) at Games Convention 2008.  Apparently, it's looking pretty good.  Hope the gameplay lives up to the in-game visuals demoed.

Really? Now that's really interesting - that it was originally planned to be a CV1 Remake w/ Simon and all.

[TheOtherBelmont]

So the game finally has a release date of October 2nd!  I'm really looking forward to this, the gameplay footage they've shown so far looks pretty awesome so I'll definitely be getting it.

The limited edition looks pretty awesome too.  It comes with an artbook and soundtrack if you order it at Amazon or Gamestop, but Gamestop is throwing in a free T-shirt as well.

[sirean_syan]

New pretty bad ass trailer.

It's done in total Kojima style, which means fairly long and shows a whole lot of movie/cutscene stuff. Seems pretty heavy-handed, but in a way I can get behind.

[Cobra951]

That's some impressive FMV.  Too bad I have no idea what the game plays like after watching all 7+ minutes of it.

[Xessive]

From the previous videos it looks like the game will play a lot like God of War/Devil May Cry with a touch of Zelda. Kinda like Darksiders.

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to it.

[Xessive]

Demo is out on PSN Store! Get it now!

It's about 1.5GB.. God I haven't been so anxious about a game in a while!

[Cobra951]

Not on XBL yet.  Damn.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Demo is out on PSN Store! Get it now!

It's about 1.5GB.. God I haven't been so anxious about a game in a while!

Seriously?  I just checked and can't find it anywhere on there....are you sure its for this game?  I just checked XBL and PSN.

EDIT:  Looks like it was only released on the European PSN update this week for some reason, fuck, I was really wanting to play it too.  I've got it preordered and can't wait to jump into it.

[W7RE]

Yea, apparently the demo is europe only.

There's an 11 minute "launch trailer" up here on GiantBomb. More of an explanation of what all is in the game than a trailer. Like it talks about the platforming for a bit, the combat for a bit, the puzzle for a bit, etc. I haven't really seen much on this game yet, but this 11 minute video makes me really want to check it out. Sounds like God of War (combat) meets Tomb Raider (puzzles) meets ? (platforming) with some Shadow of the Colossus (climbing giants). I'm every interested.

[W7RE]

Demo is up on Xbox Live, apparently not on PSN (not sure if it's coming or not, apparently PSN updates on Tuesdays? So maybe tomorrow.)

[Cobra951]

Let's play Castlevania!  . . .  Uh, no.  Let's watch a movie.  Ooh, pretty!  Pop some corn, have a drink . . oh, I need to pick up the controller now?  Ah, tour guide will tell me which buttons to press and when.  Right stick is useless; can't spin view around.  The game knows best what I should be looking at and which button I should press.  Got it.  X, Y, oh, RT now, B.  And . . . oh, watch more movie.  Popcorn time again.  Wow, big beast.  Scary!  Never fear.  My friendly tour guide will tell me what to press and when.  Can't whip this guy to death.  Oh, no.  He's too big for that.  X, RT, LT, this, that.  Oops!  That's what I get for not paying attention to my guide.  Try that sequence of buttons again.  It's the only way to see what comes next.  Yes!  I can watch more movie now.  Popcorn's getting low.  Should I pop more?  No!  Time to ride a horse.  All right!  I get to gallop through the forest, leading my horse through . . . oh, no I don't.  My horse only carries me where he wants to.  Which buttons do I press now?  Only X and Y, got it.  X, X, X, Y, Y, X, X . . .  Cutscene!  Short one this time.  Look at that big log.  Oh, it's a magical log that keeps my 10-foot-jumping supernatural character from getting past it.  Quite a log, that one.  Oh, I see.  I have to whip overgrown wolves until the tour guide decides I've whipped enough to let me see what comes next.  And we're walking, we're walking . . .

[W7RE]

You know, I used to complain a lot about the QTEs in God of War 1, but at least they were mixed into gameplay heavy portions of the game. I don't know about the rest of the game, but the Castlevania demo does have an awful lot of sitting and watching. I remember seeing that the demo is over 1.5GB, then I also remember there only being about 5 minutes of gameplay in theit wasn't until cobra's post that I really put the two together.

[Cobra951]

I realize there's still hope that the game lets loose of you after intros and tutorials.  But the whole heavy-handed philosophy I've witnesses so far (in trailers & the demo) does not inspire much confidence about getting traditional Castlevania gameplay freedom eventually.

[idolminds]

Haha, that was great Cobra.

[TheOtherBelmont]

I just finished the first chapter and its been great so far, the boss fight for the end of chapter 1 was pretty awesome.  I would be playing more tonight, but I just pulled a fucking 12 hour shift at work and I'm exhausted so I'll be diving much more into this during my next two days off from work.

[TheOtherBelmont]

This game is pretty fucking awesome guys, I'm on chapter 8 right now and its been epic as hell.  This is definitely a Castlevania game.  Also, as far as Cobra's and W7RE's experience went with the demo, it's only the first few levels of the first chapter that has a lot of cutscenes and smaller levels with not a ton of gameplay.  After the first chapter the game opens up and the levels have a lot more to them, especially after chapter 3.  Chapters 5-8 have been a fucking blast so far, especially some of the boss battles.

[Quemaqua]

I picked this up as well.  Going to try to finish Enslaved first, but then will try to jump in.  Looking forward to it.

[sirean_syan]

Well holy crap that got pretty crazy in the end.

So, I feel like this was a pretty great game in the end. It gets off to a bumpy start, has story story and gameplay issues, but it's got a lot of substance and omph. Most impressively it pulls off this feeling of melancholy throughout the game, despite the big loud gameplay and far reaching story, that'll stick with me for a while. The game just hit me in a way stuff like this usually don't even bother trying to. Honestly, it's similar to how I felt coming away from Shadow of the Colossus. That's not to say Lords of Shadow is quite up to that level, but it's still quite good. By the end you really feel like you've been dragged through a giant quest and lost much in the process.

I have this feeling that Lords of Shadow ended up not doing very well, which is a shame. It really ended up being something unique and is quite an accomplishment. As a re-imagining of Castlevania, I like it. It takes a lot of the imagery associated with the series and added a sense of weight to it while clearly becoming it's own beast. It's near the point where it should be its own thing, but it still fits. I think a lot of people are forgetting that Castlevania existed long before Symphony of the Night came out and are knocking Lords of Shadow for looking further back in the series roots for inspiration. Again, that's a shame. Hopefully the game will prove to be successful given enough time; the folks behind it deserve some success.

Edit: Oh yeah, special mention. This game has a fucking awesome soundtrack. It's a large part of why I think the game is going to stick with me for a while.

[TheOtherBelmont]

I have this feeling that Lords of Shadow ended up not doing very well, which is a shame.

Actually, I think it did well enough because Mercury Steam has already announced they are working on the second one.

[Xessive]

I've finally started it! Just finished the first chapter and I'm loving it!

[sirean_syan]

Actually, I think it did well enough because Mercury Steam has already announced they are working on the second one.

Sweet. I'm glad I'm wrong on that one. While they more or less closed the story up, they also setup for a sequel that could get into some crazy stuff. I'm actually not sure if I would be happy to see them pursue that line, but I can't really say more without giving away the ending. It was cool in the context of the game, but as the context for a new one it could get stupid.

[Xessive]

Ha, I just came across a reference to Portal!

(click to show/hide)

A fallen soldier's note in Chapter III (right before the part with the faeries) mentions "...I can die knowing the 'Cake' is not a lie!!"

[MysterD]

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has made its way into Steam Registry.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Castlevania: LOS - Ultimate Edition hitting PC this August 27th.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the most successful Castlevania game in the franchise (I still can't believe that), is coming to the PC in August. It's being released digitally on August 27th and physically (on August 30th in Europe), and will contain both DLC packs, as well as "enhanced 1080p HD graphics" a 60 FPS framerate, and cloud saving.

While I enjoyed MercurySteam's take on the franchise for what it is, I should note that this is probably the perfect $10 Steam sale game for prospective buyers and action fans alike. Just be sure and bring a controller.

[sirean_syan]

I would say it's worth way more than that $10. The game got a lot of flak, but almost everyone I know who stuck with it came out with a high opinion of the game.