Official Site?: http://www.konami-castlevania.com/mof/
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Developer: Mercury Steam
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Genre: Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Although on 3DS, the combat is similar to the Lords of Shadow on console
+ Fluid animation and combat mechanics
+ The 3D effects are pretty cool on some parts of the game
Cons:
- Much like the first Lords of Shadow, Mirror of Fate has an identity crisis
- The majority of the game felt kind of empty
- Although the game is open-world, the game still feels linear
- Fans of the Castlevania series may cringe at Mercury Steam's take on the story
Recommended: No? Maybe? Although I had fun with the game, it's not exactly a game I'd recommend to my friends.
I was well prepared to be conflicted in thoughts on this game after completing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow on the PS3. To be straight-forward about it, I did have some fun playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate; however, it didn't live up to the quality, experience, or entertainment value I got out of previous installments within the series. The game promised players a return to its roots of classic Castlevania games while still retaining the open-world of exploration of the Metroidvania era. Rather than finding the balance between the two, the game felt like a struggle between the two while playing very similar to the console version of Lords of Shadow. Battles against certain enemies are a bit tougher and require patience to defeat, much like classic Castlevania games. And since the combat is similar to the first Lords of Shadow, the player has many skills and abilities to utilize against enemies. There are problems with these concepts. Classic Castlevania games were linear, side-scrolling experiences where the player keeps moving forward. With the utilization of free-exploration within the castle, you're going to have to run into those tougher enemies more than once. After a while, you start to lose interest in fighting them and learn to run past them. Then there's the many combo abilities the player has: most of them are ineffective. Despite having so many different variations of attacks, a lot of them do not flinch the enemy or stop them in time before they attack you. Because of this, you will end up using the same 2-3 combos throughout the entire game to fight effectively without getting killed. There's no point in having so many different attacks, skills and items when they aren't useful. There's also the matter of an open-world exploration: there isn't much to explore. There will be a few places here and there along the way where you can't reach an item until a certain ability or item is acquired. Once that said ability or item is in possession, it is a simple walk back to those few spots to get more items. What made the Metroidvania formula work was the constant flow of action and fast-paced gratification received from fighting your way across the castle while exploring up and down the castle rather than going forward and occasionally backwards to gather extra items. This was mechanic was like "yang" to the classic Castlevania's "yin" as the originals were linear and required a slower approach to fights with more patience. Each Castlevania game before knew it had to be one or the other and couldn't be both at the same time and needed to find that balance. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was actually the closest to achieving that balance of both mechanics. But in Mirror of Fate, battles weren't particularly difficult as much as they were tedious, exploration was shallow, and because of that it made the entire castle feel very empty. And much of the music was similar to Lords of Shadow on console, so it just made the game feel more like Lords of Shadow than any of the other Castlevania games before it. In fact, I think a lot of the songs used in Mirror of Fate are the same exact ones in Lords of Shadow. There is still much I can go on about, but I suppose I should just get straight to the points of each aspect of the game.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Cel-shaded Medieval Fantasy within 2D environment gameplay
+ There are some really nice 3D effects on some parts of the game
+ Animations and movement are still quick and fluid despite the 3D graphics
+ Some of the bosses have really nice designs to them
+ Interesting way of telling the story through semi-moving cinematics
+ Impressive backdrops in various parts of the castle
- Why does every character have different accents within the same family lineage?
- Music is as high quality as the console game, but is still generic and forgettable
- Although the graphics were nice, all the levels were kind of the same: dark
Aesthetics: 7/10
Buttons
Controller: 3DS buttons, no need for touch-screen as far as I remember
+ Familiar controls to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow/other 3D Action games
+ Blocking and dodging react pretty quickly in the middle of an attack
+ Auto-aim grappling ensures you don't miss and fall down
+ Fairly well laid out controls for the game
- Why are there quick-time events in a hand-held Castlevania game???
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Progress through fighting, solving puzzles, and exploring
+ It's really fancy seeing long combos and console quality combat on a handheld
+ Some of the boss fights were pretty fun
+ Having the ability to heal by attacking makes up for having no potions
+ There's a decent amount of unlockable abilities
+ You can change the difficulty at any time throughout the game
+ Sub-weapons are actually really useful in combat and compliment the whip
+ Dying is a minor setback so you never have to restart back too far
+ There are some tricky and challenging platforming involved
- Quick-time events don't add that much to the entertainment
- Near the end of the game, I didn't feel like fighting most of the enemies
- The castle felt so empty without all that music and colorful levels and enemies
- MercurySteam made their own take on the story, but it still makes me cringe
- A lot of the longer attack combos and abilities are useless
- Exploration was shallow and boring
- No end-game content other than an extra difficulty level
Concept & Content: 6/10
Duration
+ A decent amount of gameplay time for one playthrough
+ The flow of battle comes at a nice steady rate
+ Time is never wasted when you die, you lose 3 minutes at most
- Other than playing on a harder difficulty, practically no replay value
- Each new chapter felt like starting the game over again
- When you're not fighting, the game felt slow and boring
Duration: 5/10
Fun
+ I thought it was nice having console quality combat mechanics on a handheld
+ It did feel good fighting tough enemies and bosses and landing perfect blocks
+ The platforming and jumping parts of the game were semi-entertaining
+ Puzzles weren't too difficult, but they did provide a decent challenge
- Going back to get the few items I couldn't before killed the flow of the game
- The game never got past "it was kinda fun"
Fun: 7/10
Overall
My expectations were already pretty low for the game, so I was able to judge it for what it was. I know Mercury Steam wanted to please fans of the series and still innovate something out of it, but it just didn't really work out. What came out of it was a decent Action-Adventure game that was mildy entertaining but doesn't boast any merits or be considered that memorable of a game. I did have my fun out of playing it, but I didn't feel like it was a "great" experience. When I reviewed Lords of Shadow, I had a lot of conflicts with the game, but was able to look past all that and say that it was a pretty solid Action-Adventure game. Even when doing that for Mirror of Fate, it is still a mediocre game under unbiased eyes. Overall: 6.6/10
Showing posts with label Mercury Steam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercury Steam. Show all posts
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
GameLight Review - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Official Site: http://www.konami-castlevania.com/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Developer: MercurySteam, Kojima Productions
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: [PS3], Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: October 5, 2010 (PS3, Xbox 360), August 27, 2013 (PC)
Genre: Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Does a lot of things right that other Action games do wrong
+ Controls are tight, responsive, and well designed around the game
+ Aesthetics are quite beautiful with a cinematic-like atmosphere
+ Puzzles are present, but they're never too complex to hinder progress
Cons:
- This games has a serious case of identity crisis
- Despite having well crafted aesthetics, the themes are painfully generic
- Although levels are separate, there's still a LOT of running around to do
Recommended: Maybe, Action-Adventure fans will like it. Castlevania fans may or may not be able to enjoy the game.
I've played games where they've had good ideas but executed badly and I'll feel only a little indecisive about whether I liked the game or not. But never have I been so conflicted with a game because it's well developed but doesn't live up to the expectations of a franchise. I try my best to be as unbiased as possible when playing a game and I do not like fanboyism, yet every little aspect that takes ideas from other games and the factors that take away from what makes a Castlevania game disgusted me and clawed at the back of my mind as I dredged my way through the game. I enjoyed playing the game, but I also didn't like it at the same time. Do you see how contradictory my thoughts on the game are? The exploration has some linearity in it to prevent the player from getting lost yet it's opened enough for them to find secrets and replay levels. The combat is well thought out and addresses many problems that other Action games suffered from such as camera angles, blocking, enemy AI, platforming, and even the dreaded Quick-time events. The graphics are beautiful with colorful landscapes, huge boss battles, and well crafted level designs. Despite all this, the game suffers from a serious case of identity crisis. The combat is like God of War, some of the boss fights is practically Shadow of the Colossus, the exploration is Uncharted, and the themes of levels are very similar to games like Garshasp: The Monster Slayer. Although the music works really well with the atmosphere and has won a few awards, it's incredibly cinematic and overly dramatic on parts where it's not even that important as well as being forgettable and generic. Gabriel Belmont is such a cool looking characters with intricate designs on his armor with one heck of a skill set utilizing his whip and sub-weapons, yet he still manages to be a boring character with a personality of a brick. To sum it all up in one sentence: It's not a Castlevania game. It's a reason that even I find dumb to even down-grade such a well developed game, but it's how I felt and still feel when playing through and finishing the game. Had this game been presented as a new IP and be simply called Lords of Shadow with no ties to Castlevania, I might feel differently about the game and perhaps accept it lovingly a lot more. But the fact that it's much more widely accepted than the older 3D Castlevania games hurts my pride as a Castlevania as the previous iterations of the series has always stood out as unique and original while this version screams of generic themes and cliché tropes of medieval fantasy despite being such a solid Action-Adventure experience. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over it and so I'll say that I liked it as a game but not as a Castlevania game.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Medieval Fantasy
+ Great scenery in landscapes, atmosphere and environment
+ Despite no installation required, load times are short and textures are nice
+ Well crafted enemy designs, especially the bosses
+ The effects, slow-motions and color worked well with the game mechanics
+ Sound effects and animation delivered a visceral combat experience
+ Cues for QTE and exploration were subtle yet effective
- The whole medieval fantasy theme was a bit too generic and didn't stand out
- Music was very cinematic and forgettable
- Some of the "epic" music was just so exaggerated that it felt comical
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: PS3 Controller
+ Tight controls that are responsive and designed around the game well
+ Perfect blocking is utilized much better than most games I've played
+ Platforming is pretty spot-on
+ Combat is free-flowing and feels really good
- Some jumps and wall collision aren't very solid in some levels
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Fight, climb, and fulfill objectives to progress to the next chapter
+ A solid combat experience that's both challenging and enjoyable
+ Exploration is generally easy to navigate through and offers re-playability
+ Boss fights usually have multiple tiers to fight through adding depth
+ Although there is a predictable outcome of the story, there is a surprising ending
+ Puzzles are interesting but usually not too complicated to hinder progress
+ Some levels had interesting solutions to progressing such as riding on enemies
+ There were a plethora of abilities and skills for gain
- The story starts off okay, but quickly becomes predictable and uninteresting
- Gabriel Belmont can't decide whether he has an accent or not and has a personality of a brick
- Nothing in the game is innovative, they're just really good mechanics of existing ones
- One particular puzzle was too esoteric and confusing to make any sense
- Most of the skills were useless in combat and only a few were practical
Concept & Content: 7/10
Duration
+ A good length of gameplay provided with a nice steady flow
+ Revisiting levels and multiple difficulties provide a decent amount of replay value
+ I liked how lengthy and challenging some of the boss battles were
+ Combat definitely was the highlight of the game that made up most of the game time
- I hated certain puzzles that involved nothing but running around everywhere
- A few levels made no sense in terms of pathing and involved getting lost
Duration: 7/10
Fun
+ I liked how it addressed and resolved every problem I've had with 3D Action-Adventure games: Camera Angle, multiple enemy combat, Quick-Time events, platforming, puzzles, etc.
+ Although an idea rip from other games, I did enjoy the boss battles
+ Combat is a lot of fun and there are lots of skills to use and gain
+ I'm not too fond with most of the puzzles, but platforming was okay
- Honestly, my first reactions were "It's God of War..."
- Ugh, Quick-Time Events, though it's done a lot more elegantly
Fun: 7/10
Overall
To put it simply, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a solid Action-Adventure game. It's not inspiring, innovative, or original as its own, but it does improve and utilizes the same game mechanics much better other in its genre has done in the past. If you're a long time Castlevania fan, forget everything you know about Castlevania or better yet don't even think of it as a Castlevania game and you'll be able to enjoy the game a lot more. It's a lot to look past, but at its core Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an enjoyable experience. Overall: 7.4/10
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Developer: MercurySteam, Kojima Productions
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: [PS3], Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: October 5, 2010 (PS3, Xbox 360), August 27, 2013 (PC)
Genre: Action-Adventure
Pros:
+ Does a lot of things right that other Action games do wrong
+ Controls are tight, responsive, and well designed around the game
+ Aesthetics are quite beautiful with a cinematic-like atmosphere
+ Puzzles are present, but they're never too complex to hinder progress
Cons:
- This games has a serious case of identity crisis
- Despite having well crafted aesthetics, the themes are painfully generic
- Although levels are separate, there's still a LOT of running around to do
Recommended: Maybe, Action-Adventure fans will like it. Castlevania fans may or may not be able to enjoy the game.
I've played games where they've had good ideas but executed badly and I'll feel only a little indecisive about whether I liked the game or not. But never have I been so conflicted with a game because it's well developed but doesn't live up to the expectations of a franchise. I try my best to be as unbiased as possible when playing a game and I do not like fanboyism, yet every little aspect that takes ideas from other games and the factors that take away from what makes a Castlevania game disgusted me and clawed at the back of my mind as I dredged my way through the game. I enjoyed playing the game, but I also didn't like it at the same time. Do you see how contradictory my thoughts on the game are? The exploration has some linearity in it to prevent the player from getting lost yet it's opened enough for them to find secrets and replay levels. The combat is well thought out and addresses many problems that other Action games suffered from such as camera angles, blocking, enemy AI, platforming, and even the dreaded Quick-time events. The graphics are beautiful with colorful landscapes, huge boss battles, and well crafted level designs. Despite all this, the game suffers from a serious case of identity crisis. The combat is like God of War, some of the boss fights is practically Shadow of the Colossus, the exploration is Uncharted, and the themes of levels are very similar to games like Garshasp: The Monster Slayer. Although the music works really well with the atmosphere and has won a few awards, it's incredibly cinematic and overly dramatic on parts where it's not even that important as well as being forgettable and generic. Gabriel Belmont is such a cool looking characters with intricate designs on his armor with one heck of a skill set utilizing his whip and sub-weapons, yet he still manages to be a boring character with a personality of a brick. To sum it all up in one sentence: It's not a Castlevania game. It's a reason that even I find dumb to even down-grade such a well developed game, but it's how I felt and still feel when playing through and finishing the game. Had this game been presented as a new IP and be simply called Lords of Shadow with no ties to Castlevania, I might feel differently about the game and perhaps accept it lovingly a lot more. But the fact that it's much more widely accepted than the older 3D Castlevania games hurts my pride as a Castlevania as the previous iterations of the series has always stood out as unique and original while this version screams of generic themes and cliché tropes of medieval fantasy despite being such a solid Action-Adventure experience. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over it and so I'll say that I liked it as a game but not as a Castlevania game.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Medieval Fantasy
+ Great scenery in landscapes, atmosphere and environment
+ Despite no installation required, load times are short and textures are nice
+ Well crafted enemy designs, especially the bosses
+ The effects, slow-motions and color worked well with the game mechanics
+ Sound effects and animation delivered a visceral combat experience
+ Cues for QTE and exploration were subtle yet effective
- The whole medieval fantasy theme was a bit too generic and didn't stand out
- Music was very cinematic and forgettable
- Some of the "epic" music was just so exaggerated that it felt comical
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: PS3 Controller
+ Tight controls that are responsive and designed around the game well
+ Perfect blocking is utilized much better than most games I've played
+ Platforming is pretty spot-on
+ Combat is free-flowing and feels really good
- Some jumps and wall collision aren't very solid in some levels
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Fight, climb, and fulfill objectives to progress to the next chapter
+ A solid combat experience that's both challenging and enjoyable
+ Exploration is generally easy to navigate through and offers re-playability
+ Boss fights usually have multiple tiers to fight through adding depth
+ Although there is a predictable outcome of the story, there is a surprising ending
+ Puzzles are interesting but usually not too complicated to hinder progress
+ Some levels had interesting solutions to progressing such as riding on enemies
+ There were a plethora of abilities and skills for gain
- The story starts off okay, but quickly becomes predictable and uninteresting
- Gabriel Belmont can't decide whether he has an accent or not and has a personality of a brick
- Nothing in the game is innovative, they're just really good mechanics of existing ones
- One particular puzzle was too esoteric and confusing to make any sense
- Most of the skills were useless in combat and only a few were practical
Concept & Content: 7/10
Duration
+ A good length of gameplay provided with a nice steady flow
+ Revisiting levels and multiple difficulties provide a decent amount of replay value
+ I liked how lengthy and challenging some of the boss battles were
+ Combat definitely was the highlight of the game that made up most of the game time
- I hated certain puzzles that involved nothing but running around everywhere
- A few levels made no sense in terms of pathing and involved getting lost
Duration: 7/10
Fun
+ I liked how it addressed and resolved every problem I've had with 3D Action-Adventure games: Camera Angle, multiple enemy combat, Quick-Time events, platforming, puzzles, etc.
+ Although an idea rip from other games, I did enjoy the boss battles
+ Combat is a lot of fun and there are lots of skills to use and gain
+ I'm not too fond with most of the puzzles, but platforming was okay
- Honestly, my first reactions were "It's God of War..."
- Ugh, Quick-Time Events, though it's done a lot more elegantly
Fun: 7/10
Overall
To put it simply, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a solid Action-Adventure game. It's not inspiring, innovative, or original as its own, but it does improve and utilizes the same game mechanics much better other in its genre has done in the past. If you're a long time Castlevania fan, forget everything you know about Castlevania or better yet don't even think of it as a Castlevania game and you'll be able to enjoy the game a lot more. It's a lot to look past, but at its core Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an enjoyable experience. Overall: 7.4/10
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
GameLight - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate
Official Site: http://www.konami-castlevania.com/mof/
Source: Youtube Channel NintendoWorldReport
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate released today on the Nintendo 3DS. I have been very worried about it ever since its reveal last year at E3 as it seems to embody the original Castlevania more than the Metroidvania that handheld Castlevania games have followed. It's not to say that I don't like the retro-styled side-scrolling adventure that Castlevania started with since I grew up with them and love them. The problem is that they lack content in our current day generation where paying $40 for just a handheld game had better be worth our time. The game follows the same story arc of Lords of Shadow with the return of 2 familiar characters in the series: Trevor and Simon Belmont. It bothers me a little that the story of those two pivotal characters might be changed in a way that I may not find desirable. As many might be able to tell, I am very skeptical about this iteration in the Castlevania series which is pretty scary since I gave even the infamous Castlevania Judgment a chance. Still, it's a Castlevania and I'm willing to give it a go. I'm just not willing to dish out $40 for it at the moment, especially since I just ordered 2 games for the 3DS that still hasn't arrive just yet. I also haven't played through Lords of Shadow yet, despite having bought it a while ago. Guess I'll wait out on this. It's good to know I'll have a 3DS game to buy when I finished the others I have.
Source: Youtube Channel NintendoWorldReport
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate released today on the Nintendo 3DS. I have been very worried about it ever since its reveal last year at E3 as it seems to embody the original Castlevania more than the Metroidvania that handheld Castlevania games have followed. It's not to say that I don't like the retro-styled side-scrolling adventure that Castlevania started with since I grew up with them and love them. The problem is that they lack content in our current day generation where paying $40 for just a handheld game had better be worth our time. The game follows the same story arc of Lords of Shadow with the return of 2 familiar characters in the series: Trevor and Simon Belmont. It bothers me a little that the story of those two pivotal characters might be changed in a way that I may not find desirable. As many might be able to tell, I am very skeptical about this iteration in the Castlevania series which is pretty scary since I gave even the infamous Castlevania Judgment a chance. Still, it's a Castlevania and I'm willing to give it a go. I'm just not willing to dish out $40 for it at the moment, especially since I just ordered 2 games for the 3DS that still hasn't arrive just yet. I also haven't played through Lords of Shadow yet, despite having bought it a while ago. Guess I'll wait out on this. It's good to know I'll have a 3DS game to buy when I finished the others I have.
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