Game review: Castlevania - Lords of Shadow 2
Gone now is the linear level design to make way for an open world approach. The entire world around Belmont opens up as he progresses through the game and of course where there is exploration, there is collectables to find. The combat has a heavy God of War feel to it but not nearly as deep. Dracula has his trusty whip and 2 other weapons at his disposal which can be changed to on the fly to continue combos. The Void Sword is Dracula’s tool of survival when in the heat of combat, successful hits gain him health and the moves look stylish too. The Chaos Claws are Dracula’s heavy weapon; it is slower but deals massive damage and can break through shielded and armoured enemies. The frustrations begin with the combat, enemies have two modes, ring around you and rush you and it is not hard to see what comes next. Success in combat boils down to good management of Dracul’s arsenal. Boss fights offer variety to the standard combat but sometimes these get bogged down due to the fact that you can’t lock onto enemies so it’s easy to lose sight of them causing you to be a sitting duck. The exploration leaves a lot to be desired too, ledges that can be hung onto are highlighted by a swarm of bats, now bats are black so you can tell how difficult it is to see them. And then there’s the pointless stealth sections which will make you want to throw your pad in anger. Lords of Shadow 2 excels in its looks. Environments are nicely detailed and the open world parts are fairly large. set in modern times, the architecture of his castle mixes well with the streets of the city and sometimes the game provides some lush viewpoints of the world and as I mentioned before, the cut scenes are brilliantly designed making them a joy to watch.
Summary
MercurySteam have improved Lords of Shadow 2 in some ways but failed to improve in others. Sporting some fast paced but frustrating combat mechanics, impressive upgrading system, beautiful graphics may be enough to keep fans cheering but it’s not easy to ignore the bland characters, awfully marked out routes and the worst stealth mechanics I’ve seen in a while. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 feels like a missed opportunity to have a classic on our hands, but it’s nothing more than a standard action game.
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Developers: MercurySteam
Publishers: Konami
PC
Xbox 360
Playstation 3
Genre: Action Adventure
Release Date: 28th February 2014
Story – 3/5
Graphics – 5/5
Gameplay – 3/5
Overall – 3/5