Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 features memorable combat in a forgettable world.”

There’s an excellent undercurrent to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The combat, ability unlocking memory sequences, Dracula’s magnificent castle, 360 degree camera control, and the creative bosses. But a story that’s slow to get going and struggles to hold your attention, a generic modern city, out of place stealth, and a collection of minor frustrations all hurt the overall package. However, playing as Dracula is fun, and there are moments when that enjoyment shines through brilliantly, and fortunately this happens often enough to keep your blood pumping.

With the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series, developer MercurySteam successfully rebooted Konami’s much loved series. Now, with the arrival of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on the PlayStation 3, the Spanish studio’s aiming to bring the series to a close, while at the same time attempting to fully deliver on the promise shown by the first instalment.

No summary available

A huge disappointment, given the obvious potential.

Putting players in control of Dracula in a Castlevania game was a bold move, one that could have made Lords of Shadow 2 a worthy successor to an underappreciated character action title. Unfortunately, some appallingly bad gameplay decisions, a meandering narrative, and lackluster level design weigh this sequel down enough to make it a lesser followup. There is some fun to be had in the combat, and the bosses are so creative that players will want to push forward just to see what's next, but the journey is ultimately an unfulfilling one. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's lack of focus is its dow...

It may have all the right tools and the gorgeous scenery to go with it, but Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is like a beautiful person with a horrible attitude. Its only appeal is based on the idea of that entity, not the content within itself; that is so woefully disappointing. An amazing playground for combat and versatile gameplay elements alone aren’t enough, when it’s not tied together, in favor of useless aesthetics. Instead, this adventure wants to be seen, not approached.

A disappointing end to a promising tale, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is a turgid and inconsistent sequel that fails to live up to its forebear.

No summary available

Bled out.

Slaying Satan's minions may be a blast, but questionable design choices all too often drive a stake through the heart of this tale.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 does some things alright and some things really well. The lack of anything not done before and the run of the mill story still leave the game a decent gaming experience, there’s still plenty to see and plenty to kill, and, as mentioned before, there is a great sense of games and level design competency which oozes from the seams. For third person action veterans it probably won’t quite cut the mustard, but for Castlevania fans who are still digging the reboo...