If you love zombies, or more to the point, you love blowing them into itty-bitty pieces to stop the infection in it’s tracks then chances are our list below will have at least one game you’re interested in. If not, maybe you’re finally all zombied-out? That’s just crazy though, you’ll never get sick of killing zombies. Never.

Dying Light:

Techland, the developers of Dead Island are at it again and bringing us another zombie game. From the looks of it though, this game is sharing very little with it’s Pacific surrounded, older brother Dead Island. Dying Light is very much more of a twitch, action survival game. Players will be expected to be able to navigate and maneuver fluidly through all sorts of different urban terrain, utilizing the character’s freerun ability.

There is a twist with this one too. Once the sun goes down, it would be highly recommended that you stay off the street. What are normally slow moving, shambling shells of their former living selves in the daylight, become ravenous, violent and flesh crazed monsters at night. Of course, it won’t be that simple or else it wouldn’t be much of a game if you could just stay inside. While Dead Island had zombie fans on both side of the fence, who either loved or hated the game, it looks like Dying Light is going to be a bit more of a crowd-pleaser. With an emphasis on action, survival and flexible mobility, this just may be the zombie game you’ve been waiting for.

If you were a fan of the first Castlevania Lords of Shadow game, then this one most certainly is for you. Lords of Shadow 2 is the second game in this series reboot that has little to do with the original Castlevania games. While it still exists in a similar, fantastical world that the original games do, there’s been quite a face-lift and jump in technology for the Lords of Shadow. If you’re expecting Lords of Shadow 1 or 2 to be anything like the old games, than you may be sorely disappointed, but if you’re looking for a fast-paced combat system, Lords of Shadow 2 may be perfect for you, especially if you’ve played the first one.

In Lords of Shadow 2, we play as the Prince of Darkness, Dracula as he has to fight his way back into controlling his Castle after being asleep for quite some time. Dracula has also had his abilities stripped, but you’ll be gathering up all the powers from the previous game, and hopefully plenty of new ones as the player moves forward. Unfortunately this part of the game is a bit derivative. It’s hard to get around such roadblocks as starting a new game with all the bells and whistles from the previous title is just something that everyone has to deal with when it comes to games like these.

Both Lords of Shadow, one and two easily has the feel of the many of the classic Devil May Cry titles from Capcom, though there does seem to be a bit more focus put on the tactical side of combat with Dracula’s abilities. As an example, the player has multiple gauges they’ve got to pay attention to, to maximize their combat effectiveness as well as the ability to steal health from his enemies by consuming their blood. Don’t worry though, if you’re at all squeamish of blood, it comes in convenientlyas  consumed blood orbs with no mess, no fuss and emptied corpses to dispose of. Keeping your attack gauges full means dishing out combos, switching to different weapons to maximize damage and most importantly avoiding any damage from your enemies, since this will cause you power gauges to reset and you’ll need to start all over.

The original Lords of Shadow chronicled the birth of Dracula, the Dark Prince and the sequel pretty much picks up where the first game left off. Our main character, Dracula has quite a bit going for him at the very beginning of this game. That is until he gets word that Satan is trying to return and the Belmont Clan as well as his own son are seeking his destruction. They would like nothing more than to see the immortal Dracula slain and his power destroyed.

Even his own Castle is taken over by guards and soldiers, in hopes of destroying Dracula. He should have known what he was getting into, old homes like these don’t come without any problems. In this case though, I don’t think that a few nails, a new roof and an exterminator are going to cut it. The Lord of Shadows is going to have to get his hands dirty in this game in order to protect his family and take rightful control over his home again.

There is quite a lot to look forward to in this new Castlevania series reboot. Fast-paced action that is completely different from the original NES titles, yet very much in the same vein as the original title that permeate this experience. While other action games have you moving through waves of relatively easily defeated enemies, Lords of Shadow 2 will be throwing difficult and massive beasts at you. It is very much a thinking man’s action game that should have most gamers perfect their combat a bit more during each encounter.

While this game certainly isn’t following the classical story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it should still be able to set up its own identity. There’s something to be said for re-writing fiction’s history every once in awhile and tailoring it to the story that MercurySteam and Konami want to tell. They’ve got a developed idea that they are moving forward with which is very promising as well as polished from what we’ve seen thus far. With plenty of time still left in the development cycle before its release, they’ve got a whole lot going for them.

The release of this game won’t be coming until February 2014 and fans of the first Lords of Shadow are certainly going to enjoy the second title in this reboot. Be warned though, if you’re new to this series and expect to get the same experience as the original Castlevania games you may be disappointed. If you are however looking for an amazing new game full of action, magic and demons, then this game may be exactly what you’re asking for.

For those who never got a chance to play the original, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow tells the tale of Gabriel Belmont and how far he will go to resurrect Marie, his love and life. Gabriel’s tale is told with a heavy emphasis on the battle between good and evil. He faces off against the three Lords of Shadow as he fights to obtain a mythical mask through which he can bring back his deceased wife.

On your journey you will meet several other characters that will either help Gabriel or manipulate him into doing something heinous. The plot is one of the most influential factors in giving impetus to the gameplay and it makes sure that the player will remain engrossed for the fifteen hours or so that the game lasts.

As mentioned before, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow borrows several elements from other games resulting into a brilliant mash-up of hack ‘n’ slash and puzzle mechanics. The heart of the combat lies in your powerful combat whip which will automatically upgrade as you progress through the game. The player will also earn experience points which can then be used to unlock powerful moves and combos. Gabriel also possesses two variations of magical powers: Shadow and Light.

"Whoever designed the puzzles really needs to be applauded as it may take several minutes or even hours to clear them. Some puzzles are spread across different sections of a particular level and you will often find yourself running from one place to another. "

The Light magic when activated will help the player to regain health for each hit Gabriel inflicts on an enemy while Shadow magic will cause more physical harm to the enemy. Magic also plays a crucial part in the mind boggling puzzles the player will come across. You will consistently be using them to move away a large block or activate a mysterious button to progress forward.

That brings me to one of the most brain-draining features of the game: puzzles. Whoever designed them really needs to be applauded as it may take several minutes or even hours to clear them. Some puzzles are spread across different sections of a particular level and you will often find yourself running from one place to another. Of course, you’ll start to get frustrated from being stranded in one place but that just makes it all the more satisfying when you figure things.

One of the standout puzzles in the game involves Gabriel finding himself locked in a music box and the player needs to find the correct combination of note to escape. Sections like this area testament to the well sorted out level design by MercurySteam, something which is a rarity today. The puzzles also helps ease out the pacing of the game’s platforming and combat sections, making the game less repetitive.

The enemies in the game are quick witted and even though they follow a linear approaching in taking out our hero, they are still a worthy opponent nonetheless. However the real meat lies in the boss fights, not to mention the massive Titans you will face in the game. Anyone who has played Shadow of the Colossus will probably appreciate the uncanny resemblance but for some reason I found the Titans in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow to be much bigger in scale and scope compared to the colossi.

"The console version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was marred by sluggish frame rates and bland textures. However, the PC version runs at a slick sixty frames per second at a glorious 1080p resolution."

However taking them out is not really arduous as it involves using your combat whip for climbing on these giants, some underwhelming quick time events and smashing their weak points. You will also end up facing off against the three Lords of Shadow and even though they’re not as seemingly daunting as the Titans, they’re still formidable opponents.

The console version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was marred by sluggish frame rates and bland textures. However, the PC version runs at a slick sixty frames per second at a glorious 1080p resolution. Couple that with high resolution textures and you have the ultimate Castlevania game that fans have yearned so long for. The voice is acting is admirable with notable performances from Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart voicing Gabriel and Zobek respectively. The voice of Gabriel immediately connects with the player, depicting a sense of desperation and innocence at the same time.  The game also comes packed in with downloadable content packs Reverie and Resurrection and although they are underwhelming, they still manage to add a bit of back story to the twisted ending of the game.

Someone might rightfully debate whether Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an original game in itself due to the fact that it shares so many ideas from similar games in the genre. But given that the game executes them all together in a masterful way, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is in a league of its own. It is easily one of the best action adventure games ever made and a timeless experience that you owe yourself to play.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

As you are most likely aware of, the first of two DLC Packs for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is to be released on March 30th entitled the ‘Reverie’  add-on. You must help the former servant to the vampire Camilla, Laura as she has unleashed an ancient evil that threatens the entire land. It will run you 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live or $10 on the PSN. Watch the trailer below.

Konami have just releases this awesome new trailer of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The trailer throws light on the story of Gabriel the protagonist of the game and man we are in for some epic treat.

The trailer is pretty long, clocking in at over 7 minutes but I must admit one fact, the trailer does have touches of Metal Gear Solid like the powerful voice acting (only if i knew Japanese). Anyways check the trailer in HD above. The game releases October 5th, 2010 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The Collector’s Edition contains and art book, a soundtrack CD from the work of Óscar Araujo, and a unique cover.

The Collector’s Edition will be priced at $1,299 Mexican Pesos, which is about £65 or $102.

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