Disappointingly enough, the same cannot be said for the sequel. It comes off as too by the numbers, as if somewhere in the pre-production stage, the developers sat down with a checklist of everything that the sequel should have, and more than anything else, they were eager to get all those boxes ticked, so they could get done with this franchise already and just move on to something else. Happily enough, Lords of Shadow 2 is still a competent game, which can get genuinely exhilarating and offer some incredibly cathartic payoff at times. Unfortunately, it is let down by how mechanical and soulless the rest of the game feels.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the game’s setting and environment. The original Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was a beautiful game, in part because of its masterful technical graphics, but also because of the artistic vision that inspired it, leading to some exotic, gloomy, moody, gothic locales that took existing conventions from within the series and the genre, and then reconfigured them to its interpretation. In contrast, the primary setting of Lords of Shadow 2 is… an industrial city in the near future. Yes, somehow the franchise moved from having some of the most imaginative settings for action games last generation to one of the most overused tropes in modern gaming.

"The setup is boring, and honestly, the actual story plays out very disappointingly. The most interesting parts of the story are in fact the flashbacks, which see some great character development for Dracula's character, as he struggles to come to terms with his own destiny, with the loss of his family, and with his general isolation from the physical world around him."

The game does have a narrative justification for this move to an infinitely less inspiring setting- hundreds of years have passed since the ending of the original Lords of Shadow, which stunned players with the revelation that the original Belmont badass, Gabrielle, becomes Dracula himself. More than anything else, it was this that warmed players up to the new direction the franchise was going in, as the potential for the lore seemed boundless. Lords of Shadow 2 takes the ball passed to it from across the field for an easy touchdown, and then promptly fumbles and drops it.

That isn’t to say the story is bad. It isn’t. it’s just the least imaginative, safest direction the narrative could have gone in out of all the exciting counterfactuals possible. It follows Dracula, that is Gabriel Belmont, waking up from an eternal slumber- he wakes up in the aforementioned modern city, which has been built on the ruins of his old castle. The one responsible for waking you up is none other than the baddie from the first game, Zobek, who has a vested interest in enlisting your help to defeat Lucifer again. In return, he promises you freedom from your cursed immortality.

The setup is boring, and honestly, the actual story plays out very disappointingly. The most interesting parts of the story are in fact the flashbacks, which see some great character development for Dracula’s character, as he struggles to come to terms with his own destiny, with the loss of his family, and with his general isolation from the physical world around him. None of the various devices used to flesh out his character are particularly new, but they are all interesting, and they add some unexpected depth to a figure long held as one of the greatest, irredeemable villains of gaming.

"Where the story and the setting stumble, the gameplay, at least the action and combat gameplay, itself seems to be largely the same as it was- this is mostly a good thing, because the original Lords of Shadow played great. "

These interludes come as a welcome breath of fresh air, because the story itself is rather poorly paced. In general, a poorly paced story can get a pass if it’s actually worth the inconvenience it subjects its audience to- see also, Lord of the Rings, or for video games, Persona 4. However, with the narrative in Lords of Shadow 2 being average at best, the poor pacing just grates.

Where the story and the setting stumble, the gameplay, at least the action and combat gameplay, itself seems to be largely the same as it was- this is mostly a good thing, because the original Lords of Shadow played great. There are of course two caveats, however- the law of diminishing returns comes into play, and what was thrilling and exciting the first time isn’t quite as thrilling or exciting the second go around, in spite of new elements thrown into the mix (elemental swords that can be equipped, for example, taking a leaf out of last year’s 3DS exclusive, Mirror of Fate).

The other caveat is that all that was bad about the gameplay in the first game is bad here too, and more frustrating for Mercury Steam not having addressed it (although ostensibly, they have repurposed it): the chief culprit here is the camera, that can often get in the way of the action, and lead to unexpected and undeserved losses in battles. The player is admittedly handed control of the camera, but in this case, it just leads to the player battling both the camera and the enemies.

When the camera isn’t an issue, however, the combat is scintillating. It’s as fun and mechanically sound as it was the first time around, and the boss battles are simply amazing, and, to use an overused cliche, they are in fact worth writing home about. They look as impressive as they play, and they play very impressive.

The non combat returning sections from the first game are still great too- the platforming, whenever it shows up, is nimble, and has an unusual sense of control, momentum, and inertia to it. For players who are playing the game just for the combat, it can slow things down a little bit, but players who are just playing the game for the combat are probably doing it wrong to begin with anyway.

"It perhaps says a lot that despite my laundry list of complaints with the game, I would still recommend it. It's a competent action game (not the best, not even close), and it provides a pretty rote and standard conclusion to the promising story started by its predecessor."

There are two big new additions to this game- stealth and a free roaming city. The latter, in theory, should work like a modern day, Symphony of the Night in 3D, except it doesn’t. Whereas, yes, progression is gated, and you will be revisiting areas with newer powers to progress further, the city itself, maybe because of its aesthetic, or maybe just because of bad game design, is a bit drab, and not as fun to traverse. However, at best, the city’s existence enhances the gameplay. At worst, it is inoffensive and does not affect the game either way, for good or for bad.

On the other hand, the stealth portions of the game actively sabotage it.

The issues start with the fact that the sheer point of stealth seems to be lost on Mercury Steam- instead of leaving it to the player’s ingenuity to sneak past the danger, there seems to be one fixed solution to each stealth quandary, which reduces each stealth section to a puzzle. Which, hey, wouldn’t be so bad (I mean, loads of Zelda games do this sort of thing all the time), but then, the stealth itself is uniformly broken, botched by an overhead perspective that somehow completely ruins the game’s lock on mechanics, and an enemy AI that seems to be overzealous. Seriously, the stealth portions of the game are bad enough, and disheartening enough, that they almost made me want to stop playing.

It perhaps says a lot that despite my laundry list of complaints with the game, I would still recommend it. It’s a competent action game (not the best, not even close), and it provides a pretty rote and standard conclusion to the promising story started by its predecessor. A lot of my gripes with the game are born out of how it simply squanders the limitless potential that the first game had. It seems that, somewhere down the line, maybe disheartened by the more rabid section of the Castlevania fanbase that sneeringly dismissed the original Lords of Shadow, Mercury Steam lost their passion for the franchise, and it shows. What we get instead is just a good game at most on all counts, and an extremely disappointing one. All said and done, I would still recommend Lords of Shadow 2, especially to fans of the original. Just don’t go looking for the spark that made the original shine so bright.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

After Konami just revealed the first of what it calls an ‘iconic weapon’ for the upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, the final installment in Mercury Steam’s take on the storied Castlevania universe, they have now gone ahead and revealed a second ‘iconic weapon’ for the game.

Dubbed the Chaos Claws, these are a powerful weapon used to destroy the protection of heavily-armoured foes. They are found quite early on in the game, and they can be used on vulnerable foes to deal heavy damage to them, before switching out to the Void Sword, which saps your enemy’s life force and fuels it into yours.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which concludes the Lords of Shadow story arc that was started in the first game, and then continued in last year’s 3DS exclusive Mirror of Fate, will be hitting the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 28. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for further coverage.

While playing it on the 3DS, you access the portal mid-game and look up any information regarding skills and upgrades, even boss strategies. Of course, the desktop versions offer detailed strategy videos so there’s that.

The strategy portal is divided into three portions: The Bestiary, which provides data about enemies and their weaknesses; Upgrades, which talks about the best way to use magic and sub-weapons; and Skills & Combos, for all the lovely ways to beat the tar out of your opponents.

You can also head here to view all the videos featured in the guide and search for the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate playlist.

The titles in question are some of the hottest releases currently on the handheld which includes: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins!, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

You’ll need to register with the Nintendo Club by June 30th, and from there you’ll receive your free download code for the game of your choice. Download codes can only be requested from April 23rd, 15:00 CEST onwards and has to be completed before July 31st with the code itself expiring on December 31st. So if you recently bought a bevy of games already, tough luck.

Head here for all the terms and conditions on “So Many Games!”.

We praised the game and said “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate is like no other Castlevania game that came before it, but it manages to be a deeply engaging and satisfying action game nonetheless.”

The game came out for the 3DS in 2012 and was met with great critical acclaim. This guide isn’t something you would normally expect from us considering there are no achivements are hardly any unlockables, but it shows you all the cool moments from the game like cutscens and endings.

There are spoilers obviously but hey the title clearly mentions what this guide is about.

Let’s start with the cutscenes.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate – All Cutscenes

Via YouTube user wynters60.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate – Endings

Via YouTube user terryforever84.

Ending 1 – Separate Ways

Ending 2 – Alucard Ending

Ending 3 – Trevor Ending

Ending 4 – Simon Ending

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate – Family meeting

Note: This guide will be updated once we have more information on the game.

The lucky ones this time are Trevor Belmont and Simon Belmont, the former who becomes Dracula’s son Alucard at some point and the latter who we suppose finally ends the curse of Dracula. Until Lords of Shadow 2, that is. Look out for the creepy fat guy at the end of the trailer just…watching.

There’s enough action in the trailer, ranging from the usual platforming and whipping to showcasing different character perspectives and events occurring within the game. MercurySteam estimates the experience will take 20 hours overall (if you try to find everything), and by the looks of things, it may be right.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate is currently available in North America for the 3DS.

Secondary weapons and magic items will return this time, with each character having a unique set. Characters like Alucard can make use of Mist and Wolf forms to deal damage while healing. Trevor Belmont uses the boomerang and electric bomb combo. And of course, everyone gets the trademark Belmont whip Vampire Killer but with their own little unique attacks here and there.

Considering the success of Lords of Shadow, Cox now feels that “we have a mandate to deliver our vision of Castlevania to a new expanded fan base.” Hit up the full interview for more details.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate releases in North America on March 5th and in Europe on March 8th for, with a free demo available now on the Nintendo eShop.

For those keeping track: Gabriel Belmont became Dracula at the end of Lords of Shadow for the consoles. His son, Trevor Belmont – whose story is also told in Mirror of Fate – later becomes Alucard in attempting to free his father.

Will darkness and evil prevail when the dust settles or does Simon Belmont yet have a trick or three up his sleeve?

Find out when Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate releases on March 5th for North America and March 8th for Europe on Nintendo 3DS. A demo for the game is also available on the Nintendo eShop in Europe, with a North American release happening next week.

Miyamoto in his interview speaks about the upcoming sequel Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon releasing on March 24th exclusively for Nintendo 3DS.

Following up on the original ghost hunting game for the Gamecube, Dark Moon sees the return of Luigi and the Poltergust 5000, as the wily plumber explores five new mansions and tackles puzzles throughout the game.

Meanwhile, Dave Cox talks a bit about the upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate.

The 3DS title is set to release on March 5th and will chronicle the events between the two console games, as Trevor and Simon Belmont fight to defeat Dracula. And look, Alucard! That’s reason enough to give it a shot, if killing demons and taking down Dracula isn’t your thing.

The full game will also be available for download via the Nintendo eShop on launch day, March 5.

While the overall length of the demo hasn’t been revealed, there will be plenty of showcases for the combat, platforming and alternate weapons. There also seems to be a boss battle against an executioner in store.

As the bridge between Lords of Shadow 1 and 2 for the consoles, Mirror of Fate follows the Belmonts Simon and Trevor as they each fight against Dracula. Naturally, given the climax of Lords of Shadow, these fights won’t be without a sense of loss.

Let’s see how the portable title sets up the events of the upcoming Lords of Shadow 2, releasing this year for Xbox 360 and PS3.