Rent Castlevania: Lament of Innocence from GameFly!
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence screenshots:
nice boss
they must be twins
battle dance
meet rusty
hail of pain
will trade heads 4 legs
let there be light
martians are coming!
bloody hell
money shot
love a good campfire
pretty lights
hit by a crosstrain
local traincar
the other human
bloody moon
first up the stairs wins
whippin
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Vot iz zis Castlevania? I suppose that at this point, everyone remembers the Castlevanias of old a little differently, even if we all share the same warm and slightly funky "old game fart" feeling when talking about it. My first exposure to it was on the old Nintendo Entertainment System, in the days when the words "Super" or "GameCube" still weren't part of the title. It was all about your skills of blowing the dust out of the game cartridge back then. Anyway, I bought my first Castlevania (of which I back then knew absolutely nothing) off a classmate, in a highly illicit $4 "under the desk" deal. He passed me "the list"; I slid my finger down the wrinkled surface of the 8x11 sheet of loose-leaf until it stopped at the word starting with "castle". I gave a silent look. He nodded. It was done.
What can I say - I liked castles.
Of course, it turned out, Castlevania III (for that was in fact the particular game that I stumbled upon) was about much more than that. Now, many beers later, I am trying to remember what I liked so much about that game - and put my finger on what I don't like about this one. Despite all the brain cells that have come and gone since then, it isn't too difficult.
One stinking character One of the biggest "cool factors" of Castlevania III was the ability to play as different characters after you beat them as bosses. Remember Grant DaNasty the Pirate? Alucard the Vampire? Climbing up walls and ceilings?! Turning into a bat and swooping over enemies, out of reach? Ahh, that rocked! And is that awesome gameplay back?!!
No. No it is not. Pack up your bags, soldier.
Lament of Innocence has you play as Leon Belmont - and Leon only. Not that he is not a cool dude (he's got that whip and swooshing coat after all), but he is still just ONE man, ONE desire (use the "moviefone guy voice" for more fun), ONE set of moves and abilities. Disappointing.
What year is this?
Now, yes, I am perfectly aware that many of the other Castlevania games featured only one character, and were just as damn linear as LoI. But arguably, the titles of the series that truly stood out were the ones where Konami went out of their way for added depth of gameplay and character development - and I really expected them to attempt something similar here. If not with multiple controllable characters then with branching levels, innovative level design, interesting platforming puzzles, role-playing elements - something.
The truth of the matter is that gaming is a living breathing thing, which means that it demands progress and innovations from the games of yesterday. What gamers expect from good games is a constantly evolving concept. 1987 titles with updated graphics just don't do it anymore. Yet that's exactly what LoI is.
Five monsters guarding the main boss, you say? G, thanks for letting me know right from the beginning! That very game structure is laid out plain and simple before you in the initial cutscene - and that's what you will get. In one sentence, here is Lament of Innocence for you: opening cutscene in the forest and shop, then you go to the castle, race through five levels of very orthodox whip-and-slash with a boss at the end of each, then go visit the big daddy for the grand finale. Lest we let some actual suspense, player choice, or, god forbid, an aura of mystery creep in or something. For shame.
That thing we call gameplay Here goes: you have a whip (1) and a secondary weapon (1). You can get new whips and different secondary weapons (knife, axe, holy water, etc.) - but in case of the latter, you can only have one at a time. So if you picked up the axe, you drop the knife. Want the knife back? Have to find it again. "Well, that's the way we did it in old Castlevanias". Fine. But give me _some_ variation to work with, for god's sake!
On the usage side, you get two whip attacks, a block and some special moves, of which you will learn more as you go along. The whip can also be used to grab onto things and swing, but the feature is way underused - basically it is utilized only to help you navigate through some of the very sporadic, very simplistic puzzles - mostly of the "activate the key" or "unlock the door and get to it quick before it closes" variety.
Saving - save points are located in rooms scattered throughout the levels. My advice to you - don't die (this is largely achievable) - cuz all it means is that you have to run through the same rooms and kill those same unchallenging monsters again. It's just a bother.
But what is REALLY wrong with LoI's gameplay? Not all THAT much, perhaps - except for the fact that it is left out there alone to carry the show - amidst simple and repetitive level design, slow and unmenacing enemies, and sheer lack of depth in game's exploration and story elements. Instead of making the whole greater than the sum of it's parts Konami almost managed to do the opposite, and the whole game feels less fun than examining separate aspects of it would lead you to believe. Not cool.
Story. Rescue your chick. Next section.
Great Expectations. So what's the conclusion? Lament of Innocence is 10 hours of very straightforward, reasonably fun (albeit repetitive) action, with no cream on top. Forget the chocolate syrup. And no nuts. No cherry, neither.
Now look, there are plenty of people who are perfectly satisfied with this kind of thing. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. If you just like to kick some mostly slow mostly undead mostly bony ass in your spare time, than by all means, Lament of Innocence will bring you a few hours of fun. It looks good, and once you get some upgrades for you secondary weapon, beating things until they fall over can deliver some fun. Animation is smooth and fast, though I still can't believe some of the aerial animations that look like Leon is simply walking on air. Maybe that was supposed to be a visual tribute to Castlevanias of old, but it just looks stupid. If you wanted to pay tribute to the old franchise, a greater depth of content and varied gameplay were the way to go, not this. Sigh.
Looking back, it's hard not to admit that my expectations for Lament of Innocence were surely sky-high - too high. Taking into consideration that this is the first Castlevania game for the PS2 and little content from previous Castlevania games could really be re-used, I can only hope that this rushed title will serve as a platform for fuller, better and truer Castlevanias of the future. I still believe in the series, and for what it's worth, despite LoI's shortcomings, taking a few hours to rekindle old memories did leave me with a warm and fuzzy for an hour or two. Viva le bloodsucking!
You suck. The game rocked, and from what it sounds like you just sat down with the guide book and stared at it for a week. Maybe if you had actually played the game you wouldn't be making a fool of yourself like you are.
On Sat, Nov 24, 2007, 04:48 PM Max said:
Not at all - I don't use guide books. But I like games with a strong story and great atmosphere, and this game had none of that. Boring story, boring environments, boring enemies. It's a decent hack and slash, but if that's what you want, stick with Diablo, this game can't hold a candle to it from that perpective.
And watch your language next time unless you want your post removed outright.
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Summary: Devil May Cry, dipped in Castlevania flavoring, with a whip on top. It's a few hours of good action, but that's about it.
Already played it? Trade it for another game at
Systems: PS2
Genre: Action. I guess I am really supposed to add "-Adventure" to that, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
Setting: Fantasy, medieval
Mood: Supposedly mysterious and eerie; in reality, it's such a straight-forward run and kill sweep that the concept of mood largely ends up left in the mud. Which is a real shame for a title with such history.
Story: Rescue the girl. Laughable.
Graphics: It's a very good looking game, no doubt - just what you'd expect from a Devil May Cry clone. The room textures are not too varied though, and some of the air-move animations are just plain cheap - they are just ground animations lifted up a few inches. Come on.
Music/Sound: True to the Castlevania legacy, music is good, and by far the biggest component of the little atmosphere that does make it's way
Voice Acting: Good
Script/Dialog: There is not a hell of a lot of it, but what's there is good quality.
Similar Games: Devil May Cry. Again and again.
Gameplay: Devil May Cry, Cry, Cry, Cry some more.
Strengths: Looks good, action is fast and snappy, some of the weapons can be quite cool and fun to use. Not too hard on the old brain.
Weaknesses: Basically, if you've already gotten your share of Devil May Cry, you'll be straight out bored after 30 mins. Dying means little more than the frustration of having to go through the same rooms, same monsters, again. No camera control, weak story, most enemies are rather easy to dispatch in a 3D environment.
Depth: Don't get me started.
Length: 10-15 hours. Maybe that's a good thing.
Pace: Medium to quick.
Difficulty: Easy
Control: Very good
Learning Curve: Short
Replayability: Medium. Though I honestly can't imagine what kind of great fun it would be to run through these very same rooms a second time. Well, at least you'd get to fight the very same monsters again. Right.
Will keep you up until (a.k.a Fun
Factor): 12:45 am
Notable Features: Being part of the Castlevania legacy.
Fav. Character: Leon, I suppose. Honestly, there isn't much to choose from.
Instant Classic: Nope!
Publisher: Konami
Developer: KCET
Release Date: 2003-10-21
Players: 1
Multiplayer: No
ESRB: Teen
Target Audience: Castlevania and Devil May Cry fans
Recommended For: If pure quick action is your cup of tea and you don't care much for story, suspense, or character development, this may be worth a few hours of your time.
Not Recommended for: Anyone looking for a true rebirth of the Castlevania series. This is just 10 hours of systematic whip and knife action, wrapped in some glossy Castlevania wallpaper. If you are looking for more, look elsewhere. There is no true depth, atmosphere, character building or exploration.
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