Castlevania review

Castlevania comes to the Playstation 2 with a long legacy and a great many expectations. It attempts to re-establish the series’ heritage, whilst hopefully inducting new fans into the fold. But while it may have merits as part of an illustrious series, ultimately, even to its fans, it greatest strengths will be as a game in its own right.

Which in many ways, it delivers. Although the most recent Castlevanias offered depth through exploration and statistics, the core mechanic of the series has always been action-based. Just as the series’ plotlines have always created a sense of grandeur without being elaborately written, the gameplay has also relied on creating a sense of atmosphere rather than being deep.

But in the case of the combat, it manages to be both. The 3-D environment offers a chance to expand the scope of battles, and at last we have a true sense of a hero being overrun by hordes of the undead, as you struggle to fend off assaults from all sides. The combo system works well, gradually giving you new moves as you play through the game. Even in the face of modern competitors like Devil May Cry, Castlevania performs favourably, both in pacing and execution.

The test of time

The graphics support the combat well, barely straying from a solid sixty frames a second. Characters and enemies are detailed and well animated, making this one of the most well presented games of its type. The monsters often die spectacularly and the walls are covered in richly detailed textures. But perhaps that is where the cracks begin to show through.

Almost ironically, a sense of creeping Gothic decay seeps through the game design. The surface is beautiful, the gameplay sweet, even the sound lovingly produced, but you soon begin to fear that Castlevania has a hollow soul.

Those lovely textured walls? They often cover bland, repetitious rooms. Although the level architecture is sometimes elaborate and interesting, it is never used to create a sense of place or make the rooms seem unique. It is beautiful nonetheless, but more like a wonderful carnival house of horrors than an actual haunted ruin. Even the music, intricate and grand at times, repeats too often in places. And although I have nothing against mixing techno and classical strings, some of the choices don’t seem to suit the levels they are set against particularly well. But this doesn’t take away from the luxurious quality of the sound on offer.

The devil in the details

The plot actually succeeds admirably, although the cut scenes could have benefited from being shorter but more numerous, to both improve the pacing and motivate the player more. As it stands it serves as a good prequel to the existing games and sets the scene for its pantheon of heroes and villains well. If you want to see the birth of Castlevania’s heroes and villains, this is the place to see it.

A consequence of the truncated plot is that the game seems short. Personally I have nothing against short games, Max Payne 2 was one of my favourite games of last year, as was Call Of Duty, but they both had variety and scenery that was constantly changing.

(In fact it’s so short that when you discover the optional secrets, and unlockables at the end of the game, you think “damn right!” instead of feeling as if you’ve been rewarded.)

A quick death…

Castlevania is one of those series of games that has always seemed epic. It came from a school of level design that uses subtle tricks to make fighting through room after room of different coloured enemies part of your hero’s quest. It was a test of fortitude, with clean, enjoyable gameplay that didn’t get too boring, even if it was repetitive. Castlevania has that gameplay, but not the level design.

As an example, there are entire rooms that serve absolutely no gameplay function, nor supply any reward at all, just blind duplicates of existing rooms, with more skeletons in them.

But these rooms hide no secrets, while Castlevanias past have either had a sense of exploration or a linear challenge, this one seems to sit uneasily between both posts. With the platforming elements largely removed, exploration is simply a matter of checking the map and picking your destination. Some secret tiles and balconies are slightly harder to spot than the regular exits, but effortless to reach, and even then the rewards, though useful (health and magic upgrades) seem less than spectacular and although some may be satisfying, most of the power-ups are in fact completely unnecessary for completing the game.

Who has the last laugh?

Despite all its flaws, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is both fun to play and richly atmospheric. But it is more than just a disappointment to its fans. For every gameplay promise fulfilled, another lays quietly forgotten, swept underneath a baroque rug of clever tricks and lush presentation.

Nonetheless, a very enjoyable experience. But even though fans of the series may gain much pleasure from their explorations of yet another haunted castle, they might well feel like some cruel twisted joke has been played on them. Could that be the echo of Dracula’s laugh in the distance? Or something more sinister? Perhaps the bold hero should ignore it and simply struggle on…