9.5

   Castlevania. Since the days of the NES, the family line of Belmonts have been whipping Dracula into Oblivion for centuries. And while the series itself has much to offer, there has been a slight decline in fans since the earlier games. The Lords of Shadow franchise was thus created in response. While offering a revolutionary new aspect to the Castlevania games, Lords of Shadow also presents a fresh new storyline, so that new players don't have to understand all the treks of the previous Belmonts. This merely shows how Konami is willing to adapt for the enjoyment of the video gaming world.   Overall, this game was amazing. The game play, while very reminiscent of God of War, was innovative for die-hard Castlevania fans and riveting for new-comers to the series. Instead of a 2-D straight ahead whip, the protagonist is given a large cross with a chain-like extension. The game itself had a wide variety of moves that you could perform, both for taking out one enemy or for dispatching a crowd. It also had a nice ability for upgrading a myriad of other moves, including magical attacks. As well as the mainstream chain-whip attacks, there are also 4 usable sub-weapons: Daggers, Holy Water, Fairies, and a dark crystal capable of summoning a powerful demoness to kill everyone around you.   The graphics of this game left absolutely nothing to be desired. The characters were exquisitely rendered, the creatures you battled looked life like, and the overall scenery was absolutely stunning. While there are a few visual glitches, particularly with the characters, they are easily overlook able and don't distract from the overall game.   The music and sound of this game was quite enjoyable. While many die-hard castlevania fans sorely missed the 8-bit themes they had familiarized themselves with so deeply, the music for this game fit the story and setting much better than the old songs ever could have. The voice actors chosen for the characters were well picked, and the script chosen for them suited the setting rather well.   The story for this game, while a little diluted and cliché, was able to compliment the game astoundingly. You would never find yourself questioning the actions of the characters, or why the way they felt. I found that the main protagonist was easily relatable at times, but it was a bit hard as he stayed silent throughout most of the game.   The game is split between two discs, spanning 13 chapters of varying length. I would say the average game time for this game, not including all the secret areas and chests, would be about 9-10 hours. It wasn't too difficult a game, but if you find yourself bored with it you can always change the difficulty setting to something that better suits your gaming level.   Overall, Lords of Shadow is a great game and I would recommend it for anyone who is willing to integrate themselves into a new videogame series.