A pretty good game so far.
User Rating: 7.2 | Castlevania: Curse of Darkness PS2
Based on the reviews I read when this game first came out I decided not to get it. Then yesterday I found it for $9.99 NEW so I decided to give it a chance. So far it is better than i thought it would be. The story is intriguing so far and the game play has been fun. The graphics are crisp and the art is well done. I just wish there was more IN the world to see and interact with. It is mostly barren rooms and corridors. Occasionally there will be a something to smash like in one room there is a wall of barrels you can break to get to a secret area but these instances are few and far between. The enemies are cool looking and attack in different patterns but I can see where killing the same ones over and over will get boring. The music is great. It is on par with C:SotN. The sound effects are crisp and varied. The game seems easy so far. I haven't died yet as an example. The saving grace in this game are the "Innocent Devils that you create and grow. They are familiars that help you with a variety of abilities and evolve according to what weapon you are using while they are active. Other than crawling thought the dungeons toward each boss the IDs are pretty much the point of the game. The other cool activity is making your own weapons and armor using the materials that enemies drop. The biggest problem with the game is the camera. It has a hard time facing in a useful direction, especially near walls and in narrow spaces. It seems the developers went out of their way to ensure that there would be no "clipping" but the result is that sometimes the game won't let you look in the direction you want. Bottom line, the game is pretty fun. I have enjoyed it but I think the experience would have been greatly soured had I bough it a its original $49.99 price. If you can get it for $15 or less go for it. There has yet to be a 3D Castlevania that can stand up to Symphony of the Night and there may never be. Maybe that is the real curse of Dracula. 
