Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - the anti-spoiler edition

No candles? No teleport rooms(which probably means no exploration)? I also think it's safe to assume that neither Ayami nor Michiru will be involved in this(or that Masaki guy).

This isn't Castlevania... this is blasphemy. There is only one thing to do. It was nice knowing you guys... tell my wife and kids I love them. Oh wait. I don't have any. F*ck.

This isn't Castlevania... this is blasphemy. There is only one thing to do. It was nice knowing you guys... tell my wife and kids I love them. Oh wait. I don't have any. F*ck.Icemael

:lol: :lol:

No candles? No teleport rooms(which probably means no exploration)? I also think it's safe to assume that neither Ayami nor Michiru will be involved in this(or that Masaki guy).This isn't Castlevania... this is blasphemy.Icemael

No candles? This isnt Castlevania. Its a gigantic LIE!!!!-Oath

yea.. no candles... they should have keep some stuff... that is way to much... I still think thus that we can explore,... after all many RPG have no this teleport room and you explore a LOT...

yea I was no hoping for ayami nor michiru since they start...

NOw, this just confirmed that this game was started as something else and then they HAD to stick the name Castlevania to it... at least imo. After all I doubt that they start doing a CV game and never though about the candles, this is just explain by they were doing a game.... oops, is too CV-like and konami is producing... what can we do?? = solution *glue the CV name to it*

oh well....

btw: ICE what do you think about the story? in the 1st post and in the description of play-asia... the atmosphere is quite atonish thus :shock: I LOVE it..

PS. hi Oath :D:D happy to see you here :)

I wonder how many more people will post here complaining about those points?Genesis_123

quite a few.... :oops:

after all for me as for many Cv fans, the CANDLES have being part of the MARK for CV titles... and like I said above it just means to me the prove that this was NOT started as a CV game...

**********

and do not gte me wrong the game looks still amazing and I`m all over and will pre-ordered, but no candles?!?!?! that is no just changing the gameplay so that it works on 3D (the GoW-ish thingy) but this is the prove that it was no a CV game, is like taking the second play tha otherwise would not be publish for "brand/copyright" stuff.... 

I guess that now I`m worry that nothing of "stample of the serie" will be kept...

I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope that they manage to get Dracula and death on that story somehow...

no teleport room, candles...and possibly no vampires? Heresy.

*there has to be vampires though. it'd be like making a WW2 movie without a gun or rifle.

HushRong

are they trying to make it more "serious" by not having candles that pop out money, hearts, and other goods?

that is so-so understandable. but it is a far cry from other CV titles just by this.

teleport rooms, is more understandable...but i guess this will mean more walking, running, an jumping.

yea.. no candles... they should have keep some stuff... that is way to much... I still think thus that we can explore,... after all many RPG have no this teleport room and you explore a LOT...

yea I was no hoping for ayami nor michiru since they start...

NOw, this just confirmed that this game was started as something else and then they HAD to stick the name Castlevania to it... at least imo. After all I doubt that they start doing a CV game and never though about the candles, this is just explain by they were doing a game.... oops, is too CV-like and konami is producing... what can we do?? = solution *glue the CV name to it*

oh well....

btw: ICE what do you think about the story? in the 1st post and in the description of play-asia... the atmosphere is quite atonish thus :shock: I LOVE it..

PS. hi Oath :D:D happy to see you here :)

chang_1910

Nice to see you too Chang, been a while since Ive even looked at this union :P

I kinda agree with your statement, it does seem this game started out as something else... but something else eerily similar to the Castlevania series and Kojima decided the name Castlevania would be the best overall marketing strategy to give this game more overall hype. Im going to assume this game will have many other elements a Castlevania game should have but overall it'll be a game not worthy of the name Castlevania.

WTF?!!! No candles!!!

Thats like a man/girl without their **** :P

Next thing we know, no belmonts, no Dracula, no hearts, Cross, Axe...etc :(

Thats disappointing, I thought Kojima was making sure the DNA of Castlevania wouldn't go away.

Well...when we expected to see a great 3D CV, the dna is going away with the creators of the franchise :cry:

Life is short, lets move on people and accept it as it is :P 

Candles don't bother me that much. They were more of a nuisance in the 3D titles anyway. Also, I've already accepted the fact this wasnt originally a Castlevania game, but it doesn't change me wanting to play this game. It looks great, the story seems interesting.. I'm going to wait and see how this comes along instead of just complaining/whining about it.Conver

- Kojima -

I love his games but he has a huge ego and sometimes strange ideas of what a game should be, feel and say. I fear that he will try to shape this game not as a castlevania game but as his game. I know he isn't the head honcho but if his name is going to be on it he will make design decisions. If he for some reason changes the castlevania franchise to his and destroys what it is now then I will not buy a single game from him again and I will sell my personally signed copies of MGS4 and Zone of Enders.

- Mercury Steam -

So far this generation they have not done a good game. As much as I agree that Iga didn't really do a great job with the 3D castlevania game they were at least much better than any Mercury Steam game so far. If they wanted to give the 3D games to an experienced dev they did a poor job at choosing that dev. Should we give them a chance? Sure, why not? But at the same time we could have given Iga a new chance with a 3D game because he has a better track-record with 3D games than Mercury Steam has.

- Why a 3D castlevania? -

This is my main point. Why do we need a 3D castevania? It's not like people are screaming for one. Fans want 2D on handhelds or perhaps a downloadable HD 2D game. I see no reason why Konami want this as a 3D game. The only reason I can see is that they want the Devil may cry and God of War sales which they can't with a 2D game but at the same time if this game fails what will happen to the franchise? If this 3D game fails to sell will that hurt overall franchise? The 3D action genre is crowded and only the top quality games gets any success so what's stopping this from being the next Golden Axe: Beast Rider or Conan?

The thing is we haven't really seen anything good about this game yet except for the great action game trailer at E3. I am giving this game a chance much like you do but you have to admit that some of the criticism is well earned. For every new piece we get to know about it it's something bad from our point of view on it as a Castlevania game.

No Candles or teleports I can understand but nothing in this game feels "Castlevania". No Gothic architecture, no rock opera music (Gothic music), no familiar characters or places. Take Fallout 3, I was a huge fan of Fallout 1 and 2 and didn't like what Bethesda did with Fallout 3 but I excepted the game because it at least had the Fallout atmosphere. This Castlevania game does not. EA could just as well have put the Castlevania name on Dante's Inferno and It would have had just as many connections to the castlevania franchise as this new game has. JLF1

There have been a few Castlevania games that didn't always have to do with the Belmont Clan. I don't mind another game that focuses on a new aspect of the genre. I know the game wasn't originally planned as a Castlevania, but now that it is being planned as a Castlevania, and since it isn't anywhere near a release date (as far as I/Anyone can tell) I'm sure they'll have some time to make some tweaks. And even if they don't, the story is interesting to myself. I don't think the main badguy should always be Dracula. They did this with Lament of Innocence, but I think in they end they just decided to slap Death in the end to make it feel more like a Castlevania title. Did that make it bad? No.. it was a great game (it is my favorite of the series).

There are some very big concerns for me as a Castlevania fan.

- Kojima -

I love his games but he has a huge ego and sometimes strange ideas of what a game should be, feel and say. I fear that he will try to shape this game not as a castlevania game but as his game. I know he isn't the head honcho but if his name is going to be on it he will make design decisions. If he for some reason changes the castlevania franchise to his and destroys what it is now then I will not buy a single game from him again and I will sell my personally signed copies of MGS4 and Zone of Enders.JLF1

Kojima has already stated that he is just a means of funding the game. He's got very little to do with the actual game. Consider it as like an artist getting paid for his artwork by a collector. The collector isnt going to say, "Hey can you paint this in there, it would make the painting better."

- Mercury Steam -

So far this generation they have not done a good game. As much as I agree that Iga didn't really do a great job with the 3D castlevania game they were at least much better than any Mercury Steam game so far. If they wanted to give the 3D games to an experienced dev they did a poor job at choosing that dev. Should we give them a chance? Sure, why not? But at the same time we could have given Iga a new chance with a 3D game because he has a better track-record with 3D games than Mercury Steam has.JLF1

Mercury Steam was working on the title before Konami decided to cut/paste Castlevania into the title. I think judging the game is a bit early. Who knows, maybe this will be their first gem? Much like Final Fantasy 1?

- Why a 3D castlevania? -

This is my main point. Why do we need a 3D castevania? It's not like people are screaming for one. Fans want 2D on handhelds or perhaps a downloadable HD 2D game. I see no reason why Konami want this as a 3D game. The only reason I can see is that they want the Devil may cry and God of War sales which they can't with a 2D game but at the same time if this game fails what will happen to the franchise? If this 3D game fails to sell will that hurt overall franchise? The 3D action genre is crowded and only the top quality games gets any success so what's stopping this from being the next Golden Axe: Beast Rider or Conan?

JLF1

I would love a giant 2D Castlevania like SotN again, but I also love the 3D titles so far despite their unpopularity. And as far as asking if it would hurt the franchise, yeah it probably would. Just the same as the previous 3D Castlevania titles did. It would make them curl back up into the 2D handheld series long enough to recoup and then try it again.

@Oath: yea...I`m sure that this game was not CV when it started.

I`m not saying the way would be bad, like ICE said looks GREAT, just is kind of odd. I`m going to pre-order and play the game... and most likely I`ll will like it. but the fear that it may be a great game, even thus no a great CV is there atm...

Next thing we know, no belmonts, no Dracula, no hearts, Cross, Axe...etc :( Life is short, lets move on people and accept it as it is :PHAZE-Unit

Yea, we have no seen any subweapon... but others variant of that have already happen.. (CoD) ... and we will accept it but it would take us more than 2 days :P

@JLF1 and Conver:

about 1st statement: agree, mostly... but the music and gothic enviroment are there... the gothic architecture was even mention by GI article. and about the characters there have being quite a few CV with no "older" characters: OoE, PoR.. and even one of teh best 2D AoS even thus related and with some olders characters the main characters were completely new...

Agree with CONVER I hope they still have times to related to CV, at least the story bc if not it would be too odd. LoI is not my best of the series, but the story was great, the birth of the VK well priceless. This is the ONLY reason why no being a CV game worries me... Yes I will missed the candles but what removing the Candles to me means is that the story or any link with the CV series could be absent, and next thing we know this is a "non-canon" game bc there is not story or make no sense with the rest.

2nd and 3rd no comments: I tend to believe that all studios now where baby producer/developer/studios at some point and now are great... so... :)

4th: yea... They would keep trying to do a 3D, why? money. 3D makers is much better. Now even thus it "damage" the franchise, the only part that they actually damage was any try of 3D for a while. But yea, I will LOVED a 2.5D game like Odin style like ICE mentioned... but hey in the midtime... lets hope they manage to link this to the main series :P

....

The story seems great. In fact, everything seems great. It just isn't Castlevania, and that's the problem. If they hadn't put 'Castlevania' in the title I would have been incredibly excited, but calling this Castlevania is just ridiculous. It doesn't even have candles, for Belmont's sake! I can only hope that the fact that this is a 3D game increases the chance of IGA making a 2D game. The looks of Odin Sphere with the gameplay, music and overall 'feel' of Castlevania... that would be an unbeatable combination.Icemael

UPDATED:

LoS and Peacewalker are going to be playable during Leipzig, Aug 19-23. We'll see how initial opinions stack up to actual gameplay.

LoS and Peacewalker are going to be playable during Leipzig, Aug 19-23. We'll see how initial opinions stack up to actual gameplay.semianonymous

OMG... OMG/... OMG....

I think I ahve never being so eager for Leipzig.... some gameplay clips and fans opinion NICE!!!

Thx... Semi :)

EDIT: btw any source for that?

....

LoS playable in August at Leipzig!!!!

....

LoS playable in August at Leipzig!!!!

semianonymous

thx :D:D :3 ..... 

and do you understand spanish?? :? great find :)

Do you think this game will have the same effect as SOTN had?Poltergeist86

here crossing fingers for that.... :)

It would be interesting to see that they have found the next step in evolution for the CV serie.. at least for the 3D era 

any word if it will be cannon in iga's timeline?Poltergeist86

for what we have in the story, It does not look like it. And considering that IGA is not involve (at least it does not look like it) well he may kick it out of line anyway :P But hey maybe... The problem is that so far the story as you can see in the 1st post is so far quite off track, no even mention of dracula so far, then again is a CV game he or his right hand have to be involve somehow :oops:

any word if it will be cannon in iga's timeline?Poltergeist86

It isn't and it never will be

The game is literally not taking place in the current castlevania universe, but starting off all on its own

And I think there will be something at least related to Dracula, after all, it IS 'Akumajo Dracula'.Poltergeist86

yeap, that is what I keep saying :lol:

I could swear one of the DS games were also Castlevania.

Makes sense for the listed games though. HoD wasn't supposed to have Dracula and it was a surprise, AoS didn't have Dracula and LoS didn't either. Fair enough.

I could swear one of the DS games were also Castlevania.

Makes sense for the listed games though. HoD wasn't supposed to have Dracula and it was a surprise, AoS didn't have Dracula and LoS didn't either. Fair enough.

semianonymous

you meant LoI not LoS right? :P  and yeah, now that you put it that way, it makes sense that those are named castlevania... hmm, maybe with the official japanese name for LoS we will find out (the plot thickens!:D)

[QUOTE="semianonymous"]I could swear one of the DS games were also Castlevania.

Makes sense for the listed games though. HoD wasn't supposed to have Dracula and it was a surprise, AoS didn't have Dracula and LoS didn't either. Fair enough.Poltergeist86

oh great, now we have Konami AND POLTER teasing us :lol:

but that is a good observation.... and considering that the NEVER say anything by knowing the name in JP, it may be  a good way to guess if dracula is in or not :? .... God... we ARE desperate :lol:

Well, unlike the other Castlevania games, this one is being developed outside of Japan. Since the original name is "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow", they might not change it to "Akumajo Dracula" in Japan.Icemael

that is a good and sad point....

No I meant LoS because I work at Konami and I have seen the game and played it and also Gabriel turns into a she-vampire at the end and flies off into the rainbow sky with lolipops and gum drops while screaming about how Simon touched him in his special spot.

I mean, yes, I meant LoI, not LoS

No I meant LoS because I work at Konami and I have seen the game and played it and also Gabriel turns into a she-vampire at the end and flies off into the rainbow sky with lolipops and gum drops while screaming about how Simon touched him in his special spot.

 

I mean, yes, I meant LoI, not LoS

semianonymous

 you had me at lollipops lol :D 

Yeah, I was about to post it.

Basically, I'm far from sold still, especially since it was the same trailer. Confirmation of Gabriel BELMONT was nice though, and the last few moments of the trailer were fan-****ing-tastic, and castlevania at its core there.

A PR statement (Taken from the Castlevania Dungeon) implies the Belmonts are indeed in the game, and that Gabriel is not one of them. It also proclaims this hater of the Belmont family is a protagonist, among other things.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has unveiled an extended trailer for its eagerly-awaited Castlevania: Lords of Shadow title, and confirmed that the Belmont family – the stalwart heroes of the long-running series – will play a part in the new game.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is under the wing of Konami's fast-growing European Product Planning department, and marks a new beginning for the Castlevania series, with Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam working closely with Konami's respected Kojima Productions studio, led by Hideo Kojima. The PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360 title is an incredibly ambitious and ground-breaking title that mixes stunning combat elements, with a fully interactive 3D realm populated by all manner of undead and inhuman denizens.

The new trailer further outlines the sheer scale and epic nature of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and reveals key new elements to the game's plot. The game's as yet unnamed protagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs, is heard to proclaim he will "wipe the name of Belmont from this world… forever", while a mysterious new Mask adds further to the mystery…

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is set in a ravaged Europe of the middle ages. The planet has been devastated by a powerful magic. The souls of the dead are trapped on our earthly plane unable to find peace, and inhuman creatures of nightmare now roam the Earth, wreaking havoc. Having witnessed his wife Marie (voiced by Natascha McKelhone) murdered at their hands, Gabriel (Robert Carlyle) pledges revenge against those responsible: the mysterious Lords of Shadow.

Gabriel learns from an ally called Zobek (Patrick Stewart) that each of the Lords possesses pieces of a relic called 'The God Mask' that, when assembled, can purify the world and has the power to bring the dead back. Thus, Gabriel must face the three factions of the Lords of Shadow and confront them – defeating huge adversaries that dominate the screen, making his way across inhospitable but beautifully realised locations, and using the Combat Cross device to whip, swing, and rappel his way to the Mask's location.

//MORE

Gabriel will stop at nothing to see his beloved returned to him but someone has other plans for Gabriel and the mask holds the key. For good or for ill, Gabriel will meet his destiny: what is the secret of the masks and how are the Belmonts involved?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a visual masterpiece, and the new gamescom trailer details more of the gameplay elements that have established the game as a worthy return for the Castlevania series. The additional uses for the Combat Cross are alluded to, while more of the enormous adversaries and the action set pieces fans can look forward to are premiered for the first time.

"gamescom is shaping up as the most exciting European showcase imaginable, so it is fitting that we bring something new and exciting to the show – and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is just that," commented Dave Cox, Producer and Head of Product Planning for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "The new trailer will show key elements and content for the first time and will further cement Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's reputation as one of the landmark games of 2010."pr guy

Confirmation of Gabriel BELMONTsemianonymous

*scream hysterical*

WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!! is GREAT!!! *hyped* I cna not get any more hyped by this game :D:D:D

and the last few moments of the trailer were fan-****ing-tastic, and castlevania at its core there. semianonymous

agree... this game just look GREAT!!! it could easily be THE GAME that we needed for the 3D jump to suceed. *tries to no hope and hyped too much* (obviously late for that)

And I think/it seems that Isaacs is going to be Gabriel voice, and NICE patrick is the narrator :) (so far, maybe he would be a support character later on)

Also... :cry: i can not understand what it said at the end.. :cry:

"mark me well, I will ???wipe? the name of belmont from this ???? world? woods?" Thx :oops:

PS. can any of the officer transfors those links of image on the 1st post into actual IMAGE.. is driving me crazy... pls I`m begging... Thx :)

I'm so glad... the Belmonts are finally back!ChapstheF0rtune

:D:D 

and can you clarified the end for me ... :oops: (eng. is not my 1st language and I can not fully understand that :( )

The voice is basically saying He'll wipe the Belmonts out forever. He is a bad guy likely, but the PR report calls him the Protagonist. If this is a mistake, we don't know.

Also, its quite possible Gabe isn't a Belmont, I just said that out of hype. Its entirely possible the Belmonts and Gabe are unrelated until later in the game.

More updates! There are interviews with producer David Cox, you can read it IGN's here and 1up's here.

Some highlights from the interviews:

It was intended as a Castlevania game all along (so, Lords of Shadow was NEVER rebranded as Castlevania)

Apparently Gabriel is indeed a Belmont.

No confirmation if Dracula will be here.

It doesn't follow any Castlevania timeline because Konami didn't want to limit the potential audience to the truly hardcore.

Great emphasis has been placed on platforming and environmental navigation BUT it won't be a Metroidvania game.

The masks Gabriel is seeking are called the God and Devil masks.

There will be "stylized quicktime sequences" (I suppose is something God of War-esque)

On the controls: Gabriel is manipulated with the controller's analog stick. It was suggested that the right stick is used for precise directional whip control. Whip swinging (I suppose that the SCV4 whip is back) Square is for short-range directional attacks; triangle ranged attacks, X jumps, and circle uses secondary weapons (daggers, holy water, etc).

Camera is fixed.

Weapons will be upgradable.

Music was composed by a Spanish film composer, several CV themes will be used and the music will be played by a 120 piece orchestra.

The game is 60% complete.