In Castlevania Lords of Shadow, players get to experience the beginning of the Castlevania Lords of Shadow series. The game places gamers into the footsteps of Gabriel Belmont in a prequel series that explores the beginning of the ongoing battle between the Belmont clan and Dracula. The tale also centers around Gabriel's reluctance to accept the death of his love interest, Marie, and allowing those responsible for her untimely death to get away unpunished. The interesting storyline features plenty of plot twists that unfold over many chapters as Gabriel receives the consequences for his actions.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow features action adventure gameplay in which players will rely on performing a variety of different combination attacks with a powerful whip weapon known as the Combat Cross. The whip is also used in exploring the different environments featured in the game to climb walls or cross gaps, and there a plenty of puzzles to complete in order to progress through the game as well. Castlevania Lords of Shadow also features throwback secondary weapons that include holy water, throwing knives and more.
Reverie was the first downloadable expansion for Castlevania Lords of Shadow. The new content for the game added an additional chapter to the end of the game. The story follows Gabriel after the closing moments of the game as he contemplates what his next moves should be, when he suddenly receives a cry for help from a familiar voice. Gabriel heads out to save his friend from a terrible fate. The additional DLC adds a few hours of gameplay to an already fun game, and though the narrative isn't as strong this time around, it's still plenty of fun for fans of the game series to experience this new chapter of Castlevania Lords of Shadow.
Resurrection was the second DLC expansion for Castlevania Lords of Shadow, and it features a storyline set after Reverie, as Gabriel battles against a powerful dark force known as The Forgotten One. The chapter allows Gabriel to fight this interdimenional being while fighting off a dark presence within his own body. Both of these additional DLC chapters add additional hours of gameplay to Castlevania Lords of Shadow, and since both would typically cost $9.99 each to download separately from the collection, the somewhat high price of the new release feels a lot more affordable for fans that don't already own a copy of the game.
The new downloadable version of the game features more than just improved graphics though. Castlevania Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD allows players to experience the full campaign storyline from the original release in with full HD graphics support, online leaderboards, Trophy and Achievement support and other game design improvements. Boss Rush mode has also been added to the game to allow players to relive the game's epic boss encounters for the greatest challenge the title has to offer players. Best of all, the game is available with all of these new features with a much lower price than when the game first arrived for Nintendo 3DS making it an even better value for fans of this enjoyable series.
The final piece of content available in Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection allows players to experience the brand new and exclusive demo for Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 before the full game releases in February of 2014. The demo includes a first look at the game's storyline that follows the continuation of Gabriel's contribution to the Castlevania franchise. The game has clearly made some improvements from the original release including improved graphics and smoother gameplay that allows players to play through the majority of one of the game's early chapters. Gabriel has plenty of new powers for players to master in the game, and some of these are available in the new demo as well. The demo will likely release at a later date for both platforms, but for now, the Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection is the only way to gain exclusive access to the Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 demo.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection offers players a chance to own the original Castlevania Lords of Shadow, Resurrection and Reverie DLC, Castlevania Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD and gain exclusive access to the Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 demo. The collection is valued at $39.99, which could be more than some gamers would be willing to spend to play two games plus DLC, and the collection is not designed for players that already own some of the content contained in the package. Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection is still a good value though that packs over $45 of content for a lower price, and the games contained in the collection are plenty of fun for fans of the Castlevania series and good games in general. Get your copy of Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection today and prepare for the release of Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 early next year!
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $39.99 and can be purchased for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Castlevania Lords of Shadow Collection is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Nudity & Violence. For more information on Castlevania Lords of Shadown Collection, check out the official Castlevania Lords of Shadow website.
Game Features:
- Single Player
- Includes Resurrection & Reverie DLC
- Exclusive Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 Demo Access
- Online Leaderboards
- Trophy/Achievement Support
Game Information:
Developer: MercurySteam
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 3 (reviewed) & Xbox 360
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Pros:
- A great collection of games at low price
- Beautiful HD graphics
- Nice bundle for gamers new to the series
Cons:
- Collection may not be worth it for those
who already own the same games