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Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
The latest in the
esteemed Castlevania series, Curse of Darkness sees you take the role of
a new hero named Hector who has renounced his evil ways and lost his
powers as a result to summon spirits called Innocent Devils. Living a
good life with his wife, all is well for Hector until an old ally named
Isaac murders Hector’s wife and the quest for revenge drives Hector back
over the edge.
Taking on the role of a game primarily based around
fighting and conjuring Innocent Devils, Hector’s task involves fighting
off the masses and then having the occasional Boss battle to keep things
interesting.
The main carriage for the game is the acquisition of
new Innocent Devils that occur during the game. These creatures enable
Hector to perform new incredible feats and in some cases are the only
way that you will get through to the next level of the game. The
abilities of the Devil directly impact on Hector and the way that he
will progress.
Whilst it may make the Innocent Devils sound like
twisted Pokemon, this is not the case though the premise is the same.
Throughout the game you will need to alternate Devil’s to fully utilise
the skills that they have, as one Devil type is not enough to get you
through the whole game.
Pikachu, I choose YOU! Your Devils will evolve during
the game as you accumulate special gems that fallen foes will drop.
Whilst there is not a direct control over how the evolution occurs, it’s
a good process and makes you feel that that creatures are doing a bit
more for you in terms of interaction and being a true part of your
gameplay experience.
As your quest to exact revenge on Isaac continues,
the storyline is told through a series of nice CG segments that will
give you a basic grasp on why you are doing what you are doing and then
send you onto the next part of your journey. The movies are interesting,
well designed and pretty relevant to the overall gaming experience. At
times they are a little confusing but basically do the trick.
Graphically, the title looks good and the soundtrack
is a good match to the game. Whilst not really pushing the hardware to
its limits at all, the only real gripe I have with it is that the
environments are repetitious and fairly bland though well drawn. The RPG
elements of the Devils and your ability to combine elements that you
find through the game to make new weapons and armour is nicely thought
out and a change from finding weapons scattered all over the place.
This is a nice addition to Castlevania and the mythos
behind it all. There are some twists and turns via the story that
impressed and working out the best ways to use the creatures and weapons
at your disposal are varied. Whilst I am not sure as to whether there is
enough in the game to keep the casual player interested to the end, fans
of the series should quite happily see it through. |
