Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Review

Curse of Darkness marks the first time a Castlevania game has appeared on the Xbox. It is a 3D game and definitely isn’t as good as recent 2D entries, but as far as 3D Castlevanias go it is easily the best of the bunch. The level design is a little bland and the combat gets a bit repetitive, but overall it is pretty solid. There isn’t really a comparable experience available on Xbox and that right there makes it worth playing even if it isn’t the best the series has to offer.

Features

Curse of Darkness follows a former lieutenant of Dracula and devil forgemaster named Hector who abandoned his powers after Dracula died three years earlier. Since then, a curse has filled the land of Valachia with monsters. The real story, though, is that Hector’s lover was killed by a rival forgemaster named Isaac so Hector sets out to regain his powers in the name of revenge. If he lifts the curse in the process, so be it.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness follows the “Castleroid” (a nickname that was coined because it combines classic Castlevania gameplay with Metroid-style item and ability collecting) pattern that was established in Symphony of the Night where you start out with limited powers and learn new abilities and earn different weapons as you play through the game. The new abilities allow you to explore previously inaccessible areas that you couldn’t reach before and, voila; you have a 12 hour game after all of the backtracking.

Gameplay

Where CoD really stands out is in the gameplay and customization options that are available. The basic gameplay consists of standard hack and slash with melee weapons, but it is made more interesting with the use of combo finishers that will have different effects depending on where you use it in the combo and what weapon you are using. Also, as you play through the game you will collect little creatures called innocent devils that will help you fight or heal you among other powers. They gain experience and will earn new powers and evolve when you collect a certain number of crystals from fallen enemies. Different weapons will produce different crystals which in turn will create different innocent devil variations. Very cool. Another major area of the game is that you collect raw materials as you play which you can then use to create new weapons and armor. Throughout the whole game you are constantly customizing your weapons and gaining new innocent devil powers and it is all a whole lot of fun. You can also steal from enemies during combat which usually results in new materials and thus new weapons. It is a vicious cycle that is rather strategic and entertaining.

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