Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is a spinoff game from the Castlevania series. It is a breakaway from the normal side-scrolling games and sends you into a 3D environment full of monsters and magic. It is multi-platform, for the PS2 and XBox. Here is my review.


Plot: Three years ago, Lord Dracula was slain by a mysterious hunter named Trevor Belmonte (SP?). In his dying breath, Dracula cursed the land, spreading the black plague.

But, that doesn't really matter now, does it? You control Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who betrayed Dracula. He is seeking revenge on another Devil Forgemaster named Issac, who accused Hector's lover of being a witch and tampered with her trial, leading to her being burned alive. Yep, that's how !@#$ed up things were back then. While seeking revenge, Hector must call back his dark powers and unravel a mystery that is bigger than he is.

Okay... so for a Castlevania game, it will be a little predictable. But the plot still is pretty good. It has some depth to it, and it also ties in with history.

Gameplay: You're not controlling someone from the Belmont family. You're not using a whip and alchemy. Instead, you are given the option to wield different types of weapons with various different styles (In swords alone i noticed three different attack styles depending on the type of sword). It also allows you to control monsters called Innocent Devils, who aid you in battle or heal your wounds. Though you start off with a weak little fairy, you can trigger evolutions in your monsters by killing other monsters and collecting Evo Crystals. The type of crystal you find depends on the type of weapon you are using, meaning that your Innocent Devil will evolve differently depending on the crystal you give it. You can turn your simple fairy into a creature that can heal huge wounds and status ailments and even poison your enemy, or you can raise your small lava creature into a giant behemoth, just as a few examples.

As for the controls, it is somewhat similar to Devil May Cry or Legacy of Kain. You attack, jump, and stuff like that. But you can also steal from your enemies and forge weapons or buy stuff with the gold or materials you swipe. And forging weapons is a big deciding factor in the game since the store usually sells only basic weapons. And you have a big variety of what you can forge (Short sword, two-hander sword, fencing sword, two-handed axe, hand axe, spear, knuckles) or you can make more powerful armor. You are also given a variety of "Finishing Moves" depending on the weapon you are using (Pressing Circle after executing a regular Square attack). You can move further down the chain to perform more devastating Finisher Moves, or you can attack in the air.

Weapons also have a good variety. Swords are multi-purpose, and can be used for rapid attacks, any-situation attacks, or heavy attacks. Axes are slow but punishing, lances have a great range (and some of the cooler attacks) while knuckles are good for rapid fire up close and personal assaults. You can tailor it to your individual style. However... the controls will get repetitive after a while. There are few puzzles, mostly you need to suit yourself to the situation. It is an extreme action RPG.

Graphics: Pretty well-made in my mind. Gruesome when it needs to be, and the creatures have a pretty interesting variety. The details put into the weapons are also wonderful. Though there are a few graphical glitches, and lack of variety in movement from enemy sprites. The Innocent Devils also have a good variety (The Golem battle type and Tiara fairy type are my favorites). The big catch is that so little of the environment can be interacted with, you can only stick to a path (Which is more like a maze in certain points)

Music: A lot of it is good, but some of it gets very dull very fast. You tend to put up with one loop for an extended period of time, but they compensate for that with the length of the song before it repeats. A lot of the music is well made, but some of it was just tossed in half-assed to go with the location.

Difficulty: I'd say that the only difficult thing here is navigating. There is a lot of area to cover, and few hints about where to go next. That being said, the boss-fights vary. Some of it is hack-and-slash-and-dodge, same function as Devil May Cry, but others require a strategy or patience, as it is impossible and downright suicidal to simply go on the offensive constantly. The battle strategy also affects how often you will see the game-over screen, or desperately search for a recovery item or hearts to recover your Innocent Devils. People who use Fairy Types in battle can avoid status ailments and heal damage before it piles on, and once the fairy learns the Poison technique, it can target lesser enemies and poison them, causing them to take continuous damage and constantly flinch. Using a Battle Type means you fight with a partner, but when up against enemies like Living Armor or Dead Fencers who require speed and strategy, your partner will die constantly. And weapons also affect it.

Overall: Time consuming and very addictive. It also has terrific voice acting, and the music is great also. The enemies come in droves and keep you on your toes. Luckily, the doors and entryways have arrows to them, indicating where you entered from and where you can go to continue, so it isn't as easy to get lost. The Innocent Devil system and Forging system gives you a huge variety of strategy, and several off the boss-fights test your very soul. But outside of battles, it lacks variety.

...

But still, let me say this, this is probably the ONLY Castlevania game in which the Fleamen present an actual threat.

With how much time it consumes, renting it would be a bad idea unless you are willing to lose a lot of sleep. This is one of those "For hardcore gamers ONLY" titles.

My Rating: 8/10

Extra: Konami included a 3D Castlevania mini-game in Metal Gear Solid 3. To play it, contact Para-Medic and save your game while you are caught in the cell in Groznj Grad. You know you did it right when Para-Medic tells you about a character named Renfield. In the mini-game, press the X button to jump, Square to attack, and hold down Circle to do a spin attack. Press R1 to dash, R1+Square to do a kick, and press Square in the air to do a slashing attack (Instant kill). If you keep up a rapid attack, you will transform into a beast-like state. In that state, press and hold Square to do a claw swipe, hold down R1 to run, X to jump, and press Circle to disembowel your enemies (Very gruesome).