Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a gothic-inspired hack 'n' slashing platformer strongly derivative of the last decade's most successful titles in those genres. In spite of that, the game manages to wedge itself into a cluttered market and ask for your consideration.

Stunning presentation and a clever combat system; A much longer game than any other in the genre

Unnecessary filler content; Occasional difficulties with the camera; An overly complex skill system.

Lords of Shadow may not have been the Castlevania game everyone wanted, but I mostly enjoyed it for what it was, and that ending was to die for. It was the perfect segue into Lords of Shadow 2 , which has been teased for nearly four years now as the return of Dracula -- the main man himself -- and a...

The Castlevania franchise is long and storied at this point as Lords of Shadow 2 marks the 35 th installment in the series (crazy, I know). With that comes a very convoluted back story and history that may leave newcomers, and probably some veterans, scratching their heads over the plot to this one...

Gabriel Belmont--aka Dracula--is a deeply conflicted character, pulled in multiple directions by the dark and light influences of Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2's story. As such, he's an unfortunate but entirely apt metaphor for the game's overall problems.

Powerfully affecting soundtrack; Beautiful medieval sections; Sometimes evokes the atmosphere of the first game

Combat lacks finesse; Too many poor diversions; Loss of scale and spectacle

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 brings the Gabriel Belmont story, begun in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, to a bloody conclusion. Gabriel, aka Dracula, is resurrected by returning frenemy Zobek and persuaded to help him defeat something even more evil than Dracula himself: Satan.

Gloriously grotesque gothic environments; Brilliant orchestral score.

Ludicrous story hinges on Dracula's naivety.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 built upon its predecessor in many meaningful ways, but it frequently stumbles whenever attempting something new. Comparing the segments set within Dracula's castle to those in the modern city shows a clear difference in approach.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow most likely caught people by surprise. For one, it was a title done by a western developer, MercurySteam, and not by legendary series producer Koji Igarashi and his Konami team.

Castlevania hasn't been a name that's had gamers jumping for joy since Super Nintendo. After the release of Super Castlevania 4, each Castlevania game went further and and further away from the original formulae that had been so popular for two console generations.

Great game, unfortunately, the disc only includes the original game; literally. You'll be required to download and install 5GB of content to enjoy the all additional features advertised in the packaging, as soon as you pop the code on PSN.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ____SPOILERS____ As a die-hard castlevania fan I really can't recommend this game for other than the characters and lore(which in itself is as bland as the latest x-men movie).