Castlevania Harmony of Despair Review
This game is the third game in XBLA’s Summer of Arcade promotion currently going on, and it’s the one I’ve been anticipating the most (and I mean like staying up late waiting for XBLA to update anticipation). It will run you 1200 microsoft points and it’s exclusive, thus far, for the 360. So with that being said, on to the review!
I planned on writing this review closer to the game’s release but I haven’t been able to. Why? Well…blame this game. Hands down this is the most addicting and purely fun-filled experience i’ve had all year. Sure this has been a big year for games with the likes of Triple A titles like Mass Effect 2, God of War 3, Alan Wake, etc. But this game offers that which attracts us to playing games in the first place: fun. This is the best of both worlds when it comes to Castlevania. The action packed, rush to the boss game-play of the classic vanias, mixed with the exploration based item collecting adventures seen in the post SOTN titles. Obviously this is going to be, unlike most reviews, a very positive review of this game.
As aforementioned, this game combines both Castlevania styles and mixes it into a loot-heavy, action-packed experience that will definitely appeal to veteran vania fans and the newer ones, introduced to the series by way of the GBA/DS titles. So the gameplay should take little to no time getting accustomed to, depending on how much acquainted you are with each character’s respective game.
For examlple: Shanoa has her signature Magnes gylph taken straight from her venture in Order of Ecclesia, the latest exploration-heavy vania game to hit the DS. What this ability allows her to do is magnetically attract her self to specific round orbs and then it allows her to act as a slingshot and shoot herself to higher ground, it’s a very useful ability and it seems like some levels are rigged for Shanoa players to make it through with ease (which we’ll get back to in a bit).
Alucard of Symphony of the Night fame is also playable in this title, donning abilities such as his ‘mist’ form and a slide kick that when used, resembles his wolf form from his respective game. He is also able to collect scrolls that grants him special abilities like hell-fire, the classic triple fireball dracula move.
Soma Cruz also makes the cut with his pokemon-like gotta catch them all’ ability. “Them” referring to souls of course. And it quickly becomes addicting trying to catch every single soul. Not just that but powering the ones you already have makes for a satisfying treat as well. The last 2 characters selectable from the game’s release date are Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin of Portrait of Ruin fame. And yes playing as Jonathan gives you that classic ability to whip your way to Dracula, which is always fun.
So yeah there’s a lot of diversity to be found and experienced within the initial batch of characters. And with more characters coming out way via dlc, there’s going to be alot of different play styles coming into effect when one partakes in an online match. Speaking of which: the online.
The online experience is seam-less , with little to no lag whatsoever. And this isn’t just from my ventures online, but from everyone in my friends list on live who has the game. And of course the good old message-board. It seems like you could be playing with someone from a hard to pronounce country from the other side of the globe and still have a lag-free experience online. The available modes are: co-op through the games 6 sprawling stages, and a survival mode which serves a versus mode between 6 players. Wait…6 players? When I only mentioned 5 characters in this review? Well yeah, there’s going to be a *dramatic music* a clone. That’s why there a color palette customizing option available for each character and come on , who doesn’t want to play as a power ranger pink Alucard…Hell I do it. It’s easy to find a game and get right in the action, co-op wise, but in regards to the survival mode it takes a bit more time to get going with a game but that’s just from my own experience. Which doesn’t really surprise me because survival mode has to be the weakest mode in the game seeing as only one level is offered for play and how confusing it is to see where you’re attacking and whatnot especially if it’s a packed room of magic users. So yeah online-wise co-op is where it’s at which should be obvious seeing as how this game was crafting with the co-op experience in mind and gearing up with 5 other vampire hunters to take on Dracula’s castle and all its minions.
What makes going through the game in its entirety with a full pack of hunters fun? The levels.
There has been a lot of negative feedback to the overall composition of the levels seeing as how they’re literally composed of rooms copied and pasted from the DS vanias. But don’t let the negativity get to you if you’re thinking about getting this game. Just know that you’ll get 6 levels full of, nostalgia for long-time fans, non-stop action complimented by death traps like the ones oft-conquered by Simon Belmont and an addicting sense of loot-collecting madness. So yeah the level design is good, pretty damn good.
One of the first things we learned of this game, post name-leak, was the ability to allow players to zoom in and out of the playing field. This grants you the ability to see the level in its entirety and plan ahead accordingly to what enemies, death traps or locked doors may be up ahead. It’s a nice feature that’s much more than a gimmick. And it’s mighty impressive how much pixels are able to fill up your screen when zoomed out to the maximum level. It reinforces Iga’s claim about this title being inspired by the concept of pixel-art. Classic vania fans and modern ones will be pleased by the little nods to both styles of play taken into consideration by Iga and co. and integrated into the level design. Breakable walls, ceiling,rooms that can’t be initially reached, etc. It’s quite funny because those people that cry foul at the level design being too copy and paste for them are the same people for play Generic Shooter XX on a yearly basis, playing a game with little to no gameplay differences at all save for new skins to the overall experience. So potential buyers shouldn’t be strayed away from this game after reading negative comments on the boards about this game’s levels or creatively lack of levels. But enough of that, what do I think of this game overall?
Quite simply, a 10 out of 10. Yeah it’s true that I am a huge Castlevania fan, and such a score might be predictable coming from me but know this. Initially I thought this game would just be an enjoyable romp through Dracula’s castle(s) with 5 other buddies, but I was surprised when I started playing. Then suddenly, an hour passed, and another hour, and another, and soon it was all deep into the midnight hours and I was still playing this game. And upon beating it, solo, I came to a realization. This game is everything I love about the classic whip wielding vanias in my Wii’s virtual console. Classic level after level, in this case 6, of action and platforming, fused with the item collecting, path planning ways of SOTN and the games that came after it. Then I stopped playing for a moment and wondered so many people , reviewers included, are labeling this a missed effort at crafting a true traditional 2D Castlevania for this generation. Now I’m not going to claim that the graphics are HD as the acronym of the title suggests. But what we get visually is a classic treat. And not just that but then I came up with a thesis. Go ahead and quote this:
Castlevania Harmony of Despair is a SOTN styled entry into the series, but stripped from all its moments where one is stuck trying to figure out where to go next, leaving only the action parts where the destination is clear but the journey is one worth taking part in. With that, it’s a perfect marriage of old and new in terms of Castlevania past and present. A perfect 10 out of 10.
Oh and I absolutely cannot wait until these guys, minus the Alucard, become available via DLC:
Post your gamer-tags in the comments below , I’m always on playing this game so we could go on a vampire hunting spree together! My GT is JBoc924.
Overall Rating: 10 / 10
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2 Comments
As an Castlevania fan, i MUST get this game
As a person who never really got into Castlevania but played the demo of HoD, I MUST get this game.