Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Critic Reviews

Quite simply, this is the most fun we’ve had killing monsters since carving up freaks with God of War III’s Blade of Exile.

Castlevania Lords of Shadow is a must play game on the PlayStation 3 that really draws you in from the start to give you a spectacular journey of good versus evil in this beautifully presented sequel.

Without changing anything, Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 offers an action packed game based on your ability to inflict a maximum of damage to your enemies. In spite of a very old graphics engine, the game offers a decent life with about 15 hours of play. With dynamic gameplay, the ip follows the likes of Devil May Cry and God of War for the fan's enjoyment. The only true drawback is a very poor script that loses the player in its turns before the grand finale where a very expected twist happens, destroying all hopes of a good story.

The modern setting is a bit awkward and some design choices made by MercurySteam can be frustrating, but Lords of Shadow 2 is a true and great Castlevania game in its own right.

I enjoyed Lords of Shadow 2 far, far more than I ever expected to, and have no hesitation recommending it to anyone looking for dynamic third-person action, environmental exploration, or an intriguing new spin on the Castlevania mythos.

Playing as Dracula could have been handled so many different ways, and while I don't agree with everything that MercurySteam did with Lords of Shadow 2, the positive aspects overwhelm the negative. This is a worthy and fitting end to a fine trilogy.

Diverse, connected environments, creepy characters, and fantastic boss designs speak to a journey that resonates stronger than the plot itself.

A hefty slurp of bloodied bombast, tainted by a sorely misguided attempt to please everyone.

Frequent stealth sections stink up an otherwise outstanding sequel. Combat is so good, though, that if you can endure the sneaking, it’s still a bloody good action game.

MercurySteam has taken out most of the problem sections inside the original Lords of Shadow’s design document, specifically the loose patch work of several different action genre ideas, and has given Lords of Shadow 2 a much tighter focus.

Unevenly brilliant and infuriating, CLOS2 combines incredible, tight combat and some spectacular visual treats with ropey stealth and a clunky narrative. Thankfully, the good outweighs the bad.

A longer and often interesting, though overall less memorable sequel to its remarkable predecessor.

This part closes the Lords of Shadow saga pretty nicely. The gameplay and graphics are about the same as the original. Despite the modern setting the game pulls you into the story quite quickly.

As MercurySteam deserves credit for keeping much of the combat consistent with the first Lords of Shadow, they’ve also earned recognition for being consistent with the series’ detailed and visually robust art direction.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 takes the familiar plot and characters that players first met nearly four years ago and rewards them by tying it all together into a respectful and conclusive payoff.

Bloody, brutal – but quite cheap and too linear at times. For fans of the art of boss battles this is an entertaining experience. But outside the arenas Dracula can’t motivate like Metroid Prime, Darksiders or Batman, from which it takes quite a few elements.

Konami's newest Castlevania sequel is marred by repetitive gameplay, terrible stealth missions and an uninteresting story that overstays its welcome

Lords of Shadow 2 shows it's best intentions, surpassing the first part, but neglects some points. Ups and downs in the story and graphical issues affect the experience, even when it offers good combat mechanics and a great soundtrack.

Lords of Shadow 2 runs into a classic sequel problem. By trying to do more and to fix the few issues of the first game, MercurySteam actually does less and creates more problems. Despite this, they’ve still crafted a competent tale with solid core gameplay that should entertain longtime Castlevania fans, even if it’s not quite everything they’d hoped for.

Lords of Shadow 2 should have been a much shorter game. Still, though the game's stealth sections and drab modern settings represent the worst elements of the three-part saga, the tail end of the game contains the best of every aspect that the series is currently known for.