Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Lords of Shadow is a third-person action-adventure game in which the player controls the main character, Gabriel Belmont. The combat involves a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross. The player can perform up to forty unlockable combos with it. and can also be used to guard against an opponent's attack. Some sequences of the game require the player to solve physical puzzles or brain teasers. Alternatively, moving certain objects can set off chain reactions and open paths to new areas. Activating switches can also assist against traps. ==Plot==

Setting and characters Producer David Cox stated the game is a reboot of the franchise. The setting of Lords of Shadow is during "the end of days" in the year 1047. The Earth's alliance with the Heavens has been threatened by a malevolent force known as the Lords of Shadow. A dark spell has stopped the souls of the deceased from leaving, (voiced by Robert Carlyle in English and Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese), is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who protect and defend innocent people against the supernatural creatures. Gabriel's wife Marie (Natascha McElhone / Kikuko Inoue Gabriel meets a man from the Brotherhood called Zobek, who states that a prophecy has been kept a secret by a select few, which tells of a pure-hearted warrior who will claim the Lords of Shadow's power to overcome evil. Zobek says that he and Gabriel must enter the lands of the Dark Lords in order to unite the Heavens with the world again, and that with this Gabriel can bring Marie back from the dead.) for the first two pieces of the God Mask on his journey, while learning that they were once two of the three founding members of the Order who fought the spawns of Satan in God's favor until they transformed into the Spirits, with power only second to God's. After they ascended to the Heavens, they left behind their dark sides, who were known as the Lords of Shadow. Gabriel departs for the Land of the Necromancers for the last part of the mask. There, Zobek appears before Gabriel with the Devil Mask over his face, and divulges that he is the Lord of the Necromancers and that he grew tired of the Lords of Shadow dividing the power amongst the three of them. Gabriel confronts Satan and defeats him, releasing souls of the deceased from limbo. Gabriel discovers the God Mask cannot bring Marie back and that it only allows him to see through God's eyes. Marie tells him he has been given a new life to redeem himself before she departs with the God Mask. The story is expanded in two DLC packs titled Reverie and Resurrection. Reverie has Gabriel returning to Carmilla's castle to contain an ancient evil, the Forgotten One (Colin McFarlane), with the help of Carmilla's "daughter" Laura (Grace Vance / Yumi Sakura), who is also a playable character that assists Gabriel in some sequences of the DLC. Before entering a portal into the Forgotten One's prison, Laura tells Gabriel he cannot enter it in his mortal form and dies after she has Gabriel drink her blood to use its powers to enter, turning him into a vampire. During Resurrection, the Forgotten One aspires to destroy the humans' world, but he is defeated by Gabriel who claims his power for himself. Corrupted by the Forgotten One's power, Gabriel destroys his Combat Cross and leaves through the portal. In a post-credits scene after the base game's ending, Zobek is seen alive during modern times, and has uncovered Gabriel living as a vampire called Dracula. Zobek mentions the acolytes of Satan are preparing for his return and that they must stop him before he takes revenge on both of them. Before Gabriel disappears, Zobek tells him he will free him of his immortality if he helps him. ==Development and release==

Castlevania was rebooted due to Konami's concern over the poor sales of contemporary Castlevania games. The team wished to expand the franchise's fanbase with this installment. Konami then chose the pitch for it as the next Castlevania entry. The original concept for the game was to remake the first Castlevania starring Simon Belmont, but it was later decided to make a reboot of the franchise. Lords of Shadow still drew inspiration from earlier titles in the series, most notably Castlevania for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Castlevania IV. Originally, Gabriel's design resembled a classic barbarian, before Kojima then advised the staff to refine him into a character that was more relatable to the player. Cox mentioned that the voice acting provided by Robert Carlyle helped humanize Gabriel's character. Kojima also oversaw the Japanese localization of the game, employing a number of voice actors from the Japanese versions of Metal Gear Solid. Cox stated that Kojima otherwise allowed MercurySteam a lot of freedom with the project. MercurySteam wanted to depart from the art style of the other games in favour of one that was darker. Cox said, "The old games had this boyish depiction of vampires and monsters and we wanted them to have a darker edge this time around." VideoGamer.com drew comparisons between the art style and Guillermo del Toro's work. The developers claimed to avoid the use of quick time events during combat, stating that they distracted the player from the action, but the game features many instances of them. When the game was 60% complete, MercurySteam was aiming for 30 frames per second performance, as opposed to 60 frames, which the company said was not a priority at that stage. David Cox referred to these DLC chapters as "a mistake." A port for Windows was announced in June 2013 with the subtitle of "Ultimate Edition". The downloadable content chapters are also included within the game. It was released through Steam on August 27, 2013, and in retail on August 30, 2013. A soundtrack CD was also included in limited editions of the game, with twenty tracks in total. In October 2013, specialist label Sumthing Else Music Works issued the soundtrack in a more widely available CD release while selling a digital format of the previously issued tracks that were featured on the CD that came with collector's editions of the game alongside additional material exclusive to the digital release. Araujo was nominated by the International Film Music Critics Association for breakout composer of the year for his work on Lords of Shadow. He won "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media." Lords of Shadow features voiced dialogue by a professional cast recorded in London, an aspect which has been acclaimed by the gaming press. The cast includes Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart. The part of Gabriel was originally going to be offered to Gerard Butler, but he was not available. The cast would make their own contributions to the characters during the recordings. David Cox mentioned that "What could have been an 'in and out' voiceover job for them [the voice actors] wasn't. Instead, their love of the script and praise saw them developing their characters and working through the motivations for them". ==Reception==

During its development, Lords of Shadow was placed on several lists for most anticipated video games. GameTrailers ranked it at number 7 for "Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2010." GamesRadar+ placed Lords of Shadow at number 26 for 100 Most Anticipated Games of 2010, stating that "This could be a megaton release." 1UP.com top 50 most anticipated games of E3 2010 ranked Lords of Shadow at number 17. Despite the heavy anticipation, Cox noted there was still a small number of fans who did not like the game's transition to the 3D format. He stated, "Fair enough, some people aren't going to like what we're doing and we accept that but generally what we're trying to do is bring the fans with us ... there's no point in going back and making the same game again – the point is to make a clean break and move forward with the series." 1UP.com review praised how the game took elements from other series and executed them well. GamesRadar+ drew favorable comparisons to other action games it has given a perfect score, including God of War III, Bayonetta and ''Dante's Inferno'', while praising it for being "huge in scope, length, and depth, and it's polished with obvious love and passion". Other reviews noted that it was derivative of other games and that it was unlike the classic Castlevania series. IGN found the combat repetitive but felt the puzzles and platforming provided good pacing. GameZone ranked it as the sixth best Castlevania title. The staff praised the developers' success at bringing Castlevania to 3D. Xbox World 360 awarded the game the "Star Player Accolade" in 2010. The game also became the best-selling Castlevania game, which resulted in Konami's request to produce more titles. Because of the game's success, Lords of Shadow is seen as the start of a possible second golden age of Spanish software. ==Sequels==

On May 29, 2012, Nintendo Power magazine revealed a sequel to Lords of Shadow for the Nintendo 3DS was in development by MercurySteam, titled Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate. The game takes place 25 years after Lords of Shadow and features 2.5D gameplay. It follows Trevor Belmont, Simon Belmont, Alucard and Gabriel Belmont at different points in history. On May 31, 2012, Konami announced the sequel at E3 2012, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The game stars Gabriel as Dracula while he seeks to regain his lost powers in order to fight the Belmonts and the return of Satan. Mirror of Fate has a climax that sets up the events of Lords of Shadow 2. ==Notes==