Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

"A great Castlevania game."

Konami has been known for making Castlevania games and Metal Gear Solid games. When Castlevania first came to the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES) the game was an instant hit. Then Konami released two more sequels Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse. But when Konami made Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness in 3D the games just didn't catch on because they were in 3D and had poor gameplay. Now Konami has made another 3D Castlevania. But this one is actually good!

Konami has made yet another rousing good story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story takes place after Castlevania III Dracula's Curse. You play as a man named Hector who once fought for Dracula. But he left Dracula's army right before Trevor Belmont had slain him. Hector now seeks revenge for Isaac who had just recently murdered his true love Rosily. Hector now must track down Isaac to avenge Rosily and also put an end to Dracula's evil plans.

Curse of Darkness gives a feel to a RPG (Role Playing Game) perspective. Slashing away at evil minions of hell makes Hector level up in combat. In Lament of Innocent (Last years game) there wasn't a leveling up system and the only time you needed to kill enemies was to proceed through a room or so. In Curse of Darkness enemies drop materials that can be used in your arsenal. Such as crafting weapons. Lament of Innocence did not have any of these things.

In Curse of Darkness there is a new thing in which you can Devil Forge. Devil Forging can only be used when you step into a Devil Forging room. Each devil (or Innocent Devil) are different in their own unique way. One might be good in magic and the other might be good in fighting. Each time you forge a devil you can immediately start leveling them up making them more stronger and make them learn new attacks. Also each Innocent Devil can help you in the game. For example a strong devil can lift a heavy door so Hector can slide through. Innocent Devils can also evolve into more stronger versions of themselves. Each time you kill an enemy you might get a crystal. Each crystal you get determines on what weapon you use. If your devil gets enough of them they can evolve into stronger versions of themselves.

If you thought Hector could just Devil Forge then you are mistaken. He can also craft and combine weapons. Hector can craft weapons from killing enemies and gather what they drop. An enemy may drop materials to craft different weapons, armor, etc. The fun thing about it is what weapon or armor pieces you are getting to get when you combine such and such. Another thing Hector can do with weapons is that he can combine them. This makes weapons more stronger then just crafting them. The fun of combining weapons is that what kind of powerful weapon you are going to get.

Hector also has the ability to "lock on" to an enemy during battle. Using the L2 or R2 buttons on the Dualshock controller. You can also use this new feature to steal from enemies. Each time you steal from an enemy the item you get determines by what kind of monster the enemy is. This new feature can help you craft and combine weapons in the game. Enemies also carry gold.

If you take a look at Lament of Innocent's graphics to Curse of Darkness's then you probably won't see a lot of a difference. The graphics are a little cartoony but they look alright. There are some nice environments and scenery in Curse of Darkness but some environments just look horrible and are just a waste of your time. The characters look very well detailed and nice as well as the enemies. These graphics are alright but looks like they didn't put a lot of effort into it.

Curse of Darkness gives a feel to solid gameplay that no Castlevania fan should pass up. Despite its 3D graphics, Curse of Darkness delivers great gameplay and sweet music. Even RPG gamers might even want to pick this up just for the fun of it. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/05, Updated 12/19/05