LONG BLOG
Castlevania: Mirror of Fate Demo Review
*Update* Here's a link to an article that states my suspicions were correct. http://www.siliconera.com/2013/02/28/castlevania-mirror-of-fate-producer-talks-combat-and-enemies/
I played the Castlevania Mirror of Fate demo for a second time today. I was able to complete it this time as I wasn’t in a crazy hipster burger restaurant watching Katy almost vomit because of soggy bread. Anyway, overall I think the demo is kind of lacking and a big missed opportunity for Konami. Sure it delivers what we expect - good graphics, 3D effects (though 3D does seem to slow the game down just a bit) and a totally forgettable soundtrack they forgot one important thing. What thing is that you ask? That thing has a stupid backwards name. Alucard.
Aesthetically C:MoF, or See-Mof as I may now call it, displays that Konami is listening to their fans and that’s nothing but a good thing. This is reflected in many areas of the game. The character designs that more closely resemble those of the Metroidvania games than Lords of Shadows, a sprawling-ish map to explore, ALUCARD, a fucking castle (amirite) and even some fleamen will show up in your quick traipse through the castle(!). The demo itself however is kind of bland as it places you in the shoes of a Belmont wandering through a rather barren castle with a few battles sprinkled throughout rather than the fancy boots of Lord Alucard FancyPants. The enemies look like standard fantasy fare with a some Resident Evil 4 thrown in for good measure as evidenced by the big idiot you see in the picture. Hopefully when we get the chance to play the rest of the game we’ll find that Konami has infused some of the stylish almost anime style looks of Simon, Trevor and Alucard into the enemies as well but that isn’t found here.
All of the battles feel rather staged and makes the game feel more like Lords of Shadow than Symphony of the Night. This, I’m sure, was a conscious decision as it gives you the opportunity to play with the combat system which is much more in depth that of a Metroidvania game. Of course in-depth doesn’t automatically mean better and honestly I think most Castlevania fans were hoping to whip a skeleton once and have it explode rather than the combat system presented here. I know I was. The enemies are much stronger than you’ll be anticipating as well and they can and will kill you if given the chance. For the most part the combat is pretty simple combos with an occasional Press R to execute (Rated MA but no blood? What the hell) or QTE. Please note that you can get hit during an execution animation you can’t stop that will never not be annoying.
I wasn’t disappointed with the demo overall but I think Konami should have put more care into showcasing what was going to make Mirror of Fate a suitable replacement for a new Iga game. In that aspect the demo is a total failure. I think they should have went with the instant attention grabber of placing you in the shoes of the obvious fan favorite Alucard and let you just rip some shit up for 10 minutes or so. This demo wasn’t enough to make me go preorder the game but it is definitely something I’ll be getting in the coming weeks.
I played the Castlevania Mirror of Fate demo for a second time today. I was able to complete it this time as I wasn’t in a crazy hipster burger restaurant watching Katy almost vomit because of soggy bread. Anyway, overall I think the demo is kind of lacking and a big missed opportunity for Konami. Sure it delivers what we expect - good graphics, 3D effects (though 3D does seem to slow the game down just a bit) and a totally forgettable soundtrack they forgot one important thing. What thing is that you ask? That thing has a stupid backwards name. Alucard.
Aesthetically C:MoF, or See-Mof as I may now call it, displays that Konami is listening to their fans and that’s nothing but a good thing. This is reflected in many areas of the game. The character designs that more closely resemble those of the Metroidvania games than Lords of Shadows, a sprawling-ish map to explore, ALUCARD, a fucking castle (amirite) and even some fleamen will show up in your quick traipse through the castle(!). The demo itself however is kind of bland as it places you in the shoes of a Belmont wandering through a rather barren castle with a few battles sprinkled throughout rather than the fancy boots of Lord Alucard FancyPants. The enemies look like standard fantasy fare with a some Resident Evil 4 thrown in for good measure as evidenced by the big idiot you see in the picture. Hopefully when we get the chance to play the rest of the game we’ll find that Konami has infused some of the stylish almost anime style looks of Simon, Trevor and Alucard into the enemies as well but that isn’t found here.
All of the battles feel rather staged and makes the game feel more like Lords of Shadow than Symphony of the Night. This, I’m sure, was a conscious decision as it gives you the opportunity to play with the combat system which is much more in depth that of a Metroidvania game. Of course in-depth doesn’t automatically mean better and honestly I think most Castlevania fans were hoping to whip a skeleton once and have it explode rather than the combat system presented here. I know I was. The enemies are much stronger than you’ll be anticipating as well and they can and will kill you if given the chance. For the most part the combat is pretty simple combos with an occasional Press R to execute (Rated MA but no blood? What the hell) or QTE. Please note that you can get hit during an execution animation you can’t stop that will never not be annoying.
I wasn’t disappointed with the demo overall but I think Konami should have put more care into showcasing what was going to make Mirror of Fate a suitable replacement for a new Iga game. In that aspect the demo is a total failure. I think they should have went with the instant attention grabber of placing you in the shoes of the obvious fan favorite Alucard and let you just rip some shit up for 10 minutes or so. This demo wasn’t enough to make me go preorder the game but it is definitely something I’ll be getting in the coming weeks.
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About Danielzillaone of us since 4:57 PM on 09.06.2010
I've been playing games since I was 3. Videogames have been a big part of my life for pretty much as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest memories are getting in 2 extra hours of Dragon Quest 4, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and the like on 2 hour snow delay days. I got Resident Evil for Sega Saturn and Blink 182 Dude Ranch for easter one year and they are now permanently linked in my psyche. I think I'm out of pointless childhood videogame anecdotes that are the slightest bit funny or interesting now.
Now I'm a 24 year old Customer Service Representative for an evil cellular phone company I spend my spare time (and time that they are paying me to work) playing games. I have an awesome wife who flirts with videogaming and 2 amazing kids. I generally prefer role playing games (of any type), "retro" games, hack and slash and platform games. I'm not really that competitive when it comes to gaming except for fighting games. I love fighting games as well I suppose. I've never had any interest in racing or sports games. I don't like military FPS games. I actually barely like FPS's at all. I do play Left 4 Dead but that's about the only thing I play online right now other than Castle Crashers. The Mother (Earthbound), Dragon Quest, Megaten and Oddworld series are probably my favorite gaming franchises. I suppose that's about it. If you want to know anything else you can ask or follow me on twitter.
Now I'm a 24 year old Customer Service Representative for an evil cellular phone company I spend my spare time (and time that they are paying me to work) playing games. I have an awesome wife who flirts with videogaming and 2 amazing kids. I generally prefer role playing games (of any type), "retro" games, hack and slash and platform games. I'm not really that competitive when it comes to gaming except for fighting games. I love fighting games as well I suppose. I've never had any interest in racing or sports games. I don't like military FPS games. I actually barely like FPS's at all. I do play Left 4 Dead but that's about the only thing I play online right now other than Castle Crashers. The Mother (Earthbound), Dragon Quest, Megaten and Oddworld series are probably my favorite gaming franchises. I suppose that's about it. If you want to know anything else you can ask or follow me on twitter.