Okay, in the last 12 months Ive played a large number of 3rd person action games (Force Unleashed 1, God of War 1+2 HD Remakes, Dantes Inferno, Darksiders, God of war 3) and I have to say that out of all of them this is game is the best.

It does take some adjustment to get used to its style vs the other abovementioned titles – namely that it has a large focus on story/narrative in addition to splitting the gameplay elements up into combat, platforming, puzzle solving.

Think of it as Metal Gear storytelling meets God of War in a medival setting (i.e. The game is split up into levels that follow the core design of Begin level-Cutscene-Action/Puzzle/Plat­form section-Cutscene-End level).

I like to think of it an evolution of the action adventure games that graced gaming in the late 80s-early 90s (i.e. Last Ninja Series) where there was minimal handholding and it was up to the player to explore every noonk and cranny of the level to find the secret areas.

The game starts off well enough but gets even better later on with huge boss battles and set pieces coming thick and fast.

In terms of game length/value for money this game is about as good as it gets (on a par with GoW1+2 collection if you havent played those before).

Dont plan to finish this off in an evening or two as the games story mode is easily 3 times the length of God of War 3, plus the gametime is extended even further by replaying the levels to complete the challenge modes.

In summary, this is one of the top 3 games I have played this year (along with Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2).

If youre a fan of 3rd person action games dont let this one pass you by.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadows is a good game that has been added to the great Castlevania series, some cool moves, great selection of bad guys and bosses, the only problem with this game is it has some gameplay problems.

1. Traversing. Climbing and jumping can get abit annoying were you think you got the edge of the cliff or ledge of a building but ya dont after awhile you get used to it but it can hold you back on the earlier levels.
2. Camera. The angle of the camera can sometimes get quite annoying aswell when your trying jump a cap for example the camera will block your view make you choose to do a leap of faith pretty much.
3. Movement. When I was playing (i dont know if anyone else did or not) I found that trying to move the main character can become sometimes unresponsive or not move in the right direction.

But apart from that its quite a enjoyable game and worth having in your collection.

P.S. The gameplay bugs I listed are problems I had with the game and does not include a majority oppinion, you may not have any of these problems. So please dont avoid this game it is really good

Pritty much every castlevania I played from when I was knee high to a grasshopper was great from the first console right up to the last, I will always look out for a new castlevania's when they come out. Lords of Shadow's has amazing graphics and soundtracks plus many great stages, cool upgrades for both combat cross and special abillities. Quite the range of monsters to ride on but should of had more. Great touch to the game with adding patrick stewart's voice to lord of shadow's, he made it so much more fun to listen to the stories being told.

To do all the little things in this game have added alot of content and time to the game, making it take way longer to beat, has many puzzles in the game to figure out. Thanks very much Mighty Ape for sending me this delightful game and I hope that another one will be made some where down the track.