CastleVania: Lords of Shadow 2 and Mirror of Fate

Welcome to another edition of The Doctor's Prognosis!

I have to say, I feel a bit disappointed that I missed something from E3. I suppose it's always possible since E3 is so big and so many announcements occur. And this particular tidbit seemed to be glossed over on most sites, since they were too busy talking about stuff like Watch Dogs, Wii U, and The Last of Us.

As a big fan of previous CastleVania games, I was excited to see more on the Lords of Shadow series from Konami and developer Mercury Steam. The first game in the Lords of Shadow series was a flawed game, but showed potential for the future. And the new games in the series have me excited for that potential.

Let us begin with the trailer for Lords of Shadow 2, which Mercury Steam refers to as the end of the series. WARNING: the following videos assume you played and finished the first game. They contain a major spoiler on the story.

Was that Alucard at the end of the trailer? And how badass was Dracula fighting that army? My hope is that we get to play as Alucard.

According to Mercury Steam, the game will have more exploration elements that are so popular from the MetroidVania style games, but do not have any RPG elements. So don't expect another Symphony of the Night. But that doesn't mean that it can't be any good. CastleVania games before SotN were mostly action style games like the first LoS game. So they appear to be inspired by those games, which were great in their own right.

The other new LoS game is a portable game called Mirror of Fate, which will be available on the 3DS. This game looks more like an old school CastleVania game, mixed with gameplay elements from the LoS series. Here is some gameplay of GameSpot's E3 stage demo.

Definitely looks more like a throwback, while including some of the newer elements from LoS. Being able to play as multiple Belmonts with different abilities should be fun, and is reminiscent of older games in the series. As mentioned, there will be more exploration elements similar to older games like SotN. This is good news for fans of the more traditional games in the series. But there will still be no RPG elements.

For more info on the upcoming games, here is an interview with Konami's Dave Cox.

Overall, I'm excited to see more from this series. Lords of Shadow 2 is supposed to be the end of the story. But if these games end up good, I'd definitely like to see more. Of course, if they went back to the MetroidVania style portable games, I wouldn't complain.

But are you looking forward to these games? Or did Lords of Shadow leave a bad taste in your mouth? Let me know what you think.

See you next time!

E3 2012 Musings

Welcome to another edition of The Doctor's Prognosis! E3 is done and it's time to contemplate what we've seen once again.

Microsoft

Why is the Xbox my most used console, yet Miscrosoft continues to disappoint every year with their conferences? The gist of it was this, Microsoft wants the Xbox to be your primary media hub. You can play games, watch movies and ESPN, and now link up with your iOS, Android, and/or Windows Mobile devices with what they call Xbox SmartGlass.

I like the idea of being able to watch almost anything on my Xbox. I wouldn't need cable or satellite any longer so it would save me money. But unfortunately, I want to see games from E3. And they focused almost entirely on how the Xbox is going to rule the world. Not to mention the overly long Usher sing and dance routine.

So what did I like? Halo 4 looks ok. Nice graphics but I'm not excited for it. I like Gears of War but it feels a little early for a new one to be announced. Though I do like that it's supposed to be VERY difficult. Resident Evil 6 looks like fun too. But what I like best from the MS conference was the South Park RPG!

They made fun of Microsoft and made me excited for their game all at the same time. I love me some South Park, and The Stick of Truth could be a hilarious good time.

Sony

I was actually impressed with Sony's press conference. That's saying a lot since I tend to use my PS3 primarily as a BD player. Sony focused on games for the most part, faulting mainly with that Wonderbook demo thing. I guess that's good for the kids.

First, I was very impressed with Beyond: Two Souls. It looks amazing. The story has me intrigued and I want to see what happens to the main character, played by Ellen Page. In fact the in-game character looks exactly like Ellen Page!

The other game that impressed me was The Last of Us.

The gameplay looks so visceral. I see myself playing this when it comes out. And I'm actually looking forward to using my PS3 as more than just a BD player. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale looks like a fun game as well. It's basically a Smash Bros rip-off, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The new God of War could be fun too.

Bravo Sony on a good conference overall.

Nintendo

With the exception of the WiiFit stuff, I think Nintendo did a good job overall with showing off games. Nothing too exciting, though I like Pikmin 3 a lot.

I like how Miyamoto teases giving away the red Pikmin before being all, "Haha no. It's mine!" I can see myself buying that along with maybe Ubisoft's ZombiU.

On that note, Ubisoft looks to be very gung-ho on the WiiU tablet controller, which can only be a good thing. It has the potential for innovation. There were also a lot of 3rd party games shown, but many of them are older games. Arkham City: Armored Edition adds some tablet functionality, but it's unlikely to make you want to buy the game again.

Thankfully, Nintendo also showed off New Super Mario Bros. U and a new Paper Mario. Good stuff but nothing terribly exciting. I want to see a true next-gen Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.

They closed off their show with NintendoLand, which is a game based in a theme park filled with minigames. These minigames are supposed to show off what the tablet can do. This should really be a pack-in game with the WiiU. I just can't see anybody clamoring to buy this thing. Even worse, the graphics look like a vanilla Wii game. They're still using the same Miis. Beef the graphics up a bit! Show off what your console can do!

Overall a good show but could have been better. I'm still excited to see what else they have up the pipeline.

Bonus!

What else got my attention?

Watch Dogs looks like it has an interesting premise.

Dishonored also caught my attention. I'm getting a Bioshock meets Assassin's Creed vibe from it.

And anything from PlatinumGames is going to be on my radar. Project P-100 for the WiiU looks like one to watch.

Now if I had to pick a winner of E3, I'd have to say Sony pulled it off this year with their conference. I can't believe I just typed that. I think Nintendo and MS have good things going for them, but Sony actually got me excited to play some games. And in the end, that's what is most important coming from the biggest game show of the year.

So what did YOU think? Which games got you most excited? What did you feel was lackluster? Let me know your thoughts on E3!

See you next time!

Best Games of 2011

Hello and welcome to a long-awaited edition of The Doctor's Prognosis!

Like last year, I will be giving micro reviews and scores for every game mentioned, leading up to the coveted Game of the Year spot. These, of course, are my own opinions and only games I have actually played are eligible. Let's begin with best downloadable game!


Best Downloadable Game of 2011
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes

Never having played a Might and Magic game, I had no interest in the universe whatsoever. But the idea of an RPG with battles that are puzzle-based intrigued me. So I gave the demo a shot and I was hooked! I purchased the game and got 100% completion in about 40 hours. Multiplayer options give the game longevity. But the main game is really good, and worth the price of admission alone. Clash of Heroes also has some amazing music. Skip to 3:30 for my favorite part of the following track.

Do not just listen to me. Try out the trial version of the game yourself if you like RPGs and puzzle games. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes gets an 8.5 out of 10, and honor of being the best downloadable game of 2011!


Best Portable Game of 2011
Super Mario 3D Land

They took the best of the 2D Mario gameplay and mixed it with the feel of the 3D games, and what we got was Super Mario 3D Land. The 3D effects were well used too. While not as good as the Galaxy series, SM3DL uses tried and true gameplay, and puts in enough new to make it one of the best games available on the 3DS. Super Mario 3D Land gets an 8.5 out of 10.


Console Second Runner-Up
Gears of War 3

The story mode of Gears of War 3 had its moments, but felt secondary to the multiplayer, which is fine. The multiplayer is what keeps everyone coming back for more. And thankfully, there are many improvements to the multiplayer. Unfortunately, there are always going to be problems and exploits that can ruin the fun a little. However, Gears of War seems to always draw me back in more than any other shooter. I am still playing this game with friends. Gears of War 3 gets an 8.5 out of 10.


Console First Runner-Up
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

I almost made this number 1. Almost. And the main reason I did not was there were some control issues I experienced. But the controls are very innovative and are amazing when they work well. I do not remember being so immersed in combat before. The battles are also some of the more difficult in the series because figuring out how to fight a new enemy can be a little puzzle in itself.

Furthermore, there are portions in the game where it felt like they were artificially lengthening the game. This isn't nearly as bad as in Phantom Hourglass where you had to return and redo the Temple of the Ocean King. In fact, I would recommend everyone stay away from Phantom Hourglass due to its tediousness. But I recommend everyone with a Wii to play Skyward Sword. Its positives are just too good. Some of the best level design I have ever seen, which is saying a lot when it comes to the Zelda series.

I also really enjoyed the story, and the music is just beautiful.

Amazing boss battles, music, art direction, and level design means this is one game not to miss. Go play it now! Skyward Sword earns a 9 out of 10 and just narrowly misses becoming game of the year.


Best Game of 2011
Batman: Arkham City

Many of you know how much I liked Arkham Asylum. Well Rocksteady took everything great about it and ramped it up for Arkham City. However, this time they made it more open-world as opposed to the closed-corridor gameplay of AA. There are both pros and cons to this approach. We don't get as much amazing level design of the closed-corridor sections. It's there in AC, just not as prevalent of course.

Amazingly, traversing the large game world is fairly quick with Batman's grappling gun, which can be upgraded to make it even faster. But there is a flaw in the game's map. There is a huge section in the middle of the map that you cannot pass. So if you want to go from East to West, you have to go around instead of a straight line. This is annoying but not a big deal. It was probably due to hardware limitations. It is also worth pointing out that there were some loading issues during gameplay (I played the 360 version), though they were few and far between.

Catwoman adds some varied gameplay to the mix.

Back to the good in the game. The fights have improved to make you choose the right moves against the right enemies to keep your combo going. The Riddler side mission is even larger than last time, and is almost a game in itself. It will take you a long time to get everything there is to find. The open-world map also allows for multiple side missions to challenge you and lengthen gameplay. The boss fights have also been improved greatly. No longer are you fighting the same goons and titans over and over.

However, the best thing about the game is the amazing story. AC has a shocking ending that I did not see coming. Even if the game has been out for a while, I won't dare spoil it for anyone. This is a must-play game. Batman: Arkham City gets a 9 out of 10 and earns The Doctor's Prognosis' coveted Game of the Year Award!


Hope you enjoyed my best of 2011! See you again soon!