Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

Well then, I've decided to try a little something new with this one: Ive made a video to go along with it, so you can get a general idea of the post straight by LISTENING. Aren't I nice?

So Castlevania finally returns to something that's not portable. Isn't that great?

Nostalgia aside, the game plays as smooth as one would expect. Classic controls keep things simple, with some slight alterations to modern hardware that allows for a little something extra : By assigning the Right Bumper to a "character move", one can now have one less special combination to worry about (in Alucard's case, you turn to mist for a short span, Jonathon blocks, Shanoa uses her magnetic field to grasp "anchors" in the background).

The stages are limited, and I cant argue with that. At only 6 levels, some people will grow tired of it fast. The fact that each of the 6 characters feel unique does help a lot to keep things interesting on multiple play throughs, and the collection element (leveling up skill moves/spells, getting more armor/weapons/items) will no doubt draw a good deal of people - its what keeps a lot of people coming back to MMO's, after all. That being said, the stages are finely detailed in their immense 2d states. Drawn from 'the source' (the nintendo DS castlevania games), they represent various stages that newer fans (or older ones who have played them) will recognize, and the addition of a seamless multiplayer (as in, it feels the same playing with one or more people) lets you experience it in a new much appreciated light.

The biggest changes, of course, are foregoing the plot for a more multiplayer friendly set-up: Loot the treasure to get stronger, then kill the boss. Some treasure can be gotten only with multiple people playing, or by using specific characters (sometimes even cheating the game to get there when it doesn't think you can). The downside of this, of course, means that you are getting that short 60 minute or less run of the road each time, as opposed to having an elaborate progression of events incorporated in the average yarn of the tale.

Graphics are an eye of the beholder thing really, but the sprites are richly detailed and the entire game has that look of polish. The character models are offered in various colors ( to help alleviate the problem of multiple players choosing the same character), and each weapon looks its own. The backgrounds themselves even have weather animations (such as the lightning flashes in Stage 6), which add to the atmosphere.

The music is awesome, in that heavy castlevania styling that I personally love.

The multiplayer works great, with the exception of setting it up with friends is a chore. In order to all play together, one must set together a "team", which must be done before you get to the character/map selection screen. Of course, if you want to back out of the map/selection screen, then you have to leave the team altogether, which means if your playing with one friend, then another wants to join in, you have to go recreate from step one as opposed to the more streamlined "join session in progress" that xbox normally offers.

All in all, the game is fun, and well worth the 15 dollar price tag, hopefully with some DLC on the way (that wont cost as much as some DLC out there...). I've honestly spent so much time on the thing I'm personally surprised over it, since with only 6 stages and 5 characters, I thought it would grow old fast. What a pleasant surprise.