Castlevania: Curse of Darkness – PS2 – Review

Castlevania:
Curse of Darkness is a sneaky game. It starts out very typical for the action
genre: linear environments, dated graphics, and a bunch of weak enemies that
won’t go away.

That’s not
very Castlevania of it.

Combat is
the bread and butter and the meat and potatoes of the game. Forget
dessert, there isn’t any to be had. There isn’t any corn either, unless you’re
referring to the corny voice acting. The game is based entirely on the
assumption that slaughtering thousands of ghoulish creatures is more fun than
anything else.

Lots of
developers think that. Curse of Darkness is set apart from those
similar-minded games by, in an unusual and hard to explain way, bringing the
Symphony of the Night gameplay to life as a living, breathing
three-dimensional title.

Now that’s
very Castlevania of it.

Take control
of Hector, a devil forgemaster determined to avenge the death of his lover.
The one responsible, Isaac, is a fellow devil forgemaster. He’s your driving
force, and he’s the one you’ll have the hardest time reaching. To defeat him
you’ll need to prepare yourself for a treacherous battle, and what better way
to do that than to unleash your anger on a few thousand of his loyal subjects?

Darkness
So Bright

It was hard
for me to believe that hacking and slashing could be long-lasting fun, and I’m
the one with the proof. Curse of Darkness doesn’t deviate. It doesn’t take you
down any unexpected paths. The game sticks to what it starts with – if you’ve
seen an enemy once you can be certain you’ll see it 100 more times.

The single
unexpected moment comes from how the game slowly turns you into a believer. I
must give extra credit to the ghosts and goblins you battle. Though not exact
to those you’ve fought before, they have evolved from 2D cartoons to 3D beats
that will crush you. Eventually. It takes a bit for the difficulty to catch up
with the player. Whereas Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow were made for the
hardcore Castlevania players, Curse of Darkness seems to be aimed at creating
new fans.

Attacks are
solid and the camera is reliable (mostly), ensuring that nothing holds you
back during battle. Battles are constant – if you’re not fighting, you must be
running to an unexplored location. And if you’re doing that chances are you’ll
pass through a room you’ve already examined and have to engage in additional
battles as your once-dead adversaries respawn.

The constant
encounters with large numbers of enemies are made enjoyable by a
non-restrictive control system. This isn’t like Prince of Persia where you can
hit multiple enemies in one combo string, but there’s nothing to stop you from
going from one enemy to the next. Don’t think, just do it as you would have in
a 16-bit side-scroller, long before annoying targeting systems were invented.
Curse of Darkness has a targeting system, but is it a must? Must you use it to
defeat the hardest and most fearsome enemies? Let me put it this way: it
wouldn’t matter if your controller’s shoulder buttons were broken – you’d be
able to finish the game anyway.

Show Me
Your ID

Hector’s
devil forgery skills allowed him to create partners that will heal his wounds
or assist him in battle. These partners are referred to as Innocent Devils
(ID). Birds, fairies, ape-like creatures, and several other forms are there to
be discovered. They might look harmless, but their abilities prove otherwise.
Going up against enemies that increase in size every stage, there will come a
time when their armor far surpasses yours. Having a devil at your side is a
big help even if it’s not innocent. ("I didn’t kick the change machine.
Honest, officer!")

Innocent
Devils are non-playable characters, but you may influence their actions by
selecting one of a few simple commands. Auto Mode lets the devil move freely
in the game, attacking enemies whenever it believes it’s necessary. It’ll use
special abilities on its own. These abilities must be replenished with heart
pieces that fallen enemies leave behind. Without heart pieces your partner is
useless.

Command Mode
tells your ID to stay closer to Hector and attack the nearest enemy. It will
not use special abilities on its own while in this mode. Guard Mode, on the
other hand, shut down all other functions in favor of protecting its own skin.
Outside of Guard Mode you may press the triangle button at any time to command
your ID to attack or heal. Some of the IDs create a Guard Ring while defending
– jump inside and Hector will be protected as well.

Four
Walls and a Funeral

Curse of
Darkness’s most prominent flaw is its level design. Four walls, a ceiling
(possibly), and as much fog as a Nintendo 64 game. Graphically you’ll argue
otherwise. "There’s fog, but look at those textures!" They’re nice, but a wall
is a wall whether it’s rendered or just a plain, straight background. From a
visual standpoint the cave/dungeon interiors should have looked less square.
That would’ve helped, but it wouldn’t have fooled gamers into believing that
the worlds are more than lengthy corridors.

I wish I
could say that didn’t matter, but as I mentioned earlier, when you’re not
fighting you’re running. Hector doesn’t move very fast, and the levels are
pretty long. The huge, square and rectangular spaces don’t seem too boring
when a boss leaves little room for anything else. Unfortunately bosses only
account for about 5% of the battles. During the other 95% the game looks big
but empty, like a plain mansion with no furniture, no fixtures, no signs of
life.

Review Scoring Details for Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Gameplay: 7.9
With fluctuating
repetition, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is a third-person hack-n-slash that
plays close to how you’d hope a 3D Castlevania would play. The items, weapon
forging, Innocent Devils, etc. – that’s all secondary. It adds to the
experience for sure, but the combat is where the game shines brightest.

Graphics: 7.0
Big battles with
enormous battles make this one of the coolest games around. The game’s look,
however, isn’t too effective. The camera is reliable but the standard view
looks weird.

Sound: 8.0
Though a little
more repetitive than other Castlevania scores, Curse of Darkness’s soundtrack
was composed with the same musical excellence as its predecessors. The sound
effects lack series distinction but work well in this game. On the down side,
the voice acting isn’t anywhere near the quality of Konami’s other voice-heavy
game, Metal Gear Solid.

Difficulty: Medium
The first level
is so easy you’d think you were playing anything but a Castlevania
game. Skeletons die after two hits, witches cast weak spells, armored knights
are slow, and the first boss fight is awesome but requires little strategy to
win. It isn’t until the later levels that the game begins to display a real
challenge.

Concept: 7.0
Great gameplay that’s repetitive – bad levels that don’t improve as the
game progresses. I’ve seen more level depth from fan-made mods.

As much as I
want to see the Castlevania series flourish in 3D, it seems impossible to get
it just right. Meanwhile, the 2D sequels keep getting better and better.

Overall: 7.8
Flawed but
memorable and filled with hack-n-slash fun, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is
one of many Castlevania titles that have tested the waters of a 3D world. This
is one of the best, no question. Its bland, lifeless environments (corridors)
detract from the experience, causing a few moments of boredom. Get past that
and you’ll have a good time. You won’t be blown away, but you’re likely to be
surprised.