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| Akumajo Dracula Lords of Shadow 2 (PS3) |
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| Akumajo Dracula Lords of Shadow 2 (XBOX 360) |
Four years ago, Konami and developer Mercury Steam wanted to give the secret origin of Dracula a powerful revision in Castlevania Lords of Shadow (日本名: キャッスルヴァニア ロード オブ シャドウ). After Gabriel Belmont, the one-time member of the "Brotherhood of Light", battled Satan in the underworld and at the end of the previous story, Dracula's secret origin and his connection with the Belmont clan was revealed. Welcome to the sequel: Akumajo Dracula Lords of Shadow 2 (日本名: 悪魔城ドラキュラ ロード オブ シャド2)
The sequel to the 2010 reboot, available on the PS3 and XBOX 360 consoles, delivers new twists, action, adventure, and challenges, as players take on the role of Dracula, the lord of the vampires, only this time he must take on the ultimate evil while taking on a new world; a modern world. Most of the familiar faces in the Dracula story returned and looks like fans wanted to expect this game to be far beyond compare against its predecessor...and it did, just.
First and foremost, you might think that it's simple to play than the last one but once you progress further, it gets harder and harder but when you get through the hang of it, it will be more rewarding and take advantage with all of the skills to survive through the last battle.
Similar to the light and dark magic from the first installment, Lords of Shadow 2 gives players another tactic to master; mastering void and chaos magic. Depending on the enemy you're facing, mastering the void magic and the chaos magic will give you an edge on the battle. You can also absorb the enemy's void or chaos magic as well and then use it wisely in the heated battle. This is just like the electrolytes from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. To be more powerful,, give everything you got to survive to the very end.
As you defeat numerous enemies, you'll gain experience and you'll need experience to spend on key items or even artwork from the game.
No Dracula game will ever be complete without ever-challenging boss battles that test the mettle of your battle-proven tactics. In LOS2, boss battles require your precise combat skills, either direct or area attacks, as well as guarding. If you want to unleash more powerful attacks, try for the chaos magic but if it's health restoration you're after if you're not in the time for healing items, void magic will help you. Make use of these and you can defeat even the most menacing of foes as you fight your way back to the castle.
Don't think you're done with this because even when you finished this game, there's still work that needs to be done because there are numerous achievements to complete and some difficulty settings to master. Once you've done this in the most difficult setting, you are worthy of it but if you want more challenges, you can also purchase the "Story of Alucard" DLC. In this DLC, you can take on the tale of Alucard, a vampire who wanted to end his bloodline.
The concluding tale of the Lords of Shadow story is definitely one of the must have for your PS3 or XBOX 360 and if you're a hardcore gamer, look no further.
I'm very happy that with this game, looks like there's hope for the franchise but there is one bit of problem because even with LOS2, looks like the future of this Castlevania franchise is in doubt right now. Some of the people involved in the development of the Castlevania franchise moved down south for numerous reasons and today, of course, it's hard to tell the future of the franchise because pretty soon, there won't be any other Dracula game for the next generation. And that made me sad...
