The trend in Hollywood and now gaming is that it is safer to re-imagine than reinvent. Konami has taken a gold standard from its gaming library and given it more than a next gen face lift. Castlevania: LOS drops the 2D platforming action and gives a very beautiful albeit difficult 3D action/hack and slash that delivers a very good gaming experience. Grab your cross and man cape, you are in for one helluva fight.

Anyone who has played Castlevania remembers a few things: the whip, the side-scrolling, and the music. While the music is still top notch, the protagonist, Gabriel Belmont, has a magical cross that acts as both a weapon and a grappling hook. The game will be compared to God of War and whether that is fair or not is the reality. The combat is very good, but not as seamless as GOW and much more repetitive. You will immediately notice the top notch voice acting. Patrick Stewart as the narrator = epic win. The game has puzzles which act as a nice change of pace from button mashing and the boss battles though difficult, are gratifying. You will find yourself switching between your health healing light magic and your damage dealing dark magic when the situation arises.

The issues I had the first time I played start with the difficulty. I played on normal and this game is not easy. Memories of Ninja Gaiden danced through my head. The combat gets repetitive, which is expected from melee combat games. The level design, though beautiful, is also is a concern. Too many times vital health stations are located well off the beaten path and you can and will find yourself lost and back tracking. I had to find an online guide for a few parts and I was like two hours in. There is a balance between making levels not too linear and too confusing. Castlevania just misses here.

The game is long. Very long. If you play it as intended and don’t steamroll through, it will take you 20 hours. For a game of this type to be this long is staggering and awesome at the same time. With no multiplayer contingent, the single player is all there is and you will not be disappointed. The RPG type elements for upgrades and ability to replay levels with your upgrades give the game high replay value. Throw in specific game challenges and you have a whole lot of monster killing here for 60 bucks. Hardcore fans might miss the departure from what Castlevania was, but this is one beautiful distraction.

[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]