Every time someone mentions this game on a bombcast, it's like they shake their heads in disgust. Was there any reason indicated why was it bad in their eyes?

Because it made two dumb, unwarranted Portal jokes.

@Video_Game_King said:

Because it made two dumb, unwarranted Portal jokes.

Wait, really(I'm still playing through it)?

@Solh0und:

Yes.

@Video_Game_King said:

@Solh0und:

Yes.

Ah.

Because it was a bad game.

I don't think it was a bad game, quite the opposite. Production values were great, gameplay was fun and bang for buck was great (game is like 20 hrs long). I enjoyed it and did enjoy some of the DLC as well (got significantly harder).

I can't wait for the 2nd which also proves that it was commercially successful enough to warrant a sequel.

We have to keep in mind that the bomb crew are game critics and of course they will nit pick. Especially the last few years it seems difficult to get much enthusiasm out of Jeff (even if he likes the game he sounds negative about it when he describes it). I think the last game that Jeff really enjoyed (not without nit picking though) was the first Borderlands.

@Iron_Tool: IDK, Jeff REALLY enjoyed Skylanders for whatever reason. Look back at those videos, he was ENTHUSED.

@Pudge: True but again not because it was a great game, but he personally liked the concept (must have itched the lil' toy collector kid in him in some way)

It's not Symphony of the Night all over again. And God of War clones deserve all the derision they get.

It's a pretty derivative game on a basic level, and most video game journalists seem to immediately dislike those on principle. I think the major complaint was that it was trying to be too many things EXCEPT a Castlevania game.

I actually liked the game too, despite the fact that it didn't have a Castlevania feel to me.

I think the game had problems but I still enjoyed it. Great production values, some decent gameplay. I can't really remember too many of my complaints anymore. I think I gave it a 7.5 or 8.0 at the time. It was good for what it was, but I seem to recall thinking that it did too much, and would have benefited from a shorter, more focused campaign with fewer mechanics. Brilliant ending though. Guess the trailers for the second one ruin it if you haven't played it yet, but I thought it was a pretty brilliant twist.

It was ok I guess.

The hate for this game is unwarranted. It's a derivative God of War clone but it's got great voice acting and a great story. It's also pretty frickin' long for the kind of game it is. I really enjoyed it and personally can't wait to see what they do in the sequel.

I always thought they were laughing at Vinny's continued gamefly subscription

because they did not get to the amazing ending. seriously one of the best endings in recent memory.

I really liked it.

Had tons of fun with the game frankly. Unfortunately got a lot of flak cause it carried the Castlevania name.

No, it's a bad game. It looks like a good game, from a distance, but it's not. It's frustratingly broken and aggressively stupid.

The ending was cool, though. The secret one after the credits.

Its actually in my top 20 games ever.

I liked my limited time with it. It's currently in my backlog of games I'd like to get back to.

It's a good game - some of the most beautiful art direction I've seen on consoles, and the light/dark magic made combat fun all the way through. The game does have its problems - too many boss fights, some really unnecessary padding toward the end - but it's a solid hack-n-slasher overall, if not a true Castlevania game.

It's kinda derivative yeah but whatever. I had fun with it. S'all that matters. It's waiting to be finished once I'm done with more pressing games.

I remember it being fairly slow paced, which sounds like something that would turn off everyone at Giant Bomb except Vinny.

I thought it was great.

from what I have played of it, it didn't really offer anything new and the games it was borrowing from, for the most part, aren't very interesting to me. For me, it's one of those cases of putting that name on a box hurts it. It'd have still been what it is with or without the name but if it didn't have the name then I wouldn't have been disappointed.

Don't think many of them played it, actually.

The thing I like to remember about Vinny is that he's super reluctant to criticize. On one hand, that probably makes him a poor critic; on the other, when he does go off on a game, like Skyward Sword, you can take that shit to the bank.

It probably would've gotten less flak if it wasn't called Castlevania.
 
That said, who knows if it would've even been on anyone's radar at that point.

@SlightConfuse said:

because they did not get to the amazing ending. seriously one of the best endings in recent memory.

I think this is a joke. It has to be. Unless you mean one of the best dumbest endings in recent memory. It was laugh out loud funny I will admit.

I think people have a problem with the game because it doesn't "feel" like a Castlevania game. I did enjoy the game though but would have liked a game more akin to the other versions at least in feel. That being said, I will probably get the sequel as well as the 3DS game.

It's always been pretty divisive. It's just one of those games where reviewers completely disagreed with each other, maybe because it's not what they wanted out of the franchise, or they felt it was too derivative or something. Personally I liked it much more than I thought I would.

@ajamafalous said:

It probably would've gotten less flak if it wasn't called Castlevania.

@JCGamer said:

I think people have a problem with the game because it doesn't "feel" like a Castlevania game.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. I still don't get those complains but hey, that's the Internet I guess. Seriously, Igarashi spent over a decade making crappy 3D Castlevania games, and kinda cool 2D ones that never managed to top Symphony of the Night, and yet people throw a hissy fit when Konami tries something different ? If there was one franchise that needed fresh ideas, that was Castlevania.

@ajamafalous said:

It probably would've gotten less flak if it wasn't called Castlevania.

@JCGamer said:

I think people have a problem with the game because it doesn't "feel" like a Castlevania game.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. I still don't get those complains but hey, that's the Internet I guess. Seriously, Igarashi spent over a decade making crappy 3D Castlevania games, and kinda cool 2D ones that never managed to top Symphony of the Night, and yet people throw a hissy fit when Konami tries something different ? If there was one franchise that needed fresh ideas, that was Castlevania.

The problem is that the game is very backloaded. The beginning isn't very good on every possible level. The stages aren't very entertaining, you don't have a lot abilities and the story is fairly simple. Once you gain a lot of upgrades and attacks, get into "Draculas" castle and start facing some really interesting puzzles and boss battles the game really gets going.

I can see a lot of people just giving up when you fight the giant spiders in the beginning area because it's just so cliche and boring - and thats a shame.

@ajamafalous said:

@SlashDance said:

@ajamafalous said:

It probably would've gotten less flak if it wasn't called Castlevania.

@JCGamer said:

I think people have a problem with the game because it doesn't "feel" like a Castlevania game.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. I still don't get those complains but hey, that's the Internet I guess. Seriously, Igarashi spent over a decade making crappy 3D Castlevania games, and kinda cool 2D ones that never managed to top Symphony of the Night, and yet people throw a hissy fit when Konami tries something different ? If there was one franchise that needed fresh ideas, that was Castlevania.

I mean, I totally understand where people are coming from with feelings like that. If you call a game Castlevania and then it doesn't play like Castlevania, there's going to be a subset of people whose expectations you shit all over by doing that. To them it just looks like a disingenuous cash grab.

I guess but seeing how it was the first 3D Castlevania that was not complete shit, I thought the reaction was disproportionate. There was really no precedent to judge what a good 3D Castlevania should be.

@joshthebear said:

Because it was a bad game.

Simplest answer. Fuck that game.

They jumped on the hate train without really knowing the game. Like most people who say it's not a good game. It's pretty fantastic.

@kishinfoulux said:

@joshthebear said:

Because it was a bad game.

Simplest answer. Fuck that game.

You are both wrong and I bet neither of you played it for more than a few minutes.

@BigBoss1911 said:

Its actually in my top 20 games ever.

Mine too, maybe even top 15.

Amazing music, graphics, sound, length, story. I love how the game is set up and how you can replay every little area. Also, the difficulty on the highest level (I think it's called Paladin or Knight...) is really challenging and how the game is meant to be played - you're using all your abilities and switching magics like a boss. It's really a monumental game in my eyes and does not deserve the hate and bad stigma it recieves... I recommend this game to all!

Also, I found it had one of the best twists I've ever experienced in a game. It really makes the whole experience. Bioshock doesn't even come close (it's the only other twist i can think of right now haha)

Lords of Shadow 2 is my #1 most anticipated game as of right now. DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER without playing the first game.

@Shady said:

@SlightConfuse said:

because they did not get to the amazing ending. seriously one of the best endings in recent memory.

I think this is a joke. It has to be. Unless you mean one of the best dumbest endings in recent memory. It was laugh out loud funny I will admit.

Nah man the ending is one of the best I've ever seen. So memorable, definitely did not see it coming.

It's a solid game.

@Humanity said:

The problem is that the game is very backloaded. The beginning isn't very good on every possible level.

Yep. Doesn't make it any better that the game is about 7-8 hours too long.

@CptBedlam said:

They jumped on the hate train without really knowing the game. Like most people who say it's not a good game. It's pretty fantastic.

@kishinfoulux said:

@joshthebear said:

Because it was a bad game.

Simplest answer. Fuck that game.

You are both wrong and I bet neither of you played it for more than a few minutes.

I played it for a few hours. Fuck that game. I really enjoy whipping the same enemy with x,x,x or y,y,y for fifteen minutes while they have the same boring predictable pattern while trying to grind up to the experience to afford any upgrade beyond the first tier of incredibly basic moves and abilities. Or walking up to minions and doing the throw move over and over again because everything has so much goddamn health that you might as well do the instakill because its the only way to get through combat efficiently.

Or a really repetitive Shadow of the Colossus knockoff boss. Or the same Shadow of the Colossus boss three times in a row.

@SirOptimusPrime: I could swear it felt a lot longer but I played it a while ago. I have to admit that in the beginning I wasn't really enjoying it very much but thankfully I have a mantra that I need to finish every game I purchase in order to at least get that much worth out of it and it paid off. Once you get both light and dark powers expanded, have the speed boots, double jump and "power fist" the combat is a lot more fun and the levels start being so much more interesting. When you first walk towards Carmillas castle the scenery is spectacular.

Because people have opinions? I dunno, I thought it was great. Maybe it came out too close to God of War III and Bayonetta, and they could only take so many melee combat games in one year. Or maybe none of them played it enough. Who knows!

@Humanity: Eh, I'd rather the game have been 8 hours long and be concise rather than 15-20 middling hours where I have to keep playing to get to the "good part."

@Alkaiser said:

@CptBedlam said:

They jumped on the hate train without really knowing the game. Like most people who say it's not a good game. It's pretty fantastic.

@kishinfoulux said:

@joshthebear said:

Because it was a bad game.

Simplest answer. Fuck that game.

You are both wrong and I bet neither of you played it for more than a few minutes.

I played it for a few hours. Fuck that game. I really enjoy whipping the same enemy with x,x,x or y,y,y for fifteen minutes while they have the same boring predictable pattern while trying to grind up to the experience to afford any upgrade beyond the first tier of incredibly basic moves and abilities. Or walking up to minions and doing the throw move over and over again because everything has so much goddamn health that you might as well do the instakill because its the only way to get through combat efficiently.

Or a really repetitive Shadow of the Colossus knockoff boss. Or the same Shadow of the Colossus boss three times in a row.

Well, the first 3-4 hours don't really shine. The game really takes off at about chapter 4. The fighting system also becomes much better later on as you unlock more powers. But at lower difficulty settings it's mostly still up to you if you just want to keep using the most basic combos and get bored x,x,x-ing enemies for way longer than necessary. I think the combat is better than GoW3's even.

And yeah, the colossi aren't the greatest bossfights. But there are exactly two of them, one in chapter 1 and one in chapter 2. And you fight both of them once.

It would've been an ok game but I found the framerate couldn't keep up for the most part. That's my take on it.

This stream. This stream is why.

I think is one of the best castlevaina games.

A really underrated game in my opinion. As someone who always plays games on the hardest difficulty available, I like how a couple hits from most enemies could end you quickly. It led to a more challenging experience, and while similar to God of War in game play, it made me take a more strategic approach to how I dealt with enemies.

I thought the graphics, with the exception of Gabriel's hair, were great, and along with the music, created an awesome atmosphere. The overall game could have been more concise in length, but I'm not going to complain, especially when you consider how short most games are nowadays.

Despite not feeling related to Castlevania, I like how the story was set up. It makes the ending that much more impactful when you realize what type of story you just played through.

I love Symphony of the Night, but how many times can they remake that game? I'm glad Konami allowed Mercury Systems to take the series in a different direction and make a 3D Castlevania that doesn't suck. I believe the DLC was lackluster overall, but I'm still excited for the sequel and have high hopes.

It's probably in my top 15 list. Of all time. The game in no way deserves the bad aura it receives from basically everywhere on the internet. It has:

• A crazy awesome story
• Fluid, fun, and responsive combat (start the game on the hardest settings you can - it makes all the difference)
• Tons and tons of upgrades
• A huge and varied world
• Stellar voice acting from very respected actors
• Amazing cinematography and setpieces
• Great music
• One of the best, most effective, and most surprising endings I've ever seen in a game.

Hey big shocker here vinny is right and everyone else is wrong.