Ok! The Game Lord makes his triumphant return! I know it’s
been a while, but I’m happy to bring to you another
installment of "Game On with Game Lord". Today’s gem of
the Video Gaming world is
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Publisher: Konami
System: Nintendo DS
Category: Action
Players: 2
Not necessarily as popular as the Metal Gears, Final
Fantasy’s and, Halo’s out there, Castlevania has still forever
cemented its place in the annals of video game history.
Starting way back in 1987 Castlevania has brought the
Action Platformer genre to where it is today, and brought the
Belmonts- forever bound by destiny to slay Dracula, armed
with whips, and holy water- into the homes of millions of
family’s.
In the latest iteration of the infamous series, you play as
Jonathan Morris, a descendant of the Belmonts armed with
the famed “Vampire Killer” whip, and Charlotte Aulin, a
powerful Sorceress who grew up with Jonathon. Together,
the two teenage vampire hunters enter Dracula’s castle
determined to put an end to his tyranny once again. Shortly
after entering the castle you learn that, although Jonathon
has the Vampire Killer at his command, his father died before
he could teach him to use it. On top of that, our young
heroes are not even truly fighting Dracula but a Vampire by
the name of Brauner, who wishes to succeed where Dracula
failed so many times, using the Dark Lord’s own power and
castle no less.
As I said before, Jonathon wields the fabled Vampire Killer,
but for those of you who don’t catch on to what this means,
let me flat out say it. The Whip is back. Those who played
the previous Castlevania DS game, Dawn of Sorrow, they
know it’s a fantastic game. However, without the trusty
Castlevania whip it lost certain panache. Thankfully that little
bit lost in Dawn of Sorrow is gone in Portrait, thought other
weapons are available, Jonathon’s key weapon is, as it
should be, the whip. Charlotte’s weapons are less diverse,
though still fun to use. Her weapons are books, books that
just happen to send out magical swords, axes, or Spanish
men riding horses when she attacks. They say behind every
good man is a good woman, well behind that good woman is
a crap load of magical power. Even without the books,
Charlotte still manages to kick the proverbial undead booty
with her magical skills.
Another commonly used phrase, is good things comes in
pairs. In the case of Portrait of Ruin, that proves in the
sense of two demon hunters working together. Besides the
obvious fighting directly along side each other (where a
second player can control the extra character) players can
summon their partner to depress a switch while you rush
through a door, use them to give you a leg up, or perform a
short, powerful, hyper attack. Needless to say, the new team
element works very nice.
To say that this game masterfully lives up to the Castlevania
name is a waste of time. Once again Konami delivers with
one of its all time flagship series’ and this little Gamelord
couldn’t be happier. To Konami, Nintendo, and all the people
who do worked ok Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, be proud
and take home yourselves a proud, and well-earned 8.5 out
of 10.
been a while, but I’m happy to bring to you another
installment of "Game On with Game Lord". Today’s gem of
the Video Gaming world is
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Publisher: Konami
System: Nintendo DS
Category: Action
Players: 2
Not necessarily as popular as the Metal Gears, Final
Fantasy’s and, Halo’s out there, Castlevania has still forever
cemented its place in the annals of video game history.
Starting way back in 1987 Castlevania has brought the
Action Platformer genre to where it is today, and brought the
Belmonts- forever bound by destiny to slay Dracula, armed
with whips, and holy water- into the homes of millions of
family’s.
In the latest iteration of the infamous series, you play as
Jonathan Morris, a descendant of the Belmonts armed with
the famed “Vampire Killer” whip, and Charlotte Aulin, a
powerful Sorceress who grew up with Jonathon. Together,
the two teenage vampire hunters enter Dracula’s castle
determined to put an end to his tyranny once again. Shortly
after entering the castle you learn that, although Jonathon
has the Vampire Killer at his command, his father died before
he could teach him to use it. On top of that, our young
heroes are not even truly fighting Dracula but a Vampire by
the name of Brauner, who wishes to succeed where Dracula
failed so many times, using the Dark Lord’s own power and
castle no less.
As I said before, Jonathon wields the fabled Vampire Killer,
but for those of you who don’t catch on to what this means,
let me flat out say it. The Whip is back. Those who played
the previous Castlevania DS game, Dawn of Sorrow, they
know it’s a fantastic game. However, without the trusty
Castlevania whip it lost certain panache. Thankfully that little
bit lost in Dawn of Sorrow is gone in Portrait, thought other
weapons are available, Jonathon’s key weapon is, as it
should be, the whip. Charlotte’s weapons are less diverse,
though still fun to use. Her weapons are books, books that
just happen to send out magical swords, axes, or Spanish
men riding horses when she attacks. They say behind every
good man is a good woman, well behind that good woman is
a crap load of magical power. Even without the books,
Charlotte still manages to kick the proverbial undead booty
with her magical skills.
Another commonly used phrase, is good things comes in
pairs. In the case of Portrait of Ruin, that proves in the
sense of two demon hunters working together. Besides the
obvious fighting directly along side each other (where a
second player can control the extra character) players can
summon their partner to depress a switch while you rush
through a door, use them to give you a leg up, or perform a
short, powerful, hyper attack. Needless to say, the new team
element works very nice.
To say that this game masterfully lives up to the Castlevania
name is a waste of time. Once again Konami delivers with
one of its all time flagship series’ and this little Gamelord
couldn’t be happier. To Konami, Nintendo, and all the people
who do worked ok Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, be proud
and take home yourselves a proud, and well-earned 8.5 out
of 10.
