Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 News - First Review Is In

It's still a while yet before most of us will be able to get our hands on Konami's closer to Gabriel's time as the Prince of Darkness in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (less than two weeks and counting), but lucky reporters and industry folks who have had hands on time with the game are sharing their experiences and offering fair warning to the rest of us.

Game Informer subscribers were lucky enough to open their mailboxes recently to peer at the mag's latest issue, which contains a brief review that stakes Lords of Shadow 2 right through the heart, declaring it about as "fresh as a whiff of garlic breath." Much as I do love me some garlic, the bulbous plant spells doom for vampiric ventures, and that's exactly what Game Informer is saying this game is for the Castlevania franchise.

One part of the game that held an excellent amount of potential -- Dracula foraying into the modern age -- is ultimately the game's undoing, and what GI's Jeff Cork found to be the biggest nosferatu nuisance: 

"Satan's head honchos have embedded themselves in modern business, heading up industries including pharmaceutical and weapons manufacturing (har har). That gives Gabriel a reason to infiltrate a few generic factory levels, where he leaves his combat abilities at the door in exchange for tedious stealth - opening doors by turning into piles of rats and possessing generic guards. After surviving these sections, as well as a later stealth area that is truly a worst-in-class experience, I understand why Gabriel craves death's sweet embrace."

I won't divulge ALL the article's points, but the rest is no prettier. According to the write-up, the game at its best is little more than "a decent-enough God of War clone," and that's when "enemies aren't stun-locking you out of combos from across the street while you simultaneously battle the camera."

I adored the first Lords of Shadow, and I still plan on picking up the next when it drops later this month (Feb. 25 for PS3, PC, and Xbox 360), but after thumbing through this review, I'm now more than a little dubious that my money might be better spent elsewhere.