Good news for any of you who plan on playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on PlayStation 3, but haven't ordered it yet. Polygon is reporting that those who pre-order the game from the PlayStation Network will get a free copy of the HD port of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, the game that works as a tie-in and tells the events between the first and second Lords of Shadow games. Definitely good for those looking to brush up on their Castlevania lore that might've missed playing the originally handheld exclusive. Additionally, customers will also get a dynamic theme for their troubles.
Released in March for Nintendo's 3DS, it was later ported to the PSN as a downloadable title with HD visual upgrades in October. Fate is set 25 years after the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. As the title alludes, Fate reveals just that for Gabriel Belmont's descendants, Simon and Trevor Belmont, as they battle their own destinies only to discover their true, shocking fate. Trevor Belmont, a knight of the Brotherhood of Light, sets out to avenge the death of his mother by his father, who has returned from years of exile to take up residence in a mysterious castle. What was once Gabriel Belmont now stands as Dracula, history's most infamous vampire. Dracula has declared war upon the Brotherhood and thus the scene is set for a cataclysmic showdown between father and son.
Players take on the role of the multiple Belmont characters across different eras, and each is equipped with unique abilities and skills: Trevor can double-jump, use Light and Shadow magic, and can use unique sub-weapons like the Glaive and Electric Bomb. Simon has different sub-weapons and can summon guardians to fight for him or protect him from harm, and Alucard will be able to turn himself into mist like he could in Symphony of the Night.
Featuring a huge array of combos and a deep strategic combat system, players can use their characters' weapons and magical abilities to take down their evil foes. Fans will traverse through immensely detailed levels and encounter enormous boss fights, all within a unique Nintendo 3DS setting that features high resolution 3D polygon graphics, and side scrolling areas that segue seamlessly into full 3D battles.
It was the first Castlevania game to utilize stereographic 3D. The perspective is in 3D, but movement is confined to 2D in most areas.
"Following the enormous success of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, we wanted to provide fans with the next installment in the Lords of Shadow universe, showcasing all the capabilities that the new Nintendo 3DS platform has to offer," said Dave Cox, Producer on the title and Head of Product Planning and Development for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "Two years later, we are proud to announce the highly anticipated Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, a stunning 3D action adventure title that will give players an unrivaled, intense handheld gaming experience, while shedding light on the lineage and true destiny of the Belmont family."
You can check out a review round-up of the game here.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is scheduled to release next week, February 25, and will mark the first time in the franchise's history that players will actually take on the role of Dracula, an icon of horror since Bram Stoker first penned the eponymous novel at the end of the 19th century. The game will also be one of the first to really show how the vamper interacts with the modern day world, instead of an obscure and distant Belmont ancestor flailing back and forth in a 2D castle.
Not much is known about the story so far, but since trailers seems to acknowledge the first game's ending, it's assumed that Zobek has indeed warned "Gabriel" that the acolytes of Satan are preparing for his return and that the two of them must the demon lord before he can take revenge on both of them. Zobek has promised Dracula that he can free him of his immortality if he helps him, likely at the hand of one of the vampire's own ancestors. The Mirror of Fate handheld game helped fill in a few gaps here and there. The game was also ported to consoles, so you might want to give it a whirl to catch up on the storyline.
According to Cox, the game will end the short but sweet Shadow saga. With it, Konami and company are "looking to provide series fans yet another nail biter, complete with Dracula's resurrection and the Belmont clan's desire for his final destruction." Some early reviews of the game have begun creeping out, but feel free to try the demo that dropped today and try it for yourself. The complete game will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.
