Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
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| Castlevania: Curse of Darkness | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Designer(s) | Koji Igarashi (producer) Takashi Takeda (director) Shinichiro Shimamura (lead designer) |
| Release date(s) |  November 5, 2005 November 24, 2005 February 17, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature CERO: 15+ PEGI: 12+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Media | DVD |
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, known in Japan as Demon Castle Dracula: Curse of Darkness (悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印 Akumajō Dorakyura: Yami no Juin?), is a console video game developed by Konami for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It was produced by Koji Igarashi (also known as IGA), who has worked on several other games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane.
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[edit] Gameplay
A 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness differs from its predecessor in a number of ways, including a more complex, action/adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, so he does not use the "Vampire Killer" whip; instead he has the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons ranging from swords, spears, guns, bombs and brass knuckles. However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the classic subweapons (knife, holy water, axe, etc.).
Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness features a more complete game world, with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2-D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does NOT take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains, and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by "Innocent Devils" (creatures developed by Hector himself), through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. The Innocent Devils (commonly referred as I.D's) come in 6 different types.
- Fairy Type (Aids Hector with healing.)
- Battle Type (The physically strongest of the I.D's. Has the most Heart points.)
- Bird Type (Flying I.D's that fight other airborne monsters.)
- Mage type (Attacks with long-distance magic.)
- Devil Type (The ultimate type of innocent devil.)
- Pumpkin Type (Only included for humour, though they raise the luck stat significantly.)
[edit] Plot
According to Igarashi, Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479, three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence, and heresy in its wake. Amidst all this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Castlevania III. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Castlevania and relinquishes his powers to live amongst humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiance Rosaly is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Hector learns that her murder was directed by his fellow Forgemaster, Isaac. Seeking revenge, Hector chases his former colleague back to his old home, and back to the demonic life he believed he had left behind him. While chasing Isaac, Hector stumbles along many people who seem to influence him in some way, not necessarily good, nor bad.
[edit] Development
[edit] Graphics and Audio
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is rendered in 480i. Dolby Pro Logic II is supported for digital surround audio as well as standard stereo and mono. The Xbox version of the game handles special effects and lighting slightly better than the PS2 version due to the nature of the Xbox hardware. Loading times are relatively short on both platforms, though they are comparably shorter on the Xbox version (the Xbox being the more powerful of the two systems).
[edit] Music
Michiru Yamane once again composes the music. The guitars that were missing from Lament of Innocence's score reappear in quite a few tunes, lending to a sort of retro-feeling of older Castlevania titles that had more progressive rock soundtracks.
The opening drum roll from the classic Castlevania III song, "Beginning", appears in a few songs too, including Trevor Belmont's boss theme (who happens to hail from said game).
The name enter screen, option screen, and load game screen music is reminiscent of the Requiem of The Gods Theme from Symphony of the Night, mostly in the chorus.
[edit] Reception
X-Play gave Curse of Darkness a 3 out of 5 while IGN gave it a 7.8, or "Good" rating.[1]
GamePro Magazine gave the game a 4.0 out of a 5.0 fun factor, stating that it was a game that got more intriguing as it goes on.
[edit] References
- ^ Roper, Chris (October 31st, 2005). Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. ign.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.
- "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness." play Magazine. February 2005. pp. 18-22.
[edit] External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Curse of Darkness entry at GameSpot, with preview screenshots and videos
