Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Forget Castlevania on the Nintendo 64?Lament of Innocence is the way 3D Belmont should be done.

All the Belmonts
Lament will be one of the more story-intense Castlevania games in the series. Taking place before any of the Castlevania titles, you'll play as the first Belmont vampire killer, Leon. Upon Leon's return from the Crusades, he finds that his girlfriend, Sara, has been kidnapped by Dracula. Renouncing his knighthood, Leon sets out for Dracula's castle and encounters Rinaldo, a weapon master who introduces Leon to what will become the trademark Belmont weapon?a whip. Rinaldo also runs the local store, where Leon can purchase potions and assorted items.

Simon Says...
Dracula's castle is gigantic, and Lament's play time is approximately the same as Symphony of the Night's. The castle is divided into five areas, each of which has hundreds of rooms and several levels (main floor, basement, etc.) to explore. Some areas are initially inaccessible but can later be reached after Leon learns certain abilities or collects the proper power-up. And, in keeping with Castlevania tradition, a powerful boss awaits at the end of each area. Visually, Lament is gorgeous: Rooms are awash with excellent lighting and atmospheric effects, and gory details--such as enemies meeting their demise as they dissolve into a puddle of blood?are a nice touch.

A Lot at Stake
3D Castlevania on the Nintendo 64 left a bad taste in almost everyone's mouth...however, Lament should change that impression. Although this PS2 Belmont adventure is 3D, it plays like it's 2D: Attacks are easy to execute, it's easy to target enemies, and characters don't "float" when they jump. Leon also has dozens of special abilities, and the more you experiment with different button-press combinations, the more likely you are to learn different combo attacks. Another important skill is magic: Leon can block incoming attacks with a gauntlet, and each blow that is successfully blocked is converted to magic energy that can be stored for later use.

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