Some games stay with you years after they’ve run their course. These games are often referred to as classics. The tale of Castlevania definitely fits this mold that calls back a time when some of the older gamers among us recall grasping an NES controller while Simon Belmont dispatched the armies of undead. 24 years later, Konami once again brings us back to the world of Vampires in a very different way.
Game: Castlevania Harmony of Despair (XBLA)
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Action
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points
Verdict: Nice re-visit to classic Castlevania with a multiplayer twist.
Pros: Fast fights and epic boss battles.
Cons: Lackluster visuals, dull and repetative.
Acquired via Publisher
Last week’s release of Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade promotion was Konami’s Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Prior entries, Limbo and Hydro Thunder Hurricane were reviewed earlier. In this version of Castlevania, instead of simply controlling one hero through the iconic nightmare world, gamers will have the choice of controlling one of five separate heroes from Castlevanias past. While there’s no showing from the original protagonist, many notable faces return such as Alucard, Soma Cruz, Jonathan Morris, Shanoa and Charlotte Aulin do make an appearance… at the same time. This time, Konami has ditched the tried and true single player story-driven campaign for a multiplayer beat-em-up where six co-op players can join via Xbox Live for massive havoc throughout the levels. Fans will be able to choose their character and fight through six massive levels of puzzle influenced mayhem. Tackling some of these feats solo is clearly not the way Konami has intended this version of Castlevania to be played. Hopping in with 6 friends or even 6 people via the Quick Match option proves to be a much more worthwhile experience.
While traversing the levels of Castlevania, you and your crew will come across treasure chests galore which are filled with various loot items giving the game a treasure hunter vibe to it. The characters themselves do not level up, but the copious amounts of gear you’ll come across and eventually outfit will cause them to gain stronger attacks and rip through enemies with greater ease. Tearing through the game in co-op can cause you to pass the game rather quickly and gain scads of gear at your disposal, thereby making the game seem slightly easier. Take the co-op out of the equation however and you’ll find yourself repeating levels with your new found gear just to try and squeak by the boss with minimal health.
When viewing the game in the Xbox Live Arcade store window, one would first notice the game labeled as Castlevania HD. This is something of a misnomer while possible intentional, is misleading all the same. The graphics in the game are in no way high definition. It just so happens that Harmony of Despair when condensed shows up as HD. The graphics however, have to be one of the largest problems I had with the game. When viewing Castlevania HD you’ll have three different levels of zoom in which to view your current dungeon map. By default the screen is zoomed out 2X the normal ratio. A quick press of the right thumb stick sets the correct zoom level for effective play, but the graphics don’t really get any better from there. The sprites look as if they were meant for a Nintendo DS game, and while it harkens back to the days of yore when Castlevania looked like that, it comes off as a bit lazy in a generation full of lush graphics and detailed character animations. The novelty of having a completely playable level while zoomed out 3 times and viewing the entire map on one screen is fascinating at first, it quickly becomes a nuisance as you realize there is no way to accurately play a game of this caliber at that level.
The sounds again pay homage to the classic games with only the voices being cleaned up to today’s standards. Weapon slashes, jumps and creature deaths all do a good job of keeping with the classic feel of the game while presenting the gamer with and updated soundtrack. This attention to detail makes the aged soundboard not seem to gritty to the ears as the old cart sounds were back in the day. The music again is a nice remix of classic tunes and has that 80s style glam rock style in the background that is somehow appealing when playing a game that visually and technically is all about the throwback.
Ultimately however even in multiplayer co-op mode, the game doesn’t have very sturdy legs. Without the rich story that the Castlevania series is known for, the gameplay comes off as repetitive and a bit campy. Deep fans of the series will enjoy the game for what it is, a 6 player beat-em-up with a little metroid level design thrown in for fun. Casual fans that may not have played a Castlevania game before could find the game a bit on the dull side. The steep level of difficulty in the solo campaign almost forces you to go about the game in multiplayer which, although not bad, is often not always the ideal situation for the amount of time you’ve allotted yourself for gaming.
GrE Grade: C
Popularity: unranked [?]
