The Shrine

Anyone else tried this?

It's actually really pretty good. Like Symphony of the Night or whatnot, but in full 3D, with cinematic cutscenes. Gameplay is a bit repetitive but it's still fun.

Of course, I get every Castlevania game =)

The stealing and crafting systems are kind of fun. The music is quite good, and the voice acting is as well. But the dungeon design was fairly poorly done. It also doesn't help that the visuals are kind of bland (aside from the fighting animations and such, I liked). The game is also not very challenging (but I haven't finished it yet and I don't know if I will for a while, it seems like it might be kind of long). I felt it was an alright game, but it does not feel like Castlevania, it reminds me more of another game with a 3D engine and the Castlevania license.

Konami either needs to put a MUCH larger budget tag on the 3D series (which would include getting better developers), or just stick to 2D. I have felt for a while that Ubisoft could do a great Castlevania game in 3D if Konami licensed them the series.

I do recommend picking up this game if you're a Castlevania fan none the less. Second hand if you are looking for a new 3D action title and have nothing else to play. I wasn't really dissapointed witht he game because I wasn't really expecting much; the one thing that I was kind of dissapointed with was that the game did not star Trevor Belmont who is MUCH cooler than Hector.

It's decent. The level design is rather bland, but at least the game has a XP/level system, so it gives you a reason to kill some enemies while backtracking. This feature alone makes Curse of Darkness better than Lament of Innocence. It has a fairly nice familiar system as well. I can't recommend a purchase, though. More of a rental, or maybe used.

Yeah, my only complaint is that the level design and gameplay are really repetitive.

I do like the Innocent Devils, though. I have my battle-type one turned into this large, fuzzy beast now. Looks like a Kami version of Barney or something.