Slow start, but speeds up.
The opening level which was used as the demo on XBL is entertaining, but I found my enjoyment dropped sharply afterwards. I can't place my finger on why, the graphics were great and the gameplay hadn't changed. I was simply bored by the game and playing more than a level at a time was a chore.
However after the first few chapters the game change the tempo and I became enthralled. The fight against the first lord of shadow was when it started but it was when vampires finally joined the fray that I started to find it difficult to put the pad down.
Let me repeat something I just said in case you think it's a typo. Yes, you have to wait for vampires in a Castlevania game. I'm all for changes and some games (Resident Evil 4) have shown how it can be done. However, in the case of Lords of Shadow it damages the feel of the game.
My other criticisms of the game are the camera and the Wanda and the Colossus rip-off moments. The camera is fixed and the usual problem of being hit by off screen enemies occurs, though it isn't game breaking or unusual for the genre. What did annoy me was the almost constant 'shaky cam' that occurred during the game. It added nothing to the game and actually irritated the hell out of me at first.
The colossus fights work the same as those from Wanda and the Colossus but something is missing. They don't have the challenge or sense of awe that you find in Team Ico's game.
To finish on a positive note, I did enjoy the game once I got past the first few chapters and look forward to incoming DLC. Overall the gameplay is good, though not original and the graphics are great. I also found the story to be entertaining and the voice acting to be surprisingly good (unless they were called Patrick Stewart ;p).
