Storming The Night's Castle

What a difference a couple of days and a different controller can make.  After a bit of going back into my work routine (and just plain vacillating), I went ahead and popped Castlevania:  Lament of Innocence back in and started hunting the night again.


This time, it was awesome.  Once I actually began to get the hang of the platforming, I started to get that feel of badass that a good action game is supposed to give.  I'm still not happy about the camera, but it does a lot better than some of the other 3D games I've been exposed to.  The enemies are actually fairly flavorful, and just challenging enough to get things pumping and make you use the resources at your command.


One of the nice things that they came up with for this game is actual progression for your subweapons, and it's works out so well that it could make earlier games in the series feel a bit lacking.  It also helps give you a sense of growth, going from a simple (simply badass) ex-crusader to a whirlwind of doom upon the wicked, fielding powers and moves worthy of a progenitor of a whole family of vampire hunters.


The castle is also plenty spooky, as tradition demands, with lots of little details and just enough weirdness to keep you on your toes.  A good example is the thunderstorm brewing in and around a turret in an area otherwise in moonlit calm.  While it does have some explanation (a thunder-elemental calls that turret home), its off-putting enough to remind you that you ain't in Kansas anymore.


It's interesting to note that while the experience system started by Symphony of the Night was dropped, they still kept the shop and random drop systems in place, allowing for one to get that special feeling when a particularly rare bit of loot or big sack of money appears.  I wonder where all that cash lying around came from.  Is Walter taking all the equipment and supplies other adventurers brought and quietly pawning it off (to the local shopkeeper or some semi-legal front that helps with more mundane needs) or has he found some other method to gather such a hoard?  He clearly has some way of exerting his power away from his castle grounds.


Oh well, beloved of the night or not, the Harvest has come for him and his, and shall not rest any more here than in any other place.