Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 coming February 25

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will release on February 25 in North America, Konami has announced.

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is coming on February 25, Konami has announced. The company had previously slated it for a vague winter slot, so this still qualifies as meeting that target.

The sequel boasts a more open world, new weapons like the Void Sword and Chaos Claws, and new vampiric abilities. You can read up more on what it tries new in our preview. It will release simultaneously on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Developer MercurySteam has indicated it plans to wrap up the Lords of Shadow series with this installment.

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    August 23, 2013 10:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 coming February 25.

    Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will release on February 25 in North America, Konami has announced.

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      August 23, 2013 10:51 AM

      Cool, though it'll have to take a back seat to Thief.

    • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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      August 23, 2013 10:52 AM

      better be on PS4 by then

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      August 23, 2013 12:05 PM

      I'm sure this game will have sweeping orchestra scores that are completely generic and unmemorable.

      Instead of: http://youtu.be/iWMN91gMD_4

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        August 23, 2013 12:18 PM

        Are you joking? Like we get many games with a live orchestra score. (We don't.)

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          August 23, 2013 12:49 PM

          We get fake sampled orchestral score that's generic and unmemorable.

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        August 23, 2013 12:18 PM

        That was true of the first one EXCEPT for the piece entitled Belmont's Theme. That one's been stuck in my head ever since.

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        August 23, 2013 12:44 PM

        [deleted]

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          August 23, 2013 12:58 PM

          Nope, pretty lame and sounds like every other "epic" AAA game out there.

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            August 23, 2013 1:03 PM

            [deleted]

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              August 23, 2013 1:06 PM

              I'm just stating my opinion. I mean, it has cellos and drums that increase in intensity when the monster appears, and then throws in the choral ensemble to add more "epicness". It's so by the books it disgusts me.

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                August 23, 2013 1:14 PM

                Completely agreeing with you here. I miss stuff like this and will take them over orchestrated scores any day of the week:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLNbkdqRJo

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfrrrQ-qi8A

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                August 23, 2013 1:33 PM

                [deleted]

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                  August 23, 2013 1:39 PM

                  Not to mention the soundtrack further strips away any sense of the game being in the Castlevania series.

                  Uninspired is another good word. The songs could be played completely on Stradavaris and it wouldn't change the fact that composer was just trying to make the game sound like Lord of the Rings to get somma dat 18-35 male demographic.

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                    August 23, 2013 1:58 PM

                    So, the gist of your posts seems to be that the 8-/16-bit music of olde you linked earlier is just intrinsically more unique, inspired and thematically pleasing for that game (that you seem to hold a beef against) than the style of romantic symphonic orchestra the composer came up with. (I don't see how the LotR comparison applies, as the orchestration does not carry over LotR-specific motifs or ideas).

                    If you want to argue about actual complexity or inventiveness between the different styles though, I don't see how you are bringing forth actual arguments for that.

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                      August 23, 2013 3:16 PM

                      It's evidenced whenever you see a thread about the Castlevania series on any forum, you see lots of links to music from the 2d castlevanias, and none from the newer 3d games.

                      The music is just one of the many aspects where you can see that Konami is attempting to take Castlevania into AAA blockbuster territory by sacrificing its identity and pulling elements from other successful games, in similar way to Capcom with Resident Evil 6.

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                August 23, 2013 1:39 PM

                Where you hear a "by the books" track, I hear a world-class orchestra with every player pouring their heart and talent into their instrument. The composition and orchestration is masterful, but you seem to think that's just common craft. There's a lot of talent and experience at work to get that specific sound, but maybe it's not your cup of tea.

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      August 23, 2013 3:05 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 26, 2013 6:48 AM

      Awesome. The first game was excellent, the 3DS version was very good and I am looking forward to this game with open arms.

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