PS2

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Role-playing (RPG)Hack and slash/Beat 'em upAdventure

Time to beat: about 12.5 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the fourth 3D title in the Castlevania series, following Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003). The game received mixed-to-positive reviews from journalists, with praise for its combat system, mechanics, and music, though many criticized its repetitive level design.

Curse of Darkness is a 3D action role-playing game with elements of hack-and-slash. The game differs from its predecessor, Lament of Innocence, in a number of ways. It includes a more complex, action-adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, so he does not use the "Vampire Killer" whip; instead he has the ability to equip a variety of different weapons ranging from swords (both one handed and two handed), spears, axes (also both one handed and two handed), brass knuckles and an extra type called special weapons (which varies from tonfas to gatling guns).

Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479, three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence, and heresy in its wake. Amidst this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Castlevania III. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Dracula's castle and relinquishes his powers to live amongst humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiancée Rosaly is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Hector learns that her murder was directed by his rivalrous Devil Forgemaster, Isaac.

Curse of Darkness was produced by Koji Igarashi, who has worked on several other games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane.

Review aggregator Metacritic shows an averaged score of 74 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. The game generated mid to high review scores. Common praises often go to the game's battle system, which as stated by IGN "...can offer up a fairly wide variety of skirmishes and strategies..." -, the Innocent Devil system and musical score. Common criticisms of the game go to the game's environments, which have generally been considered dull and repetitive. X-Play gave Curse of Darkness a 3 out of 5 while IGN gave it a 7.8, or "Good" rating.