Nearly twenty years ago Castlevania started and the Belmont clan was introduced to the world. Sure everybody had heard of Dracula, but the Belmont lineage was crafted to be the front runners in the war against the vampire lord. It seems to be that every century or so Dracula gets resurrected and starts wreaking havoc upon the world of the living. At least that's basically how it has gone for the past 18 games or so. Honestly, I've lost track there have been so many new games in the franchise since the original in 1986.

Arguably the most critically acclaimed was easily Castlevania: Symphony of the Night which came out for the PlayStation back in the 90s. Since then the series has gone one of two ways; the handheld market or an attempt at breaking into the 3-D realm. The latter has been the least successful, though Curse of Darkness takes the franchise a step closer to what it should be.

In this newest adaptation you don't actually play as a Belmont ironically. Instead you play as some metrosexual-looking guy named Hector who used to be employed by Dracula. In the timeline of the series, Curse of Darkness falls in shortly after the events of Castlevania III from 1990. Dracula has been killed by Trevor Belmont but his curse still plagues the land long after his un-death. As Hector you are going to use your powers as a Devil Forgemaster to seek vengeance for the murder of your fiancé which was orchestrated by another metrosexual (and former Dracula employee) named Isaac.

There are quite a few things that separate this game from the rest of the franchise, but also many that connect the two. More importantly, it's the best 3-D iteration that has come along since the advent of the technology. That still doesn't mean that it's nearly as good as the releases found on the GBA, but all things considered, it's definitely better than Lament of Innocence was.

Gameplay:

If you've been playing Castlevania since it was first conceived then you already know that in every installment Konami often tries to bring something new to the table. The biggest change that you'll notice here first of all is that Hector doesn't use a whip; instead he brandishes a blade to vanquish the dead. He also has the ability to call forth Innocent Devils to help him in his plight thanks to his Forgemaster abilities.

Innocent Devils are pretty much summoned creatures that bring something different to the table. One helps Hector by healing his injuries while another offers strength in the form of physical combat; some will even assist you with crossing lengthy gaps. There are many that you'll find throughout the game though typically you get a new one at the end of each stage. Unfortunately it all boils down to making the game feel like a gothic version of Pokemon. Also while it's relatively new to the series, it's not a new concept in general. There is a little bit of depth to the system when you get into raising the devils to grow stronger and gain new skills and powers. Evolution crystals can be found throughout the various stages and Innocent Devils love to pop those things like Skittles.

Crystals won't be the only object that enemies will drop though and you'll be able to pick up raw material to forget into new armor and weaponry. The bonus here is that you'll also be able to upgrade your current gear into different weapons or improved renditions of the item. Doing so requires a lot of experimentation and a little bit of trial and error because as weapons change, so do the style of attacks that you can do. It adds a lot of depth to the Castlevania series, but isn't anything unheard of in the action genre.

Once you've amassed a small armada of Innocent Devils and have constructed a weapon to suit your needs you'll realize that all of the combat that you've just taken part in is kind of uninspired. The 2-D Castlevania games offer up a lot of platforming in addition to fighting, but in Curse of Darkness you're basically going to be trudging from hallway to hallway swinging your sword at everything that stands in your way. There's no real strategy involved or variety in attack styles so all you really have to do is mash buttons in order to get through the conflict. To make matters worse the lock-on system can be rather cumbersome and will often lead to cheap hits and a lot of frustration.

Fortunately aside from the items that get dropped as a reward for your effort, you'll also gain some experience points. You see, apart from upgrading your Innocent Devils and weaponry you'll also be able to gain strength and such thanks to the light RPG element that works its way into the mix. It's nice to have a system in place that offers some reward for your tireless slogging through wave after wave of zombies. Alas it doesn't completely save the game from monotony though and really feels like an afterthought.

At the end of the day (or night in this case), Curse of Darkness proves itself to be the best of the 3-D endeavors for the franchise. Unfortunately it isn't anywhere near as good as the GBA 2-D offerings or even as some of its ancestors. It brings a lot of new concepts to the table for the series, but doesn't "feel" like a Castlevania game. The Innocent Devils, weapon forging and RPG elements are nice and all, but trudging through piles of monsters to see the reward from the systems gets tiring in a big way.

Graphics:

Ayama Kojima lends his artistic talent to the character designs for the game and in many ways it really helps tie it into the rest of the franchise. He worked on Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, and even Lament of Innocence so you know that the designs are going to be wonderful. The only problem is that the engine used here doesn't really spruce things up so everything comes off as a little bland at times. The environments aren't very inviting and the animation won't impress the pants off you, but the framerate stays fluid throughout. The game often sacrifices style over substance.

Audio:

The musical direction for Curse of Darkness provides a wonderful soundtrack filled with gothic tunes that help the atmosphere along in a big way. The songs are identifiable as being from the Castlevania franchise but the real treat here is the inclusion of voice acting. Well, I suppose I should use "treat" lightly because everyone overacts to the nth degree and really hams it up. The sound effects are humdrum to say the least, but overall it's a decent sounding game that makes good use of the Dolby Pro Logic II.

Conclusion:

Overall Curse of Darkness is a better game than Lament of Innocence was, but it still isn't as good as the rest 2-D incarnations. Castlevania just seems to lose something when it hits 3-D, but it's not like the game is outstanding on its own merit anyway. The combat is repetitive and the ideas utilized here aren't the most original compared to the rest of the action genre.

I like the Innocent Devils enough, but the combat needed to be more in depth and there really needed to be more of a platform element in order for this game to find its muse. The series is taking steps in the right direction, but it's just not hitting the ball out of the park yet. Still though, the game is recommended for anybody that loves the Dracula lore, but probably a rental for those with passing interest in the franchise.