Castlevania – Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)

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Now this is what the current and next generation of handheld gaming should be all about. Forget trying to squeeze first person shooters, racers and whatnot onto platforms where they just don’t fit. This is Castlevania as it was meant to be – difficult, fast gameplay in a two dimensional environment, with the power of a modern handheld used to add beauty to the graphics and effects without trying to foist a 3D engine onto a 2D game.

I’m pretty sure there are some polygon-rendered environments under the hood, but the 2D gameplay masks them very well. The effects are gorgeous, the use of the top screen for map / status prevents the stopping and starting which marred earlier games, alowing you to have a quick peek at your location without breaking the flow of the gameplay.

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These static shots really don’t do the game justice – there’s a huge amount of detail and atmosphere in the environments and everything moves and animates incredibly smoothly – or as smooth as Castlevania games get.

Like The Rev, however, I had my arse handed to me on a plate by the first boss and I hadn’t saved. That’ll teach me 😉 I’m so used to games leading me gently in by the nose that I forgot that Castlevania has traditionally started with a drop-kick to the spleen. I’ll know next time.

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