Wednesday 26 October 2011

Sega Mega Drive: Castlevania: The New Generation

Year: 1994
Genre: Platform
Players: 1
Our Rating: 8/10

Mini Review

”Castlevania: The New Generation” for the Sega Mega Drive is a joy to play. The Castlevania series is now one which spirals out of control with dozens of titles on multiple platforms. I personally feel that Castlevania: The New Generation was still in the period where the series had already peaked in terms of popularity and game play with titles such as ”Super Castlevania IV”. I will possibly make exceptions for later titles such as ”Symphony of the Night”, ”Dracula X” and even ”Dawn of Sorrow”.

However, there have been launches such as ”Castlevania 64” which really are just out of step with the quality of the rest of the series. ”Castlevania: The New Generation” will be near the top of my list for the series though. The game takes place in 1917 with two vampire hunters setting about stopping Elizabeth Bartley from ressurectring her uncle Dracula. The plot line here is pretty thin but it’s really all you need. The main event is the action itself. You will find yourself taking on all varieties of undead nightmares from zombies to skeletons to vampires. There’s the usual weapon upgrades along the way, the power whip is particularly satisfying. One of the stand out features of the game I found were the mini bosses. From time to time you will be tested against super demons such as zombie wolves, requiring a little extra skill and also a nice distraction from the sometimes repetative nature of the game. As you would expect from a Castlevania game the graphics and sound are great. Classic theme music has been reworked in to the soundtrack which sets the tone nicely for those that have enjoyed playing through the games predecessors. Overall this is an outstanding game and well worth trying for the seasoned Castlevania fan or the curious new comer. This is a good example of how horror, story-telling and good game development can create a long lasting franchise.







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