Santa Monica’s latest God of War game is undoubtedly one of the best games of this year. The high production value of the game, the brutal combat, the epic boss fights and watching the conclusion of Kratos tale of vengeance are some of the high points that make GOW3 one of the best experiences this year.
 

As we all knew, Visceral Games tried to compete with Santa Monica by releasing Dante’s Inferno at the beginning of this year. While Dante’s Inferno wasn’t a bad game, it failed to capture the magic of the God of War games. I’m not going to compare God of War 3 with Bayonetta or Darksiders, because I believe that each game has offered a completely different experience than Kratos’s latest adventure.
 

Every time I watch a video or read more details about the upcoming action adventure game ‘Castlevania: Lords of Shadow’, two things come to my mind: Lords of Shadow isn’t a GOW clone, but at the same time, it feels familiar. Also, Lords of Shadow has the potential to be a better game than GOW3. How? Lets begin:
 
 

1. Beautiful visuals that go head to head with GOW3′s visuals:
 
 

 
 

GOW3 is one of the best looking games of this generation. The game uses the extremely impressive MLAA (Morphological Anti Aliasing) solution and the result as we all knew by now was mind blowing. But truth to be told, there was some inconsistencies in the visual quality of the game. Some areas looked better than other areas in the game and while Kratos’s character model is possibly the best looking character model I have ever seen in a game, other major characters and enemies model like Zues weren’t on par.
 

I’m not saying that Lords of Shadow is a better looking game than GOW3, but it’s definitely on par. The characters and enemies in Lords of Shadow are highly detailed (more consistent than GOW3), the lighting effects are amazing and the art direction is beautiful. Also, Lords of Shadow will have more varied environments than GOW3. You have to see Lords of Shadow in motion to see the hard work Mercury Steam did on the engine.
 

2. Longer and bigger experience (better value for your money):
 
 

 
 

Lords of Shadow promises to offer a 20+ hours experience when it launches next October. The game is broken up into 12 chapters with each chapter contains hidden secrets and other things to find. Sometimes you won’t be able to get a certain item unless you upgrade your character to a certain degree or by finding a specific gear item, so the game will give the player the ability to visit previous areas from previously completed chapters to get these items.
 

GOW3 wasn’t a long game. I have completed the game for the first time in under 10 hours. Longer game doesn’t always mean a higher quality game. But if Lords of Shadow manages to keep us on our toes for the whole game, I think it will be a more satisfying experience and a better value for player’s money.
 

3. Epic boss fights that inspired by Shadow of the Colossus:
 
 

 
 

Lords of Shadow will have some epic fights with big titans that inspired by one of the most memorable games of all time, Shadow of the Colossus. These fights don’t only show the epic nature of the game, but also show the huge scale of the game.
 

Fighting the Titans in GOW3 was an epic experience and it seems like Lords of Shadow will offer the same epic experience we had during our play time with GOW3.
 

4. Great storytelling and amazing voice acting:
 
 

 
 

While David Cox (producer of the game) stated that game is a reboot of the franchise and is not a part of the original series canon, the settings of the game promises to deliver an emotional and epic story that will satisfy fans of the series.

The setting of Lords of Shadow is during “the end of days”. The Earth’s alliance with the Heavens has been threatened by a malevolent force known as the Lords of Shadow. A dark spell has stopped the souls of the deceased from leaving, while evil creatures inhabit the dying land and attack living people. The main protagonist of the game Gabriel Belmont, a member of a holy order dedicated to defeating supernatural threats. Gabriel’s wife is brutally murdered by something supernatural, trapping her soul in limbo. Gabriel then begins a quest to defeat the three Lords of Shadow to obtain the pieces of the God Mask, a relic with the ability to bring back the dead.
 

With Sir Patrick Stewart (narrator and Gabriel’s mentor) and Robert Carlyle (Gabriel Belmont) are part of the voice cast of the game, I’m pretty sure that the game will deliver a great story with memorable moments. Also, don’t forget that Hideo Kojima is overseeing the game, so a great story is 100% confirmed.
 

5. Amazing atmosphere and mind-blowing enemies character design:
 
 

 
 

The gothic horror atmosphere of this game is one of the best things about Lords of Shadow. This game captures the atmosphere and spirit of the previous 2D Castlevania games, but now in 3D. You will see crumbling castles, snowy graveyards, flickering candlelight, bloodstained flagstones and much more.
 

The enemies in Lords of shadow are wonderfully designed. Most of them have been reworked from the previous games in the series, but you also see Mercury Steam innovative touch in creating these monsters. I’m not saying that GOW3 enemies design and atmosphere aren’t great, far from it. GOW3 atmosphere and enemies design are unique, but the point I want to clarify is Lords of shadow is hitting all the notes.
 

Lords of Shadow is shaping up to be the 3D Castlevania fans of the series are waiting for. I think it will satisfy fans of the series while at the same time bring more gamers to join its fan base. I listed the reasons why Lords of Shadow will possibly deliver a better and more satisfying experience than GOW3, but what do you think? Will Lords of Shadow be a better game than GOW3? Vote and share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
 
 

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