bit-tech Shopping: Konami Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: New combat system, new environments

Weaknesses: High boss difficulty

Summary: All of the Castlevania games for the DS have been excellent but Ecclesia is the first one to really break new ground. Instead of being a Belmont with the classic whip, in this game you instead gain weapons and abilities from defeating enemies. Dead enemies provide you with glyphs that you can then combo together to use as offense and defense. This is a great function as it leads to a ton of different combinations. You'll spend a lot of time trying to find the best combos that fit your particular playing style.The game also breaks a lot of new ground as you're not simply stuck in a castle like previous incarnations. You get to wonder around through different levels without the constant backtracking. There are also a lot of optional quests and things that you can go on in order to gain rewards.The only downside with the game is that some of the boss battles are really pretty heinous. They have a lot of hit points and it sometimes feels like you're trying to hack down a tree with hand axe. Other than that, the game is a real pleasure and I recommend it for any castlevania lover or anyone new to the series.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Excellent graphics, sound, gameplay.

Weaknesses: Somewhat similar to past Castlevanias. Tracking down all of the villagers is a pain.

Summary: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is yet another excellent entry in the long-running series. However, there are a couple of new and interesting wrinkles in the gameplay that make this one stand out. First, the map has been broken up into smaller levels rather than one large interconnected level. Second, the protagonist can only used magic based attacks, which lends lots of variety and strategy to the basic gameplay. An excellent game, if a bit difficult.