Keeping with the current Castlevania vein, I've recently tracked down the full soundtrack to Harmony of Despair, organised it and shared it on Megaupload. Includes all the in-mission tracks, menu themes, victory themes... all that jazz. It might be 'temporarily unavailable' for a couple of days after this post, but after then it should be fine.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O6ER6VFZ
Currently playing the new Castlevania, too, 'Lords of Shadow' and it has certainly exceeded my expectations. Of course, it's a departure from the previous games to fit in with modern games and appeal to a wider audience, and I think the best way to describe it is a cocktail of Dante's Inferno, Tomb Raider and Lord of the Rings. I won't go into much detail until I write a review of it.
What I have noticed, however, is a whole lot of references in the game. While some unfortunately seem to be fairly shameful rips out of other games (two puzzles I have noticed came straight out of Tomb Raider Underworld, meaning I solved them extremely quickly), the game also makes clear its inspiration from Tolkien's work. For example, the mysterious yet wise character Gandolfi is a play on the name of Gandalf, the bear/werewolves are named Wargs and bear strong resemblance to the film's portrayal of them, and many of the lines in the narration are written and pronounced very similarly to memorable lines from the books or films. These won't stand out unless you're a Tolkien nerd like me, but it was odd that a game with roots in vampires and gothic themes was associating itself with a work of classical fantasy.
Also, bonus points for anyone who spots the Portal reference. It stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment