Castlevania: Curse of Darkness gives the player the option to have the Innocent Devil automatically controlled by the game’s Artificial Intelligence, or the creature can be manually controlled. The manual method of controlling these summoned creatures is strongly recommended. Each time a particular Innocent Devil uses a special move, the health of the creature will decrease in relation to the power of the attack. The game’s Artificial Intelligence is flawed in this regard, as the ID will almost always rapidly deplete in health if the automatic method is selected.

One of the more unfortunate features of the game comes into effect when the manual control method is elected. The directional pad of the Xbox controller is used to choose between the varying Innocent Devil control methods. Players press up or down on the D-Pad to vary between automatic and manual control, with right and left corresponding to the particular attack action of the Innocent Devil (when in manual mode). A problem arises in that when attempting to adjust the action of your companion, it is far too easy to mistakenly switch the control style to automatic.

With that said, Curse of Darkness’ inclusion of Innocent Devils is very much appreciated. Hector may only have on such companion at a time, and it forces the user into strategically planning for certain encounters. While these summoned creatures may be switched on the fly, there will be some down time before the newly called ID appears. Konami really did a nice job in varying the properties of these summoned creatures, giving each of them unique characteristics. The powers of the Innocent Devils are all balanced; there is not one of them that a player will want to universally use throughout the game.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness includes Innocent Devils ranging from Battle oriented golems, healing oriented fairies, magic users capable of special feats, and even a bird type of ID capable of effectively attacking airborne enemies. Additionally, Konami has included an RPG like evolution system for these creatures. This evolution scheme is based off several in game factors, with the type of Hector’s equipped weapon being one, and the enemy being another. Each time a monster is killed there is a random chance that the creature will drop an evolution crystal for the Intelligent Devil to consume. After acquiring enough of these, the summoned creature will evolve into a more powerful form with additional properties. For those attached to their particular companion, the game also provides an option to not have the Innocent Devil evolve in this manner, but rather continue to level up normally as Hector would.

As great as this evolution system is, Konami could have implemented it much better into Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. While it is possible to bring up a sub-menu for the evolution tree, very little information is provided pertaining to the outcome of the adaptation. You’ll never know what you’re getting into when your Innocent Devil evolves. For instance, the creature could progress into a more battle-oriented version, or it might change into a form with additional special attacks.



The presentation value of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is one of the finer points of the title. The story is engrossing, and established very well through nice cut scenes and exceptional voice acting. It’s truly enjoyable to progress through this game. The cut scenes are fluidly animated and contain some truly great graphics.

It’s a shame that the presentation value of the title can be so high, and the overall graphical feel of the game be so low. The in game visuals are, to put it nicely, nothing to write home about. The environments look decent enough, but the level design is far too repetitive. You’ll have a hard time judging if you’ve visited a certain area or not, as the majority of them look nearly identical to each other.
While Hector and the game’s other main characters look good in action, a lot of Curse of Darkness’ enemies are poorly detailed and generally unimpressive. The game’s bosses on the other hand, are very well done, both in the graphical sense and in their design. Each of the games main boss battles provides a truly great and fresh experience.

In Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Konami has included a new weapon creation system which should become a staple of the series. Throughout the game’s lengthy adventure mode, Hector will encounter a myriad of different components for creating weapons, armor, and accessories. In Curse of Darkness you’ll never find that rare and elusive weapon deep within the depths of a castle, you’ll instead find the specific components for creating your equipment.

Conclusion

While Castlevania: Curse of Darkness won’t be remembered in the same way as the classic titles in the series were, Konami’s recent release is certainly a worthy endeavor. The game offers a lengthy story mode that should keep fans of the series occupied for countless hours. With that said, Curse of Darkness offers little in terms of replay value. Asides from possibly acquiring different variations of weapons and Innocent Devils, there will be little incentive for a second run through of this title. However, the game really does possess enough substance to warrant a purchase. At its core, Curse of Darkness is a fine action RPG with a tremendously engrossing story that is incredibly well told through impressive cut scenes and fine voice acting. Additionally, the game’s soundtrack provides a worthy setting for the action in Curse of Darkness.