The good and bad can basically be divided into two areas, with the latter being the level design and the former being everything else. In terms of the attack setup Lament certainly doesn’t stumble, with a nicely done combo-based attack system that has all sorts of sub weapons and magical relics to truly deepen the assault possibilities. Enemies are brought down in a flurry of strikes that respond beautifully and have a wide variety of linking hits thanks to an evolving move list. New moves and longer strings are added based on how you play, which means that you’ll generally only get additions according to which moves get used. As certain combos get executed the game will add onto the common ones, allowing for multiple air hits, launchers, special moves, and even Alucard’s air kick combo. If there’s anything the game does absolutely right, it’s the combat and equally reactive controls.

In a change of current pace there are almost no power-ups that actually affect our Belmont hero in a Symphony of the Night kind of way, instead the only real additions are the orbs won from bosses. When equipped they change the way sub weapons react, effectively having up to seven different ways to utilize each heart-draining item. Relics draw from magic points and provide Leon with abilities such as turning invisible or being able to run faster, although they’re little more then window dressing the first time through. The other new surprisingly useful addition is blocking, which also gives the bonus of recharging magic once Perfect Guard is learned.

However, all these abilities come at a price: they make Leon way too strong during the first time through. Relics come off as useless additions that I never even touched and sub weapons and blocking were held in reserve for bosses, as every normal enemy was ripped to shreds by the whip alone. This placation isn’t helped by the bland as hell level design, which comes off as every level consisting of two Legos that get constantly snapped to each other. Every hallway and every room is exactly alike, there’s a rectangle which leads to a block, which in turn leads to two rectangles that will each lead to another block. The textures and wall art is gorgeous, but strip off the pretty exterior and all you have left are building blocks that Wolfenstien 3D would laugh at.

Thankfully, there are two things that saved me from never touching the game again. The soundtrack is almost exactly on par with SotN, providing an amazing accompaniment to the levels that is an absolute joy to hear. A few of the tracks are merely so-so (at least in comparison), but others I could listen to for hours and revel in it. The other saving grace is the unlockable which ups the difficulty to the Nth degree, giving the game the intensity and fight for every step that normal so desperately lacked. All of a sudden every relic became a necessity, every sub weapon a required tactic, and blocking was immediately vital. It was no longer just a wandering exploration of similar looking rooms but a desperate fight for survival to try and reach the next save room. My opinion of the game shot up after playing the harder version as the normal mode was built too much for children to really take it seriously.

Lament does have quite a bit of replay value and there’s certainly no shortage of killing to get done. If only it started harder and had more varied rooms to help distinguish the areas this would have been a classic. As is it’s a good action game that can make for a potent battle experience but you’ve got to work to get it there. It stands as a good beginning for 3D Castlevanias (unlike a certain prior attempt) and as long as the few problems get fixed and those Legos get taken out in favor of real levels the next one could be something incredible.

· · · MechDeus