When something is good, everyone tries to cash in on it's success. The world of video games is possibly the most notorious of all entertainment industries for this. Soul of Darkness is one of those games that doesn't just wear it's influences on it's sleeve, it wears it's skin like a mask. But aside from it's painfully obvious influences, it remains a good game.
You play as Kale, a young man who has a vendetta against vampires for murdering your family. After your beloved is taken away by a Vampire Count, you must travel across many stages in order to reach the lair of the vampires. The story is weak compared to Castlevania, but it works and attempts to be somewhat original.
The gameplay is more akin to the classic Castlevania games that anything. You travel through a variety of levels defeating enemies and finding secrets until you reach the end. Soul of Darkness does do something original in that it combines elements of Beat em' ups with the platforming. Destroying enemies and objects yields purple crystals, which are used to upgrade your two weapons, your magic and your combos. Similar to other Gameloft titles, you can find "Picture Tents" where you're required to photograph a certain color. This results in more crystals.
The presentation is the games' strongest point. It's more akin to the phenomenal Game Boy Advance Castlevania titles than anything. The characters and monsters are well drawn, one of the later bosses is rather cool-looking and the environments, though unfortunately limited, are cool to look at. The sounds effects are neat and the music, though far from the orchestrated-heavy-metal goodness of Castlevania, is still catchy and fits the situation very well.
Overall, it's a great title. It's a must-have for fans of Castlevania and platforming fans in general. For 500 DSi Points ($5) how could you go wrong? If you have a DSi, you're not doing any harm by getting this game. I suggest you do it. Right now.
- Kyle K.
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