March has finally arrived. That means a new batch of games for those with an Xbox Live Gold membership. Last month was amazing in terms of the free offerings, and based on the titles revealed, March is no different. One of the better downloadable games is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 by Mercury Steam. If you enjoy action-adventure games with interesting themes, this is definitely a great pickup this month.
This is a sequel to the original Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. You reprise the role of Dracula, who’s been weakened through centuries of sleep. Despite wanted to be leave his immortal bonds, he must regain his powers to defeat Satan. In order to do so, he must forge an alliance with Death himself. It’s a pretty gripping story of the battle between good and evil. If you enjoy these themes, this game will be right up your alley.
The sequel features a lot of great improvements, such as the open-world system. You can move through the well-detailed areas as you please. The added freedom elevates this franchise to new heights. Not only that, but you can now adjust the camera to your liking. It’s an impactful change that many fans have received well since this game launched all the way back in 2014.
The weapons in this game are particularly fun to use in battle. There is the Chaos Claws. They come in handy when trying to break down enemy defenses and unload a lot of damage in a short time span. Then you have the Void Sword. Every time it’s used in battle, it can replenish Dracula’s health to some degree. Dracula’s main weapon in this game — though — is the Shadow Whip. It’s particularly deadly from varying ranges and is great to use when surrounded by enemies.
What’s also interesting about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is you possess Dracula’s full power in the beginning. That gives you a glimpse of the abilities you’ll collect and master throughout this game’s story. Overall, this game has a lot of value. It can be likened to the Darksiders series, featuring fun combat mechanics and a decent progression system.
Even though it came out in 2014, this action-adventure title still holds up pretty well today. You don’t even need to be familiar with the first game as its events are retold in the sequel’s opening segment. It’s hits like this that Xbox Live Gold members can expect time and time again.
