that the standard enemy designs were "bland and boring" and some did not fit the Castlevania series at all. Reactions to the game's visuals were mixed. Critics generally praised the medieval castle setting but were let down by the modern day city environments. Joystiq described the environments as "of almost equal spectacle" to the bosses, the castle "home to breathtaking views", but something the city could not live up to. Play felt similarly, writing that the game surpassed the original Lords of Shadow in its visuals, though the "grey and familiar" modern day settings failed to "match the majesty" of Dracula's castle. Eurogamer's Digital Foundry praised the game's technical performance across the three platforms, comparing it favourably to the original Lords of Shadow. They concluded that "huge strides have been made" and the game could produce a "sustained 30fps during both light exploration and heavy combat." Digital Foundry felt that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions both offered "the same graphical and gameplay experience throughout", but "the ability to run at 60fps easily makes the PC game the most attractive." The Edge review was highly critical, highlighting the failings of the stealth sections, the "unimaginative visual design" of the modern era, and the poor pacing. Even the combat mechanics, described by Edge as the game's sole saving grace, were judged to fall short of its inspirations, such as the God of War series. In an interview with Eurogamer Spain, Enric Álvarez, the game's director, complained that the Edge review was "terribly unfair", and that "one must be blind or stupid to give a 4/10 mark to a game with this quality". Álvarez believed that the game's poorer critical response compared to the original Lords of Shadow was due to the heightened expectations of a sequel. Still, on the whole, Álvarez said of the reception, "I tend to think positive after reading some things. I'm glad that some people are writing about games instead of making them." In Russia, the game received mixed reviews. Alexei Makarenkov of Igromania magazine said that he considers this game a clone of God of War. Tony Vilgotsky wrote in Darker magazine that Lords of Shadow 2 is one of the best dark games of the year. Enric Alvarez stated in an interview with Eurogamer that the game sold well, but not as well as the first game. Notes References External links 2014 video games