Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

>> Initial Impressions.

Anyone here around during the older days of gaming? No, not your PlayStations and N64s. Back before 3D polygons and well before home consoles even knew what an analogue stick was. In the old 8 bit days (and even before then) we had hard games. No hand holding here - you had to be good at gaming back then because virtually every game would happily kill you many times over until you stopped sucking and beat it. Those of you who remember may know of the roots of Castlevania. It was a hard set of games featuring guys using whips (no, stop thinking that) as you ploughed through the legions of the undead.

Fast forward to present day and the series is still charging on. Here we have another entry on the DS that intends to carry on all the elements that define the series. Don't be expecting casual gamer...

Konami has really made a name for itself on the Nintendo DS. The Castlevania series has really hit its stride on Nintendo's dual screened handheld, bringing the series back to its 2D platforming roots. And the latest installment in the portable Castlevania franchise, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, is no exception.

I guess I should make a quick note before I delve much deeper into this review: Order of Ecclesia is a very difficult game. Be prepared to die... a lot. Not only are the bosses incredibly hard, but the levels themselves are also quite difficult. Order of Ecclesia really went back to its roots with this game, and the intense difficulty is no exception. Now, with that out of the way, let's continue with the review.

While many aspects of the game are a throwback to previous titles, it also takes a step in a new direction. Along with a new Glyph system (more on that later) Konami has brought a new...