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      Screens: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

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Text Box:   Castlevania: Harmony of  Dissonance (GBA)   This is one of two games on the Castlevania Double Pack. Set after Symphony of the Night, it follows Juste Belmont's quest to recover the remains of Dracula. Along the way, he has to figure out why his friend Lydie has gone missing and his other friend Maxim is acting weird. First thing about this game- it's BIG. It is absolutely huge. The castle itself is pretty big, but later in the game it splits up into two parallel castles. This can result in some unneccessary backtracking, but most of the game is laid out well enough to avoid boredom, and there are lots of enemies to keep you occupied throughout. Speaking of enemies, this is a very combat-oriented version of Castlevania. Sometimes it feels like a 2D Devil May Cry, in that you're making your way through nice (usually linear) environments, killing lots of enemies, and improving your technique with every battle. I personally enjoyed this approach (hey, killing stuff is good) but some Castlevania purists may feel that the level design has been dumbed down too much in favour of combat. The level design is still reasonably good, but there seem to be an awful lot of long corridors which focus exclusively on fighting. The secondary weapon system is quite ingenious and simple. You have the traditional weapons (axe, knife and so on) but by activating a Spell Book (of which there are five), you can use a more powerful, magic-based attack. There are many different combinations between weapons and books, but unfortunately it all seems pretty useless because the Holy Book is the best weapon by a country mile. Once you have the first few spell books, the Holy Book gives you every attack you could ever need. But hey, maybe that’s just my fighting style... Another negative about this game is the bosses. They are FAR TOO EASY, and serve as more of a break between exploring than genuine challenges. Otherwise, this is a fun game which Castlevania fans should enjoy. If you have a very low tolerance for ploughing through corridors, you may not last through the game, but if you're like me, the enjoyable combat should be enough to keep you hooked.   By Mr_M new_coast_2003@hotmail.com    

 
Text Box:   Graphics: B+ Generally, they’re very good, but lacklustre in parts.   Sound: B- Very good Castlevania scores and effects.   Gameplay: B- More focused on combat than exploration, but there is fun to be had. Bosses are way too easy though.   Overall: B- You’ll either love it or hate it.
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