Castlevania: Lament of Innocence PlayStation 2

Konami's whip-wielding, vampire-killing series makes its PlayStation 2 debut with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Set in the 11th century, the game traces the origins of the Belmont family through the story of original vampire hunter Leon Belmont. As with Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness on Nintendo 64, the game eschews the standard 2D format in which the series has flourished in favor of a 3D engine with fixed camera angles.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence consists of five sprawling sections of one castle: a cathedral, laboratory, garden, opera house, and a dungeon. Each area is riddled with traps and puzzles as well as numerous monsters roaming the castle's grounds. While there are hidden areas and a variety of items to collect, such as armor and relics, the role-playing elements found in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the Game Boy Advance versions have been dropped to keep the emphasis on action.

In addition to the trademark whip, players can acquire the following sub-weapons: holy water, crystals (which act as mines), daggers, axes, and crosses. Combining these sub-weapons with orbs found in the castle will enhance their powers over time. The whip can also be altered with magic, and it can be used as a rope to swing across platforms or to pull Leon up to otherwise unreachable areas. There are two standard attacks players can perform -- weak but speedy and powerful but slow -- against more than 70 different creature types, including bosses and mini-bosses. ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide