Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Looking for categories like Best PSP Driving Game? Greatest Achievement in Control Layout, Artistic? Eastern European Developer Most Worth Watching in 2011? Then our end-of-year awards might not be for you.

GamesRadar's Platinum Chalices are different. We're not interested in checking off a massively tedious list of genres, platforms and technical subdivisions… we'd much rather focus on the stuff that makes this hobby, you know, fun. And reward whichever games delivered the most of that stuff.

So if you're looking for the best fan service, most satisfying gore or greatest achievement in old-school kickassery in 2010, you've definitely come to the right celebration. Let's get it started…

Every October, the nightmare comes to life in exactly the same way: Half the great games of the year come out during the three month holiday season, when we gamers have the least amount of disposable income. As a result, worthwhile games get overlooked. And with pumpkin-carving season upon us, we felt it was time to reveal our 2010 list of truly cool games that are nonetheless going to sell miserably unless we spread the word and do something about it.

Let us repeat: We’re NOT saying the games are bad; on the contrary, these new IPs, reboots and sequels show a fair deal of promise. What we are saying is that these games are destined to drown in the ocean of hype given off by much larger, better-recognized IPs and a release calendar crowded with more starry-eyed hopefuls than the front row of a Justin Bieber concert...

If there’s one thing you’ll learn by the time you’ve finished Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, it’s that the Knights of the Brotherhood were much more useful as shimmering, loot-filled corpses than they ever were as warriors. Our collectibles guide shows you exactly where to find every single Life Gem, Light Gem, Shadow Gem, weapon upgrade, and scroll throughout this beautifully grim tale. All of the aforementioned items contribute to your level completion percentage except for the scrolls - while they’re not worth anything in terms of in-game achievements, you can always give yourself a big pat on the back for experiencing everything the game has to offer. Plus, they make for interesting reads and will often give you hints on how to best overcome the challenges of each level. Gabriel's already got bottomless pockets, so why not pick up the extra parchment? 

If, like us, you suspected Castlevania had it's day in the lime-light over two decades ago, then you're wron-diddly-ong. Word on the shop floor here, from the magazines that are currently reviewing Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, is that it's bloody great. Then again, everything that Hideo Kojima and his Kojima Productions team touches seems to turn to gold. So to get you in the mood here's a special Kojima-san directed trailer from TGS to feast your eyes on. Enjoy.

Births, an interview with Harmonix, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair reviewified, hands-on with the latest Red Dead Redemption DLC, and an important lesson on how to talk shit in Street Fighter. Oh, and we've got another FREE GAME to give away....

Last night Konami came to town and swept us up in a tidal wave of new game announcements and new-fangled information on games we’ve been dying to know more about. But why search high and low for our fresh takes on those games when you can find them all here?

Lords of Shadow is the latest Castlevania in over two decades of games which encompass ten centuries of the past and eight thousand years of the future. Since the eleventh century Count Dracula has walked the Earth, rising every hundred years to spread his evil influence across the world, and at every resurrection he has been foiled by a descendant of the Belmont bloodline.

About a year ago we reveled in the dorky glory of gaming’s cheesiest music, a thorough collection of hopelessly goofy game songs that will inspire facepalms for years to come. This time we’re focusing on actual bands or contracted jingle-slingers who crafted tunes based on games that never needed a lyrical companion in the first place.

From its inception, the idea behind Week of Geek has been “as niche as possible.” To some, an article about videogame music is obscure enough, but as an ardent fan of all things VGM, I wanted to truly geek out and talk about game music that references other game music.