It's been some time since I felt compelled to write a commentary on a video game, but after playing Castlevania Judgement for some time, I felt the need to write a few thoughts about the game. Being a long time fan of the series and being quite familiar with every entry in the series (spin offs included), I must say I haven't been so surprised nor conflicted on any entry before it. I may not say much that you haven't heard about this game already, but at least I get to say it this time.

or the most part, this game has been seen as a disappointment by most reviewers and gamers in the gaming community. It's easy to see why, and I can't disagree. However, being one who tries to see that best in everything, I can't say the game is a complete failure or without some entertainment value.

If I could choose one word to discribe the "sloppy", and that most refers to the controls. This being a fighter, controls are probably the most important element, and sadly, the worst executed element in the game. It undermines most of what works with this game...at least, that's what I first thought when playing. The motion-sensing controls are the defaul settings (hey, this is the Wii, how else would it be?) I found myself simply singing the controller randomly, hoping to hit something but not really feeling like I was actually playing. Swinging does not equal playing, and that was just annoying.

But here's suggestion number one to getting more enjoyment out of this game: switch your contols from motion-sensing to good old fashion button pushing. You can still use the remote and nunchuck, and switch the attack from swinging to the A and B buttons. Or use the classic or GameCube controllers. This is the simpliest yet most effective way to increase your level of enjoyment 100%. It provides a better, more fullfilling gaming experience.

And what about the other parts of the game? Visually, it's a nice presentation, though not perfect. The backgrounds are a mixed bag. Some of very plain and unimaginative, while others are simply awesome. The characters look fine, though some of the sprites looks so much alike that I sometimes find it hard to keep track as to who is who. It's truly devastating when you realize you've been trying to control the other character, and they end up beating you all to hell.

Too bad there's not way to fix the awkward camera angle. The strangest part of the camera is that it generally falls behind the character sprite...and if you're playing with a friend, you may find your character standing far in the background, facing toward you...and that's just not a good place to be. Overall, it's not really bad, just a little odd. It's really more like a traditional boss battle from the game than a fighter. Not really a bad thing, just something you've got to get used to.

The music is all lifted from the games. They're good renderings, bring back a sense of nostaligia. It may have been nice to have more original peices, but anything to remind that gamer that this is indeed a Castlevania game is almost a requirement. The sounds are all fine, and sound very arcade like.

The voice acting is subpar, but appropriate for the characters. The characters spout one liners that are in the spirit of He-Man, which is to say that they're direct, to the point while trying to be clever. Just enjoy the campiness of it and move along or you'll go nuts.

The story is also a tad cheesy, but surprisingly logical. What else would a "time lord" (my term) want to do with such power than to match up a bunch of historical heroes in a tornament in the spirit of Soul Calibur? I know that's what I would do. It's a little deeper than that, but the bottom line is that it may seem contrived, but there's really no reason why this game shouldn't be allowed in the official Castlevania canon.

Speaking of canon, I do find it interesting that Cornell is here. Perhaps it was Konami's way of saying that Casltevania: Legacy of Darkness really did happen. As for the rest of the line up, I think it's a nice selection. Trevor and Simon are like the "Ken and Ryu" of this game, and I absolutely love Alucard. Maria is also pretty interesting, though she's a little overpowering for my taste. Everyone will probably gravitate to one character more than the others, but isn't what fighting games are all about?

In the end, I felt the biggest diappoinment is that the default controls will really push most gamers away. They'll play for 10 minutes or less and turn it off. But simply playing the game with more traditional controls makes all the difference. Overall, it's a good distraction for series fans, but I hope if another installment to this spin off is created, they can make it more solid, less sloppy.

Or perhaps a fighter wasn't the correct way to go. It's ironic that a traditional game was created, since swinging your arm around too much was considered to be too tiring. That's pretty much what you have going on here, constantly! My suggestion would be a FPS. Now that would have been the ultimate love letter to Castlevania fans.

Sam Mills can be reached via email at sammycut1@aol.com