Subject: Castlevania Lords of Shadow

I've been working on this game recently and was wondering if any of the gamers here have played it? I like the storyline, anything with vampires and werewolves and magic is right up my alley. I like how there's a little platforming and the use of a whip plus different types of magic against enemies. What I don't like is having to backtrack and get upgrades that can't be reached until you have particular items acquired in later levels. It's also challenging. I'm improving on combat skills, but stuck on a boss battle against Lord of the Lycans at the moment. It's super frustrating when you've come so close and then die anyway. I've used up both light and shadow magic just to defeat him in human form then he comes back as a monster. I want to get as far as I can in this!