Castlevania fans have always had to face the sad fact that their franchise is a hit-or-miss affair, and that for some reason its programmers could never wrap their heads around making a fun 3D title in the franchise. The first two in the series, on the N64, were so awful that they've been stricken from the Castlevania canon and fans pretend they never existed. The third, Lament of Innocence, showed some promise as the game mechanics were solid.

Curse of Darkness is the latest, and it's both a wonderful title, and an absolute pile. There are elements in the game that draw from previous Castlevania titles to wonderful effect, it opens up another world of exploration for future titles - that of renegade followers who turn on Dracula - but at the end of the day, it turns out to be an incredibly tedious title with horrid level design that mars even the best innovations to the gameplay.