Castlevania Judgment, for the Nintendo Wii, is a 3D fighting game where players compete in 1-on-1 match-ups The action is a blend of your typical 3D fighting game (as seen in titles like Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, and other arena-combat titles) and mechanics taken directly from the different games in the Castlevania series. In any given fight, the player will face either another human opponent or the game's CPU and attempt to win a selected number of rounds (adjustable in most modes but fixed in others); this can be accomplished by selecting one of the uniquely equipped characters, becoming adept at dealing his or her stat-based limitations, and defeating the opponent by "KO" (whittling his energy meter down to nothing), "Ring Out" (knocking an opponent off the edge of a fighting stage, should such a pitfall exist), or "Time Up" (this happens when the timer expires, bringing the match to an immediate end, and you have more energy remaining than does your opponent). If a round ends by Time Up and both competitors' energy meters are equally drained, the round will be declared a draw, both receiving a round-winning mark--this is true of all except Versus Mode, where the match will be decided in a sudden-death round.

The modes are as follows:

You can play Judgment using one of three different controllers: The GameCube controller, the Wii's Classic Controller or the Wii Remote. The difference between them is a conventional control scheme (for the latter two options) versus and a largely motion-based scheme, which is better or worse depending upon your view of the industry; while the default button-layouts are a bit impractical, they can be reconfigured in the Options Mode. No matter your preference, you'll take to the action with your character of choice and baffle opponents with a number of techniques:

You can before a match select a different-colored outfit and in certain modes (Training, Versus and Wi-Fi Connection) your desired starting sub-weapon. During any battle, you must be aware of your current sub-weapon in addition to your energy meter, your heart-total, the round-number, and the time remaining. Of great importance, as potentially the difference between emphatic victory or humiliating defeat, is the Skill Gauge; dishing out damage or cagily blocking attacks will lead to the filling of this gauge, which is Judgment's standard "Special Meter." When the meter is full, your character can execute his Super Finishing Move, which if not blocked will inflict a devastating amount of damage and in the process empty the Skill Gauge. As per usual with such moves, a Super Finisher is the great equalizer, the ultimate comeback move.

You'll of course also want to be in tune with your surroundings. This is true because fights take place in large arenas--dreary locales as ripped from the structures of many series games; these stages include the castle keep Throne Room, the Clock Tower, the Alchemy Lab plus other familiar, steroetypical landscapes. All stages entail random items, which you can use to bludgeon your opponent, and candelabras, which when destroyed drop sub-weapons and the hearts that power them. By this measure, you can switch sub-weapons during a match if you're able to locate a more-favored instrument all the while keeping in mind the angry, ceaseless opponent who wishes to thwart such attempts.

Stages feature avoidable hazards, including obstacles like unstable terrain, pools of white-hot lava, swinging scythes, falling gears, and other troublesome quirks. In certain stages, a minor enemy (such as merman or a zombie) will insert itself into the battle, posing a threat to both players or if avoided as such assisting as an oblivious ally, this until it's destroyed in the obvious manner. So as told, Judgment's battles are more than just straight clashes--they're essentially action scenes as ripped directly from the series' many games, closely related in gameplay to the recent 3D titles (Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness). It's an interesting hybrid that tests your skills as a fighting-game enthusiast and as a Castlevania veteran.