Most 3-D (or 4-D, as they often like to be called) attractions are shown in a theater kind of setting. Your seat may rattle a bit, or have other fx built in, but for the most part, you sit in one place. Not so with Darkastle, where you board a moving car inside a dark ride, and this combines with the 3-d movie. The effect of this combo (real + simulated movement) can be quite effective.
The only other ride I know of that does this is Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. and DarKastle begfs comparison to that one. It'.s a contest that Spidey handily wins, but DK is still quite good.
First, the downside: as many have noted, the storyline (such as it is) is a little mucked up, poorly presented in the queue, and probably overly complicated. A crazy Euro-aristocrat/monster guy tries to trap you in his haunted castle. Nuff said! Secondly, the animation is a little fuzzy. Thirdly, it almost never interacts with live backdrops/sets (a very marked contrast to Spidey), and at times, the blank movie screen setting is noticeable.
On to the good stuff. The theming is good - starting with the errie castle motif of the building with the nice wolf statues. The fx are generally quite good, sometimes elevating to startling movement fx (like the time you get knocked through a window), and in general, the haunted house m.o. is well suited to this kind of ride.
Yes, it'.s not as good as Spiderman, but it is good, and a lot of fun. Beware that it has long lines - in part cause its queue is largely shield from the heat, and because (despite the fact that it'.s likely too scary for small kids) it lacks the intimidation factor of the big coasters.
|