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Kojima Productions in 'support role' for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

by David Hinkle { Jul 1st 2009 at 2:20PM }

Hideo Kojima has further reiterated his supporting role in Castlevania: Lord of Shadow in a new interview with Weekly Famitsu, reports 1UP. "This has become a big project, one with the idea that we needed to make a Castlevania which had that same kind of feverish Western support, and that's why Kojima Productions came in to help," Kojima told the Japanese publication.

With his Metal Gear Solid games beloved by everyone the world over (everyone with taste, anyway), Kojima's the right man for the job. But seeing as how this game is being developed by Madrid-based Mercury Steam Entertainment, Kojima obviously won't be on-site to aid in development. Instead, the team comes up with concepts to run by Kojima and he has them "fix things based on my objective viewpoint." An example given is the initial model for the hero's face, which Kojima had them redesign to be, well, more heroic looking. See, people, this is the kind of thing only Kojima can bring to the table!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, minus the 'Castlevania'

by Randy Nelson { Jun 4th 2009 at 6:30AM }

Lords of Shadow's Gabriel, circa 2008

If Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- announced today during Konami's E3 press conference -- seems ... familiar, it should. The game was actually announced at last year's E3 -- by Konami -- as Lords of Shadow, minus the Castlevania. But, as far as we can tell by comparing what we saw today versus a year ago, that's the only difference.

Lords of Shadow was a gothic action-adventure game starring a character named Gabriel, who just so happened to wield a whip -- iconic weapon of Castlevania heroes -- that emerged from a crucifix. Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is -- in keeping with the series -- a gothic adventure, starring a crucifix/whip-wielding character named Gabriel (who, like the rest of the game, looks exactly as he did last year). Both years' trailers even feature the same giant, stone golem boss character. Oh, and look amazing. Only now, Kojima Productions is steering MercurySteam along the development path.

2009, where everything old is new again -- and carrying the Castlevania name. Check out the game as it appeared a year ago in trailer form after the break (and in original concept art below).

Gallery: Order of Shadow Concept Art

Continued →

Feast your eyes on the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer

by Randy Nelson { Jun 4th 2009 at 5:30AM }

Konami's whipped Castlevania fans into a furor with the announcement of Lords of Shadow for PS3 and Xbox 360. Oh, and the fact that its development is being overseen by Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions. But Konami -- and we -- can only say so much about the game; you really have to see it in action for yourself to achieve the absolute height of excitement. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

Kojima's 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow' unmasked

by Randy Nelson { Jun 3rd 2009 at 6:51PM }

click to enlarge

The next Castlevania isn't being made by series legend Koji Igarashi -- it's coming from Metal Gear masters Kojima Productions. The game teased as "MASK" on the developer's E3 countdown site is, in reality, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. A 3D actioneer reminiscent of God of War, the game is under development at MercurySteam Entertainment, the studio behind American McGee's Scrapland and Clive Barker's Jericho, with Kojima Productions ... producing it.

There's already some Hollywood talent attached, including British actor Patrick Stewart, best known for his role as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Kojima is not directly producing the game; rather, he's there to "support" MercurySteam on the game, which is slated for 2010 on PS3 and Xbox 360. Looks like Mr. Metal Gear is wasting no time fulfilling his wish to work with Western developers.

Gallery: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows

Rumor: Listing reveals Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and new console Castlevania

by Majed Athab { Jun 1st 2009 at 9:00PM }

Konami's press event won't start until June 3rd, but it looks like some of the company's line-up may already been spoiled. A seemingly careless listing on Gamespress (a resource for video game-related press releases) suggests that two of Konami/Kojima Production's new titles could be Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for PSP and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for Xbox 360 and PS3.

The mention of a second new MGS follows assumptions we had previously (and could be the name of the already confirmed PSP title), while the addition of "Castlevania" to the already known Lords of Shadow is something that was unexpected. Although, on second thought ... it does look a bit like a Castelvania title (see the concept art after the break). Lord of Shadows has been an object of attention lately and was presumed to be the game teased in Kojima's other teaser website.

Meanwhile, one last revelation suggests Metal Gear Solid: Rising is not a 360 exclusive but will be going to PC and PS3 as well. Considering, the non-use of the word "exclusive" in Microsoft's press conference where Hideo Kojima personally unveiled Rising, it left many to speculate whether the game was exclusive to the platform. Keep in mind, however, that this listing does not confirm anything and might be a database entry mistake.

Continued →

Castlevania movie gets staked

by Richard Mitchell { May 27th 2009 at 10:30PM }

According to Bloody Disgusting, sources have confirmed that the troubled Castlevania film has officially been doused with holy water and staked through the heart. Details are sparse, with the site saying only that the project has entered "development hell." We're not film industry experts, but that sounds bad. Given that the film has already been delayed twice by both the writers' strike of 2007 and the spectre of an actors' strike late last year, it's not too surprising to see the film get canned at this point.

For now, it looks like Dracula will stay in his coffin (for once). It's possible that an E3 reveal of the new PS3 / 360 title could spark some new interest in the film, but maybe we're better off leaving the whip-less adaptation in the ground.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Konami celebrates 40th birthday

by Jason Dobson { Mar 6th 2009 at 9:05AM }

Before you blow out the candles on your cake, take a deep breath first. There's 40 of them, after all. Storied publisher Konami celebrates four decades of whip-cracking this month. The company's secret behind its youthful good looks? Konami's European president Kunio Neo tells MCV, "Consistency plays a major part in everything Konami does." Well there's that, and eating piping hot plates of wall-turkey at every opportunity.

Neo also notes that Konami already has big plans for the future, with "a wealth of other new titles in development." Now, after all this excitement, we're going to go lay down. I feel asleep.

Fanswag: Castlevania Judgment goes to ...

by Joystiq Staff { Jan 23rd 2009 at 9:30AM }

It's about time we crowned the winner of our latest giveaway involving Castlevania Judgment. Our copy of the game shall be awarded to this lucky reader:

Kevin Lehnert, who enjoyed Portrait of Ruin for the DS

Congratulations to our winner and better luck next time to the rest of you. Thanks for reading!

Gallery: Castlevania Judgment

Reminder: Castlevania Judgment still up for grabs

by David Hinkle { Jan 20th 2009 at 3:00PM }

Time is running out. Through the mist, Dracula's castle begins to emerge. You have precious little time if you're to arm yourself against the forces of darkness with our copy of Castlevania Judgment. Before you take on the castle, see our original contest post to arm up with whips and stakes and hearts and maybe, just maybe, a free game.

Gallery: Castlevania Judgment

Wii Warm Up: Dracula's Choice

by JC Fletcher { Jan 17th 2009 at 10:30AM }

We got release dates for various Sega games (and a Japanese release date for Muramasa), WiiWare announcements, news of available Rock Band DLC, and more this week, and yet, for us, the best news all week was about something old: the release of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. And now that all three NES Castlevanias (not counting stuff like Konami Wai Wai World or Boku Dracula-kun) are out and you guys bought them all (you bought them all, right?), we can ask you to pick a favorite. Yeah, we're asking you the same thing in the contest post, but that's of all time, and we'd like to exclude the Metroidvanias from consideration.

Is it the straightforward, brutally punishing action of Castlevania? The light platforming and completely obtuse puzzle-solving of Simon's Quest? The varying locations and playable characters of Dracula's Curse? Or do you just like whipping Medusa heads in general?

Koji Igarashi and Simon Belmont team up to sell Castlevania Judgment

by JC Fletcher { Jan 15th 2009 at 5:19PM }

Rest assured: when we reviewed Konami's Castlevania Judgment, we did so completely free of influence from external factors like whip-wielding producers in cowboy hats or vampire hunter cosplayers. Had there been somebody in our office whipping at us and cosplaying at us, we'd like to think the score would have remained firm, but we have yet to be tested in such a way to find out. Mostly we'd have been happy to suddenly have an office!

That's right, the time-altering ability of Aeon brought Simon Belmont into the modern age, specifically the day of Castlevania Judgment's Japanese release. The legendary vampire hunter joined forces with Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi to bother Dengeki staffers, with a truly amusing set of photos as a result. Will it sell Castlevania? No idea.

We thought there was no way to make the outfits Takeshi Obata designed for the characters look any more ridiculous, but Konami found a way: putting them on real people.

Gallery: Castlevania Judgment

Fanswag: Castlevania Judgment

by David Hinkle { Jan 15th 2009 at 9:00AM }

Another fanswag giveaway is upon us and this time we're unloading one copy of Castlevania Judgment ($50). Want it? Simply leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite Castlevania game of all time is. You should have plenty to choose from!

Of course, we've got a couple of rules. For one, you have to be at least 18 years of age and a current and legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). Also, you may only enter once per day. Entries must be in before Wednesday, January 21 at 11:59PM ET. Before entering, make sure you read the official rules right here, too!

Best of luck to you all and thanks for reading!

Gallery: Castlevania Judgment

VC Monday Madness: Castlevania III

by David Hinkle { Jan 12th 2009 at 3:29PM }

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Wii Fanboy says: download it!

We love Castlevania. And the release of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a welcome trip down memory lane. For the small sum of 500 Wii Points, we'd suggest you take the trip yourself and enjoy some classic Castlevania for the NES. There isn't any other way to enjoy it unless you actually have a working NES and the cartridge (or you want to play it on your PC).

Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel.

Top 5: Worst. Cutscenes. Ever.

by Kaes Delgrego { Jan 12th 2009 at 12:42PM }

According to Activision (and after all, they made Pitfall!), video games will "eclipse" all other forms of media. Head honcho Mike Griffith went on to say that "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors."

I'm not sure how much I agree with that statement. Strictly in terms of cash flow, it's already happening. Gaming is a fairly pricey hobby, and it's been outpacing the other forms of media for several years (in terms of growth). Yet I have a difficult time imagining a time where video games are everyone's preferred form of escapism. Although their respective industries may see drastic changes with direct, indirect, or unrelated connections to gaming, music and film will always have a place. As much as I love gaming, it's not rare that I find myself preferring to zone out with TV or just listen to music and read instead of playing a video game.

What I do see is a further merging of the three into ubiquitous, all-purpose media devices. Microsoft and Sony currently do this, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo catches up. While most households currently don't rely on gaming consoles as their sole provider of film / TV and music, I imagine that this will change. Perhaps the mediums will start to bleed into one another. With Metal Gear Solid blurring the lines between game and film and Audiosurf doing the same for games and music, perhaps media will merge and propagate a completely new and unique form of entertainment. Interesting stuff.

What was this Top 5 about, again? Oh, right: cut scenes. A lot of them stink. Here's the 5 worst ones.

NEXT >>

The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.

Wiikly Wares: Castlevania III takes Jungle Speed on Planet Pachinko

by Justin McElroy { Jan 12th 2009 at 10:38AM }

Coming at 12pm ET to Wii:

WiiWare:
Jungle Speed (Playful Entertainment Inc., 1-8 players, 1,000 Wii Points): So, here we have a card game that comes with no cards and, at $10, costs twice as much as an actual card game. Sounds like a great deal for those of you who don't own tables.

Planet Pachinko (Allied Kingdoms Inc., 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): We can't tell you how many times we've been playing pachinko in our favorite local haunt and thought, "Why can't I have this kind of fun on my Wii?" Our next thought is usually something like, "Why is our favorite local haunt in Tokyo? We're spending a fortune on airfare." [Update: This isn't a pachinko game. In fact, it looks absolutely insane.]

Virtual Console:
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): A classic, but doesn't the premise sound like the fan fiction of a 12-year-old? "OK, so you're one of the Belmonts, right? You're ... umm, Trevor. But instead of just using your whip you can transform into a really hot girl that uses magic and ... uhhh, Dracula's son. Oh! And also a pirate. Listen, there's more, but I've gotta get to Pre-Algebra."