Gamesugar

June 12, 2012

E3 2012 Interview – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate

Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate E3 2012
For the second year in a row, Konami got a jump start on E3 with their pre-show, which offered up a much anticipated extended look at Platinum Games’ Metal Gear Rising: Revengence.

The broadcast also delivered a cinematic trailer for the sequel to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, giving players a glimpse of Dracula pummeling an entire army and the nod that this next release would center around exploring the character who has provided the foundation for the series as a rather one-sided villain to date.

On the floor of E3, I managed to nab some hands on time with a more portable release in the Lords of Shadow Franchise as well with Mirror of Fate for the 3DS, entering an expansive castle that brought back some fond memories of a series that has had a rather extended break from portable hardware.

After whipping through some skeleton enemies and a rather large adversary that required some skillful dodges on my part, I was offered the chance to sit down with Konami’s Dave Cox and MercurySteam’s Enric Alvarez to talk more about Mirror of Fate and the Lords of Shadow franchise. One of the most important notes from the outset of that talk was that Mirror of Fate is not an attempt to continue the 2D stream of portable Castlevania releases, but rather an effort to bring the Lords of Shadow experience to the 3DS.

Since it’s always best to hear straight from the developer behind a title, I’d like to offer up the opportunity for you to hear the entirety of that conversation for yourself, which you can both stream and/or download below.

[podcast]http://www.gamesugar.net/podcast/e32012/castlevaniae3.mp3[/podcast]

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December 22, 2010

Lords of Shadow DLC

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 3:59 pm

Lords of Shadow
Konami Europe has offered up details on new downloadable content for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which involves two installments titled Reverie and Resurrection.

Reverie sends Gabriel back to the castle to destroy evil, while Resurrection picks up from the retail release’s insane ending, which is said to feature a showdown with a notorious enemy as Gabriel meets his destiny.

Both DLC installments are expected to release early next year, the first in February and the second following in April – leaving us waiting only for pricing details, and Konami to issue the announcement for North America.

In lew of those details, I offer you art.

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November 18, 2010

Review – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 8:22 pm

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
I’m riding on the back of a long-dead dragon, the size of a skyscraper, animated through dark necromancy and thundering through the sky. I’m clawing my way up the massive spine, balancing precariously when it rears its head and tries to shake me loose. I slip, and pull the right trigger just in time to jam my ridiculous crucifix-weapon into the bone and save myself from the fall—and this is about the time when it hits me just how much I like this game.

This is the last of three titanic boss encounters in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow; battles that have seen me scaling massive creatures in elaborate platforming puzzles. Like many elements of this game, this may draw comparisons to the defining hack-and-slasher, God of War, and these aren’t unwarranted. Castlevania, when considered piece by piece, is a wholly derivative affair, but as happens so rarely, it manages to provide a unique and worthy experience all the same.

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January 4, 2010

Review – Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 7:26 pm

Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth
Spending time with Konami’s rebirth of Castlevania during the holidays has reminded me that new releases in the series don’t deserve an official seal of approval until I find myself confronted by a fairly simple objective, died multiple times trying to achieve said goal, and tossed the controller in anger.

Since this occurred several times last week, we’re good to revisit the Belmont clan and discuss all things short of my issues with gaming rage.

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December 13, 2009

Review – Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 11:50 am

Review Castlevania Order of Ecclesia
When Koji Igarashi appears with that iconic whip on his hip, he wants us to believe that he IS Castlevania. But considering how the series has developed through recent handheld iterations, I often wondered why he would want to perpetuate that idea. And then when I initially heard that Order of Ecclesia would be radically different BECAUSE you play as a female character, I wondered if I should get back to that novel I’ve been working on from time to time.

I wasn’t alone in my early disinterest, which may well serve as Konami’s theme for 2008. But finally taking the time to play Ecclesia, I’ve discovered an immense void between what Konami PR focuses on and what the game actually achieves. Perhaps games can’t be properly explained with words. Perhaps developers do a poor job explaining their creations, having worked in the absence of a journalism that presses for the rationale behind creative decisions. [Honestly, can you believe no one questions these statements?] BUT, as a favor to Konami, for a nominal charge, I present the following marketing assistance;

Order of Ecclesia is a glorious Bitch-Goddess.

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