When was the last time we've seen a numbered Castlevania title? It's been a few decades, hasn't it? I suppose Konami has finally found a storyline worth directly continuing and numbering, so congrats MercurySteam for making this ridiculous piece of geek history with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
It ain't nothing but a CG trailer which shows Gabriel Belmont and his lovely perm whipping through a shitload of would-be vampire slayers with his newfound powers of darkness. Also, smoke dragon versus stone colossus. That's new, but it is completely welcome. At trailer's end, Gabe is confronted by a sword-wielding, white-haired defender of light who we can only assume is Castlevania commonplace and dhampiric son of Dracula, Alucard. MercurySteam has taken me for a loop before, so I wouldn't be surprised if our hero is someone completely random, like Soma Cruz or Sean Connery.
Best believe I'm anticipating more information on this joint, and you'll hear me bitching my tits or licking my lips when I get it.
See what I did there? It's a mish mash of mild, cool, hot, and cold. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has taken making sense and slashed it to teensy-weensy pieces, so why should I care if the title of this post is nonsensical? You're welcome.
Seriously though, Revengeance is looking alright by me, but you know, I'm a fan of fast-paced flashy action games with questionable story content. It's beginning to look a bit like what I had hoped Ninja Gaiden III would be, but fell laughably short at. Though the Metal Gear Solid games have normally woven complex storylines, I can't help but question Raiden's Platinum-powered spinoff. But fuck it, cutting concrete pillars and people in half in one stroke; like.
This is the title screen for upcoming Konami/Kojima/Platinum love child Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. I've created posts for less.
While it tells us absoltely nothing about the upcoming slash-and-flash fest, Raiden is looking pretty good, which at the very least is what I expect from this mess. Revengeance (no definition) will be playable at E3, so expect some new details and trailers in the coming weeks.
For more than 20 years, Contra has been a staple of classic gaming worldwide. From its original, painfully difficult roots, the series has grown and evolved into different entities over time, with slight gameplay changes introduced to keep the series fresh. Hard Corps: Uprising, while not a member of the Contra family in title, is a spiritual relative of the esteemed franchise. That said, The look of Hard Corps: Uprising is as drastic a departure from the series as the name change is. Does it get past the heavily armed and fortified one-eyed wall, or does it mistime it's leap and plunge into a pit?
Does anyone remember Zone of the Enders? Konami and Hideo Kojima's awesome futuristic mech battle game for the PlayStation 2? I hope you say yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if you say no. For a series with such promise, it was dreadfully undermarketed and went underdeveloped, never quite reaching it's full potential.
As a lover of both video games and action figures, I'm thrilled to discover that Zone of the Enders will be getting the plastic treatment, by way of my favorite line of figures, Kaiyodo's Revoltech line. Revoltech figures have incredible articulation, making just about any pose possible, and come with tons of accessories to assure your Orbital Frame is fully outfitted for any situation.
The lovely Jehuty figure will be available in Japan starting April 15th, for about 2,850 yen, which is approximately $35 for you importers. If you're an action figure head I'm sure you have your go-to spot for this sort of thing, be it local, or online. If you're new to the world of high-quality plastics and are looking for an easy in, why don't you try Big Bad Toy Store as the release date gets a little closer?
Gamers of my day have a fond appreciation for the arcade game, a medium which has been steadily declining in the states, to the point of near death where it lay today. While you may still be able to find arcades around town somewhere, the odds of the games being up to date and the prices being moderate are next to none. One of the elite arcade games of my time was X-Men, a six-player orgy of flying fists and mutant powers, which was a blast both in part to the multiplayer mayhem, and the enjoyment of seeing my favorite mutants mix it up on the dual arcade screens. Is Konami's re-release on XBLA and PSN too late to be appreciated? Is our review too late to be appreciated as well? Read on to find out.
Castlevania is one of the most prolific titles of our generation. Yet depending on who you ask, the series has staled of late. No matter who you ask, it's a universal truth that the Belmont clan's quest to slay Dracula and his minions has never successfully made the jump from pixels to polygons. Fans of the series were hoping that Konami could, with Hideo Kojima's stamp of approval, turn their floundering franchise into something grand, worthy of the Vampire Killer's history. Does Castlevania: Lords of Shadow live up to the legacy, or is it a miserable little pile of secrets?
One of the fondest memories from my childhood was taking vacation with family down to Florida, where the local pristine and hi-tech arcade was home to the much sought after 6-player X-Men Arcade. A world of difference from the local arcades I haunted in Queens New York, which were mostly found in the back of pizza stores and comic book shops. Even then, the best we had were Sunset Riders, Street Fighter: Rainbow Edition, WWF Superstars, and a Neo Geo 4-in-1 cabinet. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ghetto games of my ghetto arcade in the back of the ghetto pizzeria, but damn son, I get to play as Wolverine with five other people? That's what I'm talking about.
When the trailer for X-Men Arcade started rolling at Marvel's Saturday morning video game panel at New York Comic Con, and I realized what it was, my childhood came rushing back. I remembered taking family trips down south, swimming in the pool with with girls more mature than I, being fascinated with their boobs, playing Simpsons Arcade, Tekken, and of course, X-Men Arcade. I also remembered just how much I hated this particular game. Well, hate is a strong word, it was more like I was at odds with it.
I loved X-Men, and I loved arcades, so it's obvious that the joining of the two would be a dream come true for a snot-nosed punk in the early 90's. And it was for a while, until I couldn't beat it with the quarters allotted to me by my father. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many people who teamed with me, I could never conquer this damned game.
I remember coming close once, really close. I must have spent around five bucks to get to the point I was at, me and one other kid holding it down long after the rest of our team had succumbed to renegade mutants and mutant hunters. The level was epic, the enemies were vicious, and the life was draining quickly. Magneto was the next boss, I could feel it! Boy, was I wrong.
I don't remember the stage, or the boss, but we beat it, and him. Only to move on to the next stage, and die, quickly. Well, I died. My compatriot valiantly fought on, lasting a good 5-10 minutes after me, but he met his inevitable end as well. Dejectedly, we sighed and bid our final farewells as our parents dragged us off, back to the real world.
X-Men Arcade is an awesome throwback to the arcade glory days of my, and probably your, childhood. Unfortunately, Konami says nothing new will be added, so don't expect to be playing as Bishop via DLC. Yes, someone will still be forced to play as disco reject, Dazzler. Not it, I've got infinite dibs on Nightcrawler. That was my man! All things aside, this is an excellent re-release. With six player drop in online support, the fun of the original will be upheld, and you'll be able to save your quarters for laundry.
It's no secret here that I love the Castlevania series, but I'm not without my doubts for the latest entry, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. While all the press release videos made me pound my computer desk with overjoyed rage, behind the scenes gameplay videos didn't really stir me the same way. They looked bland and without personality.
The seven-plus minute trailer from Tokyo Game Show rested my concerns regarding the characters and the storyline. What at one point I thought may have been too influenced by western fantasy such as The Lord of The Rings, I was starting to see was truly Castlevania at its core, regardless of whether or not it was borrowing from Tolkien or Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Today, Konami brings us a new trailer, that is more epic in both scope and length than the nearly-short-film that premiered at TGS. Yes, eleven minutes of details, narrative, and most importantly gameplay. One month, two trailers, nearly twenty minutes of footage. That's a lot of Castlevania to tease as pre-release hype. Yet we have no reason to fear, as there is supposedly twenty hours of gameplay in Lords of Shadow, so a measly twenty minutes ain't no type of spoiler for us, nope.
This eleven minute behemoth preps the potential player for what to expect on October 5th, or as I've come to call it All Shadows Day, because I will be sitting at home, shades drawn, candles lit, smoke in the room, playing Lords of Shadow all day. What was once considered skepticism and cautious optimism has grown into full fledged excitement. Watch the trailer, and if you don't feel the same way, then you ain't no friend of mine, friend.
In a final push for your attention and preorders, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has released a new trailer from Tokyo Game Show. The trailer might as well be considered a short film, as it weighs in at a meaty seven minutes. Fans of Castlevania games will enjoy it though, since it's packed with awesome tidbits to look forward to. Outed primarily for the title's Japanese release in December, of course the western crowd can use it as a decision maker for the game's stateside due date, in a few short weeks.
Needless to say I'm excited for this game. I didn't need the lengthy trailer to make up my mind, it's a day one buy for sure. I still don't know whether or not I can consider it a true Castlevania game, but even out of context, it just looks epic and enjoyable.
Friday, June 1, 2012 at 1:11PM 
