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Castlevania producer Dave Cox leaves Konami after 17 years
Today is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Dave Cox's final day at Konami, he announced on Twitter. Signed with the hashtag "#endofanera," Cox wrote the following: "After 17 years I have decided to leave Konami to explore new opportunities. Today is my final day with the company." In follow-up messages, Cox provided a personal highlight reel of his time at Konami, starting when he joined the company in 1997 as the UK product manager. His first project was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. He then managed some of Konami's "biggest titles," including Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Pro Evolution Soccer and Suikoden. With a Castlevania: Lords of Shadow hashtag, Cox discussed his final bow.
Castlevania: Mirror of Fate HD sinks its fangs into Steam 'later this month'
Having drained the blood from the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate will next dine on Steam, at an unknown date later in March. Originally released on Nintendo's handheld as a bridge between Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and the recently-released Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Mirror of Fate sees Trevor Belmont traversing the familiar gothic climes of Dracula's domain. Gameplay is a cross between the action-focused Lords of Shadow games and those Castlevania entries (mostly notably Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) that focus on 2D exploration. The PC incarnation of Mirror of Fate is based on the more recent PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games, which means that it comes equipped with high-definition graphics, online leaderboards and a Boss Rush mode. New to the PC game are Steam Achievements, though they should be essentially identical to the Achievements and Trophies found in the Xbox 360 and PS3 games, respectively. Unfortunately lacking from Konami's announcement is a price point for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD, and any specific release date. The best the publisher is willing to offer is a vague "later this month" release window which only leaves about two weeks for Dracula to crawl from his tomb once again. [Image: Konami]
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Collection stakes out next month [update]
The Lords of Shadow bundle-vania has a release date in Europe, winging its way onto retail shelves over there on November 8. We've reached out to Konami to confirm what tradition suggests - tradition being very important to vampires of course (and publishers) - namely, a November 5 release date for North America, as listed by certain online retailers. The Collection, coming to Xbox 360 and PS3, features the original Lords of Shadow along with its Reverie and Resurrection DLC packs, Mirror of Fate HD - which is coming to the Xbox Games Store and PlayStation Network on October 31 - and a demo for the upcoming Lords of Shadow 2. The bundle's set UK price is £30, while Amazon and Best Buy have it at $30 currently, GameStop at $40. Update: A November 5 release date is confirmed for North and South America.
Castlevania Mirror of Fate HD listed for PS3, 360 at Play-Asia
Play-Asia looks into Mirror of Fate and sees an HD port staring back at them, it seems. The Hong Kong retailer put up a new listing for a Castlevania: Lords of Shadow collection, and lurking inside is an unannounced PS3 and Xbox 360 port of the 3DS direct sequel. The PS3 and Xbox 360 collection also features the first Lords of Shadow along with all its DLC, and an "exclusive demo" of Lords of Shadow 2. The release date is listed as October 2013. We've not found other retailers with the listing as yet. However, in December 2012, Mirror of Fate was classified by Brazil's games rating board for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as 3DS, some three months prior to its arrival on the portable. The Brazilian board also rated the game for PC and Wii U, although these platforms aren't noted in Play-Asia's listing. In February, Konami UK boss Dave Cox said the company would "definitely" consider an HD Mirror of Fate, explaining the studio built the game in HD and "kind of shrunk it" onto 3DS. "We want as many people to play it as possible. Obviously we have an exclusivity deal with Nintendo right now though and they've been very supportive of the product," Cox told CVG. Like a bat out of hell, retail listings like this one are usually gone in the morning, but at the moment the collection is still on Play-Asia's site. We've reached out to Konami for comment.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow PC demo rises on Steam tomorrow
A demo for the Ultimate Edition of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is due on Steam this week. There was some initial confusion over which day, but we've confirmed with a Konami representative the PC port's demo is "definitely" coming tomorrow. Meanwhile the game proper, which features add-on chapters Reverie and Resurrection, flies onto Steam on August 27, with a boxed retail edition sinking its teeth into Europe on August 30. As for Lords of Shadow 2, series producer David Cox recently revealed the action-adventure sequel will be developer MercurySteam's final foray into Castlevania. The Spanish studio will say so long and thanks for all the Nosferatu when the follow-up hits Xbox 360, PS3, and PC sometime this winter.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sinks teeth into PC in August
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Ultimate Edition has been officially announced for PC and will whip-it good this August. The game, which hinted at a PC release on the Steam registry this past March, includes the regular game plus two add-on chapters (Reverie and Resurrection). The PC edition will be available through Steam on August 27, while a boxed retail edition will arrive in Europe on August 30.%Gallery-190428%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow materializes in Steam registry
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow may swing onto PCs, given its appearance in Steam's registry. As spotted by NeoGAF, the entry's full name is "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Early Access Comp," with no '2' in sight - the upcoming sequel was announced last August as coming to PC as well as PS3 and Xbox 360.When a series comes to new platforms we tend to see previous entries follow suit, so it would make sense to whip up a PC version of MercurySteam's reboot. Our only ask is publisher Konami somehow infuses the PC port with even more Patrick Stewart, because you can never, ever have enough Patrick Stewart.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate review: Symphony of the Fight
If the multi-tiered title didn't make it clear, "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate" is a heavy thing. A glut of gothic gravitas manifests in a huge quest that peels out of its handheld frame, even while anchored by burly protagonists and sullen environments. It's a fine action game fueled by fervor, but in need of some finesse.Mirror of Fate invites a fair comparison to older Castlevania games like Aria of Sorrow, which made light of a somber premise with whip-smart heroes, Michiru Yamane's upbeat score and a crisp, unfurling map of interconnected rooms. Dracula's dire abode was buoyed by brisk exploration, by coloring in each room on the diagram and expanding your navigational knowledge as you went about the business of slaying monsters. The combat found complexity in a large variety of swords, lances, axes, maces and daggers, each of which offered simple, easily decipherable changes.This trip through the horror catalogue curtails the equipment to the chain-whip "Combat Cross," brandished by Gabriel Belmont in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, as well as a small but powerful set of exhaustible sub-weapons. There's more interest in ferocious fighting than traversal, and a far greater demand for concentration and finger gymnastics than you might expect.
MercurySteam surprised by Castlevania success, says DLC was 'rushed'
Developer MercurySteam and publisher Konami weren't expecting Castlevania: Lords of Shadow to be as successful as it was, which ultimately resulted in its poorly received downloadable content, according to producer David Cox. "The problem was that the game's success caught everyone by surprise," Cox recently told Gameranx, "It caught senior management by surprise and they wanted us to do DLC."The team "never planned" to create DLC, and the content that they created was then "rushed" to market, Cox added, referring to the whole situation as a "mistake." If it could be done again, he said, DLC would have been planned from the get-go, and what was released would have been more of a "side story," as opposed to content that adds to the ending. This appears to be Cox's philosophy for downloadable content in general, as he noted further, "Instead of giving players a part of the story and giving them the other part as DLC, I think the DLC has to expand the universe of an already whole product."Presumably, if Lords of Shadow 2 has any DLC – which Cox won't admit just yet – it will be handled with much more care.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Castlevania: LoS sequel publicly playable at Gamescom
Konami is bringing some treats to Germany's Gamescom this August, whipping up playable versions of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for attendees. The company will also have a studio on the show floor, where it will broadcast news, interviews and other content; all available through various social media networks.Gamescom will be the first time the public has the chance to cut up the competition in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which will be avaiable "in the beginning of 2013" for Xbox 360 and PS3. This fall's 3DS game, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, which takes place 25 years after the events of the console Lords of Shadow, will also be available in a "playable version".There's also a soccer game called PES 2013. You know, if Europeans would be into such a thing.
Rumor: New 3DS Castlevania to debut at E3
A new Castlevania game will be announced for the 3DS during E3 next month, according to Dutch site n1ntendo, as translated by neoGAF. The project will reportedly be exclusive to Nintendo's handheld and already has Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer David Cox and director Enric Alvarez attached – according to information that supposedly comes from a leaked E3 schedule for Konami.Cox did tease that he was spending time "in the land of Dracul" last April, though his Twitter responses to this latest rumor call the idea "misinformed," reiterating that "the truth is ALWAYS better than fiction!"
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer teasing new game, namedrops Dracula
Konami's European Production Studio head and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer, David Cox, isn't much for ambiguity in his tweets. "Today and tomorrow I am in the land of Dracul... What am I doing there?? You will see...." he wrote earlier today. Despite his teasing, Cox wouldn't tell us anything beyond "No comment." This is hardly the first indication of a sequel to 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and it seems likely that Konami is once again working with Spanish studio MercurySteam. One employee posted the teaser image seen above to his website back in late January, specifically pointing out the connection to Konami.Another staff member, taking to Spanish radio (via Eurogamer ES), mentioned his involvement with a sequel in late 2010 (though it's possible he was just riding high on the first game's then-recent debut). Konami's official line on the matter is ... well, nothing. The publisher hasn't made a peep regarding a new Castlevania.Regardless, with PAX East just a few days away and the upcoming preview season, we expect it won't be long before Konami's tune changes. We'll keep an eye on Cox's Twitter feed as well, just in case.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Resurrection' DLC out this month
The final piece of downloadable content for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be released next week, according to Konami. Entitled "Resurrection," the new chapter follows on the previously released "Reverie" DLC and "lays bare the fate of both Gabriel and the Belmont clan." The DLC sees Gabriel facing off with a demon known as "the Forgotten One" -- he's the large fellow pictured above -- and promises a "stunning finale" to the story. "Resurrection" is scheduled to arrive on Xbox Live on June 7, and PSN on June 8, for $10. Update: The "Resurrection" DLC on PlayStation 3 has been pushed back to June 14. %Gallery-125190%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Reverie' DLC coming to Xbox Live, EU PSN next week
After its impromptu delay, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's DLC, Reverie, is suited up and ready to attend the monster's ball -- er, actually, bad phrasing. The point is that it's coming next week and Xbox 360 users worldwide and PAL PS3 gamers will finally be able to get a taste of it. Confirmation comes via game director David Cox's Twitter account, where he apologized for the delay and thanked fans for patience. Sadly, Cox didn't reveal an exact day of the week, but we'll be sure to whip out a post when it's known. See what we did there? Huh? ... Okay, yes, we're totally sorry we did that.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Reverie' DLC released 'in error' on PSN
David Cox, producer on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, has been all over Twitter recently, responding to complaints about the DLC delay. When he was asked by one disgruntled European gamer wondering why the Xbox 360 delay was holding up the Reverie DLC on PS3 in his region, Cox revealed that the initial DLC launch on PSN was "put up there in error." In other words, Reverie wasn't meant to be released on PS3 in North America (whoops!). Cox also said that it's "too late to take it down" meaning that presumably whatever bug is keeping it from a larger release isn't catastrophic enough to require it be pulled from Sony's service. Currently the DLC is still available on the US PlayStation Store for $9.99.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Reverie' DLC delayed for Xbox 360
We just did a double take when we heard that Konami has delayed its "Reverie" DLC for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- hadn't we heard this before? We had ... just one month ago when the add-on, originally slated to arrive in February, was delayed until March. Now it's been delayed until -- well, Konami isn't saying exactly. Once again using Facebook as its conduit for bad news for Lords of Shadow fans, the publisher cites "a last minute issue which we hope to have fixed shortly" as the cause of the delay. "[W]e are working with Microsoft to resolve it as quickly as possible and give you the level of polish you deserve," the statement reads. Given that the PSN version of the DLC hit the North American PlayStation Store a week ago, the issue must be platform-specific to Xbox Live (though European PS3 players are still waiting on Reverie, too). Whatever the cause, Konami will send word "as soon as a release date has been finalized."
PSN Tuesday: Swarm, Hoard and Castlevania: LoS Reverie DLC
PSN delivers another week of interesting downloadable titles with PS3's Swarm and PSP's Hoard. If you haven't checked out the demo from last week's PSN exclusive Slam Bolt Scrappers, that's definitely worth taking for a test drive. For something with a bit more machismo, the demo for WWE All Stars is available, along with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's "Reverie" DLC. Konami kinda just snuck that release in this week for the States, but it should be available in Europe on March 30. There's plenty more to peruse in the full update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.) %Gallery-118218%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Reverie' DLC dated March 30 for Europe
Silly heroes, the problem with defeating the little bad guys is that they're usually keeping a bigger baddie in check. This will be Gabriel Belmont's "Reverie" revelation when the Lords of Shadow DLC becomes available on March 30 in Europe. Checking in with Konami for confirmation of a North American release date, a representative informed us the DLC should be available "near that date." The publisher released a new trailer and screens for Reverie, the first of two planned DLC packs. Continuing the adventure will cost 800 MSP on Xbox 360 and $10 (€7.99/£6.39) on PS3. According to Konami, the download "spans three stages" and segues into the next pack. %Gallery-118619%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow wins best original game score from Film Music Critics
The Oscars still haven't deigned to give awards out to video game creators, but the International Film Music Critics' Association is much more open-minded. In among their awards given out this past week was a "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media." And the winner goes to... Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Congratulations to composer Óscar Araujo, who got to take home the "Iffy." No, we just made that name up -- we don't really know what it's called. Probably just the IFMCA Award. His score beat out the music in Dark Void (by Bear McCreary!), James Bond 007: Blood Stone, Lego Universe, and the Legend of the Guardians games to win it all. And apologies to composers Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. Why? Because their Red Dead Redemption score got robbed! Robbed, we say!
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 'Reverie' DLC delayed until March
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's "Reverie" DLC, originally set to be released this month, has slipped into March according to an announcement on the Castlevania Facebook page. "Our apologies for the delay but it's going to be worth it!" That "unruly evil" that Gabriel and Laura track down in the DLC is only going to be more unruly the longer we let it stew. Konami offered no reason for the delay, but a late, complete DLC pack is always preferable to a buggy, punctual release. It is also unknown whether this delay will cause the followup DLC to slip out of its April release window. We're checking in with Konami to find out when it has scheduled the "Resurrection."
