konami-gamers-night-2010
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Resort uses augmented reality to pair virtual girls with actual nerds
You've heard of this Love Plus thing, right? This Nintendo DS-based "dating simulator" is apparently a big deal in Japan, giving Otaku the opportunity to chat up (and kiss) girls the only way they know how: on a hand-held game console, with a stylus. To promote the latest version of the game (Love Plus +), Konami has developed an Augmented Reality iPhone app that players can take to the coastal city of Atami, allowing them to interact with their virtual girlfriends at any of thirteen romantic spots. One can even book a room at the Ohnoya hotel which, according to Discovery News, offers futon beds and a "barcode panel that allows the men to visualize their girlfriends in a flattering summer kimono." Over 2,000 virtual lotharios visited the resort town during the campaign, which began on July 10 and ends today. Check out the trailer for the game (in Japanese, which doesn't diminish the enjoyment for our English readers one bit) after the break.
Hands-on: Lucha Libre: AAA Heroes of the Ring
Konami is no stranger to the stranger side of wrestling games. After all, it was the company that brought us the all-girl Rumble Roses. Now it has picked up publishing rights to Lucha Libre: AAA Heroes of the Ring, which delves into the wild world of the Mexican luchadores and their masked in-ring antics. Playing an early build of the game at last week's Konami Gamers Night, I couldn't help but notice that, underneath all of the focus being placed on the type of wrestling going on, the game itself already feels like a competent wrestling title. I had a chance to enter the ring one-on-one against another human opponent and what followed was a well-paced match, albeit not the most exciting to look at -- but only because we were both just learning the ropes. %Gallery-90096%
Hands-on: Rocket Knight
With everyone focused on the 2D return of a certain cerulean hedgehog, I'd like to point out that another nocturnal hero in blue is making a comeback: Sparkster, the armor-clad, jetpack-wearing opossum star of Rocket Knight. Konami has brought in UK developer Climax to resurrect the series, which hails from the 16-bit era and included two games: Rocket Knight Adventures and Sparkster. Having played through the first couple of levels from this XBLA, PSN and Steam release, I can say that not a whole lot has changed from Sparkster's adventures of yore -- and that's a compliment. There must be something inherently difficult about capturing the feel of a 2D game using entirely polygons, since the number of remakes that have gotten it right far outnumber the successes. But, like Bionic Commando: Rearmed and even Street Fighter IV, this snappy action platformer should feel like revisiting a childhood home for retro junkies. %Gallery-90099%
Hands-on: Lost in Shadow
Hudson's possibly no-longer-Wii-exclusive action-platformer Lost in Shadow has always struck us as a lovely game -- its use of light and shadow evoking the great ICO -- but until last night there was the chance it could very well hold as little substance as its silhouette hero. Good news: What started out reminding me of the original, side-scrolling Prince of Persia quickly had me grinning, as its lighting went from "a nice effect" to a creating some clever gameplay mechanics. The premise of the game is simple: You play as the shadow of a boy that's been severed from his body. Beginning at the ground floor of a massive tower, you guide his shadow form back to the top, where the two will (hopefully) be reunited. The core gameplay is simple. The shadow boy has a sword and can run, jump, climb obstacles and duel with enemies -- again, shades of classic Prince of Persia. The twist often literally came in the form of moving physical foreground elements in the level I played in order to reach new areas, and even defeat otherwise invulnerable enemies. %Gallery-90095%
Hudson's Lost in Shadow may come to PS3, 360; dev team 'brainstorming' Move, Natal titles
Speaking with Joystiq at yesterday's Konami Gamers Night event, Hudson producer Shinichi Kasahara told us that he hopes his upcoming Wii title Lost in Shadow will someday see release on both PS3 and Xbox 360. When asked whether or not his team has any interest in developing for the HD consoles and their motion controllers, Kasahara said, "In addition to hopefully transferring [Lost in Shadow] to those consoles, we are also actually already brainstorming a couple of different ideas that we're probably going to develop for Natal and Move." Look for our hands-on with the Wii version of Lost in Shadow and our full interview with Kasahara-san coming soon.
Rocket Knight blasting off May 2010
Marsupial action enthusiasts rejoice! Konami has announced that Rocket Knight will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Steam this May. Coinciding with this announcement, the publisher has released a new trailer and screenshots of this sequel to the classic 16-bit series. The trailer is of particular interest, especially to fans of the original games and their protagonist, Sparkster. If you've been waiting to get an extended glimpse of the awesome opossum in action, now is your chance. Check out the new trailer above and a batch of new screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-90099%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow began as remake of NES original
Sure, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was always meant to be a Castlevania game, but that's only part of the story. Last night, David Cox, producer of the game at Mercury Steam, revealed to us that his studio's title was originally pitched to Konami as a 3D remake of the very first game in the franchise. "The original concept was to remake the original, classic 8-bit game in 3D," Cox said. "That was our original pitch, funny enough -- with Simon Belmont and everything." While the nostalgic NES gamer in us would probably have swooned over such a project, we're actually kind of glad this one became Lords of Shadow. It is looking really good, after all.
Impressions: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
It wasn't the playable demo I'd been hoping for, but I did watch an awful lot of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow gameplay yesterday. The footage was screened during the Konami Gamer Night 2010 event and was narrated by the game's producer, David Cox, from developer Mercury Steam, as a remixed version of a Super Castlevania IV track played in the background. (Cox would later tell me that I'd "feel chills" when I heard the finished game's updated, fully orchestrated takes on many classic tunes from the series.) Lords of Shadow looks absolutely incredible. From the opening seconds of the preview, there was no questioning that this was a Castlevania game -- a proper, "next-generation" Castlevania with visuals that immediately drew comparisons to God of War III. Now, again, I don't know firsthand how well Lords of Shadow plays, but there was nothing in the footage to indicate that the final product wouldn't be anything less than a competent action-adventure. In fact, it showed the promise of being a great one. %Gallery-90088%
Betcha didn't see Saw 2 coming
We admit that a sequel to Konami's Saw video game wasn't exactly something we ... saw coming. But it's happening, and it's being developed by Zombie Studios, the same outfit that made the first game. The sequel is due out this Halloween and is set between the first two (of what, 15 by now?) Saw flicks. Zombie's promising a revamped combat system -- that and even ickier deathtraps. You'll see the very first of these in the Saw 2 video above. Just click it and it'll play; no self-surgery required. %Gallery-90101%
Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot reignites Cold War tensions
Why should Bionic Commando: Rearmed be the only downloadable, 2.5D re-imagining of a classic '80s-era game starring a lone soldier up against an evil regime? Konami's thought exactly -- or so it would seem. That's because the publisher is reviving Rush'n Attack, its 1985 side-scrolling "kill all Commies" shooter-stabber, in the form of Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot for XBLA and PSN. During a hands-off demonstration, I caught a brief preview of the game -- which features the quintessential lone operative going back behind enemy lines to rescue POWs -- at yesterday's Konami Gamers Night and, well, it kind of reminded me of another recent downloadable game: Shadow Complex. The new Rush'N Attack does look a lot more arcadey and linear than last year's "Metroidvania" hit on XBLA, with its patriot (or is that ex-patriot?) stealth-knifing bad guys, stealing their guns and rushing off. The other notable detail was the color palette, which was saturated in a lot of green and red. Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot is scheduled for release this fall and will make its playable debut at E3. Check out the trailer above. %Gallery-90100%
New Silent Hill shown, details to become less foggy at E3
Konami's Gamers Night 2010 presentation concluded with a nice surprise: A teaser trailer for what could only be a new Silent Hill game. Well, maybe not entirely new. In the footage, which appeared to be an in-engine recording of gameplay from one or both of the current HD consoles, a male character resembling James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2 awoke from a public bench and began wandering the foggy, deserted streets of a suburban neighborhood. While the game's title was not revealed, given the recent revisiting of the original Silent Hill in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, a remake of the second game in the series doesn't seem too far-fetched. The teaser ended with the tagline: "End the Silence" and "E3." We suspect the weather report for Los Angeles in the third week of June will call for sunny with a chance of terrifying fog.
