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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow special edition mockup outed by Amazon
An image spotted on Amazon (and since removed) suggests that there will be a special edition release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- as if its status as a major game from a large publisher didn't already make that clear. The image shows a package comprising two Xbox 360 game discs, a soundtrack, and a "The Art of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow" book. Lords of Shadow producer David Cox told Joystiq, "The images of the special edition leaked onto the net are mock ups and NOT final," before adding that the retailer "jumped the gun" by publishing early images. Though neither Cox nor Konami had anything official to announce about a special edition, someone at Konami is mocking up special edition images. Probably in advance of a real special edition. That would just be a weird hobby otherwise.
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%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer striving for platform parity
Fanboys will likely never agree on whether or not a 3D gameworld is appropriate for the Castlevania franchise. But if Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Dave Cox is to be believed, there won't be any forum bloodshed over which version, the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 one, looks and runs better. Cox told VG247 that the PS3 was chosen as the lead platform solely because that was the best way for developer Mercury Steam to make both versions of the game identical, though he understands the risk, admitting, "If you develop for Xbox 360 and port to PS3, or indeed vice versa, you can end up with a game that is great on one but lousy on another." Even if Lords of Shadow isn't up for any GOTYs, perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize could be in Mercury Steam's future? The NPPOTY, if you will.
David Cox details the 'epic yet sad' score of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
In an interview conducted last summer with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer David Cox, we found out that the much loved Castlevania: Symphony of the Night music composer Michiru Yamane wouldn't be joining the team at Konami to compose the upcoming game. What was unclear at the time, however, was who exactly would be assigned the task of creating the game's score. David Cox explained to Joystiq this morning that Oscar Araujo, a Spanish symphonist, has been granted that burden. "Our composer for this game is Oscar Araujo who is a Spanish composer. He is creating a very epic yet sad and melancholy score that perfectly suits the game and emotion that we are aiming for." While Cox added that he's "a big fan of Yamane-san's work," he admitted that her music wouldn't have been a great fit for Mercury Steam's take on the Castlevania series. It certainly doesn't hurt that, according to Cox, she's no longer an employee of Konami. "Yamane-san left Konami quite some time ago as I understand it. She is currently working freelance, though I am not 100% sure. "Yamane-san has a style that fits perfectly to the previous Castlevania games but this game is very different to those more recent 'vania's in style and direction. I don't think I would be doing her any favours by including her music in the game." He also pointed out that we'll understand his point more clearly when we "eventually get to see the game." With any luck, that'll be sooner rather than later. %Gallery-65043%
Why 'Lords of Shadow' wasn't 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow' at first
Being Dave Cox, head of European development for Konami, can't be an easy job. For one, he's not Hideo Kojima, so he's already got that going against him. Worse yet, he's had to tow the company line and let his upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow languish out of the spotlight while Castlevania Judgment got all the attention. It seems Konami didn't even have the confidence to allow Lords of Shadow the Castlevania license -- nor did fans. "It was quite a radical departure from what had gone before with Castlevania, and there was a little bit of nervousness that perhaps it wouldn't be accepted as a Castlevania game," Cox told GameReactor. Though he claims the project was approved originally as a Castlevania game and was built from the get-go with the vampire-hunting series in mind, the folks in charge at Konami had cold feet going into the big reveal at Games Convention 2008. "Senior management took the decision that we were going to announce it as Lords of Shadow, see what the reaction is, and if it's a good one then this would become a fully-fledged Castlevania." It was definitely a good one. %Gallery-65043%[Via VG247]
Konami and Mercury Steam unveil Lords of Shadow
How many of you have semi-long term memory? Can you remember stories we wrote about back in March? Do you remember that mystery game that Konami and Mercury Steam were working on? As it turns out, that game is this: Lords of Shadow. While the image above has nothing to do with the game, we do have some new information on this previously shadowy title. Set in southern Europe during the middle ages, Lords of Shadow is best described as a "dark fairy tale." It's a third-person, action-adventure title which pits players in the role of protagonist Gabriel. His struggle seems to be all about discovering "true meaning of sacrifice amidst murder and betrayal." It sounds like an intriguing title, but one you won't be able to touch until 2010.[via press release]
Konami, Jericho devs working on something for PS3, Xbox 360
What do you get when you bring together the force behind Metal Gear Solid, not to mention Castlevania, Gradius, and about a dozen other video game icons, with the developers of last year's squad-based shooter Jericho? No really, we're curious, because honestly we haven't a clue. Konami and Spanish devs Mercury Steam have partnered for a mysterious new project for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, a game that Konami calls "a major part" of its release schedule for 2009-10. The project, whatever it is, is being overseen by Konami's European footprint, which is just wrapping up work on New International Track and Field for the Nintendo DS. Beyond this nothing -- and we mean nothing -- is known about the new game, through given Mercury Steam's track record of tepid action adventure titles (Scrapland anyone?), it's impossible to care too much yet.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Konami, Mercury Steam partner up for mysterious new title
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH (Europe) has announced today that the company will be teaming up with Madrid-based developer, Mercury Steam, to produce new IP for current-gen systems. We know that the game will be appearing on the PS3 and will be a part of Konami's 2009-2010 line-up; however, further details as to what the game is about or even its title is still being kept under wraps.What could this game be? Well let's look at Mercury Steam's track record; the company has developed Clive Barker's Jericho, and a PC game called Scrapland. Both games are action-adventure titles (even if the former is more horror) ... so would it be too much to presume that this title is probably going to be in the same vein?
Clive Barker's Jericho looks promising
It's been some time since we heard anything new about Clive Barker's Jericho. In fact, the last thing we heard was the announcement of the game itself. It seems 1UP thought the same thing and has uncovered both a new trailer and posted a preview for the game. So, what's Jericho all about? What we already knew is that it's about a special government squad called Jericho Team that specializes in dealing with paranormal threats.
