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MGS: Ground Zeroes platform-exclusive content free for all May 1
"Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAAKE!" "What, Kaz?!" "Danger zone! Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is sneaking previous format-exclusive Jamais-Vu and MGS1 Déjà-Vu missions onto all platforms. The free update will occur on PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360. It will all activate on May 1."
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Origins headed to PS Vita
Konami has announced plans to bring a horrifying duo to the Vita via the PlayStation Network. Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are both planned for European release, with a date to be announced shortly. A press release from the publisher confirms the games will be available for £7.99/9,95 Euro each. Silent Hill: Origins, originally released for the PlayStation Portable, acts as a prequel to the horror franchise. It follows protagonist Travis Grady's search for information regarding a girl he rescued from a fire. The search leads to the mist-covered town of Silent Hill where all forms of hell break loose. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories eschews combat in favor of running away from terrifying monsters as player-character Harry Mason searches for his missing daughter. Shattered Memories first launched for the Nintendo Wii, and reimagined the original Silent Hill's twisted story. Joystiq has contacted Konami to ask about release plans in other regions and will update this story if additional information becomes available. [Image: Konami]
Australian ratings reveal Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, F-Zero: GP Legend for Wii U Virtual Console
A pair of ratings submissions from the Australian Classification Board revealed that Konami's Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Nintendo's F-Zero: GP Legend are slated to hit the Wii U's Virtual Console service alongside other Game Boy Advance titles debuting this month. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow launched in 2003 as the third Game Boy Advance entry in Konami's long-running Castlevania series, and later saw a sequel in the early Nintendo DS release Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Futuristic racer F-Zero: GP Legend was originally released in 2004, and joins its 2001 GBA predecessor F-Zero: Maximum Velocity as one of the first games announced for the Wii U's Game Boy Advance lineup. Retro-focused Japanese studio M2 announced today that it developed the technology behind the Wii U's Game Boy Advance software emulation, following up on its recent work in Sega's 3D Classics series for the Nintendo 3DS. [Image: Konami / Nintendo]
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD is now on Steam
Konami's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD is now available on Steam, bringing a new take on the series' classic side-scrolling formula to PC platforms. Originally released for the Nintendo 3DS last year, Mirror of Fate blends the aesthetic of MercurySteam's Lords of Shadow with Symphony of the Night-styled platforming, presenting players with a mixture of exploration-based challenges and combo-driven combat. The game later made its way to consoles with Mirror of Fate HD, which boasts a graphical upgrade and a new Boss Rush mode, among other additions. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD is priced at $14.99. [Image: Konami]
PSA: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 'Revelations' DLC now available
It's time to sharpen your fangs and fasten your finest cape, as Konami has released the Revelations DLC for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Revelations follows Alucard immediately prior to the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, as he prepares for the return of his father, Dracula. Along with waifish good looks, Alucard comes equipped with his own unique slate of vampiric powers, including time control, and the ability to transform into a wolf or a swarm of bats. As an undying creature of the night, Alucard is fueled by the blood of his victims, forcing players to periodically drain vital fluids from his foes instead of simply annihilating anything dumb enough to stand against a magical, immortal killing machine. Revelations is now available for download on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, where it bears an $8 price tag. [Image: Konami]
'Metroidvania' should actually be 'Zeldavania'
Koji Igarashi, longtime producer of the Castlevania series, is generally the person most of us associate with establishing the exploration-driven formula of Konami's vampire-slaying franchise. The rhythm of the series – uncovering a vast world map as you slowly acquire new abilities to traverse it – has become so iconic that players created a word for its signature style: Metroidvania. The portmanteau reveals Castlevania's similarities to Metroid, Nintendo's beloved sci-fi series, though Igarashi said during a GDC panel that the inspiration for Castlevania's now traditional formula was from another Nintendo series: Zelda.
Infamous: Second Son beats Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes to UK No. 1
Infamous: Second Son racked up the second-best first week for a PS4 game in the UK, only placing behind launch title Killzone Shadow Fall. Those sales were enough to ensure the system exclusive took the UK No. 1 ahead of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes this week, with last week's leader Titanfall titanfalling to third. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster was the other big new release of the week and the re-polished PS3 and Vita game took fourth. February and March's swathe of big-name games has finally given the UK charts a more current feel: Eight of this week's top ten were released in 2014, and most of those only in the last few weeks. The two lingerers from last year? Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition and, no surprises, FIFA 14. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment]
Konami plays mobile hand with puzzle-battle game Chain of Souls
Konami has dived head-first into the mobile gaming waters with Chain of Souls, an iOS game that blends elements of the puzzle and card battle genres. Using the touchscreen, players must link together three or more runes of the same color to form a chain and attack their opponent; the more runes you link, the more damaging the attack. Simple, right? That's where Chain of Souls' cards come into play. Should you manage to form three or more chains, you can play a card. These cards have a variety of effects, such as reducing the damage you take or increasing the damage you deal. Your cards can also have relationships with other cards in your deck, which can boost their power even further. The game is free to play, and available now via iTunes. [Image: Konami]
Joystiq Weekly: GDC 2014, Infamous, Metal Gear Solid and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. We saw many great games and met with many great people during this year's Game Developers Conference in sunny San Francisco. Or did we? One of the biggest announcements of the show was undoubtedly Project Morpheus, the upcoming virtual reality headset from Sony, and during our hands-on demo, we felt pretty darn virtual. So now the question is: What if we didn't really attend GDC 2014? What if it was all virtual reality? Whoa, dude. Sony also gained news traction this week thanks to the release of PS4-exclusive, Infamous: Second Son. Meanwhile, Snake/Jack Bauer has come out of retirement (again) to save the world in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, and a new cyborg ninja came to town with the release of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. You can read all about these games and more of the week's biggest and best after the break. [Image: Joystiq]
Sony discounts Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes on UK PSN
Brits who have yet to pick up Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes may suddenly find the admittedly short game more attractive thanks to an unexpected PlayStation Network price cut. Originally, the digital incarnation of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes featured a £29.99 price tag, identical to the price attached to the physical, retail version of the game. Currently however, the game is marked at £24.99, making the digital game the more attractive offer for those who don't mind a lack of packaging materials. Unfortunately for Xbox One owners, this discount is Sony's doing, so the digital version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes found on the Xbox One remains at £29.99. Now, the question becomes whether Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is worth that discounted price point. In our review Ludwig praised almost every aspect of the game, but decried its brevity. "Too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn, Ground Zeroes is a fiscal test of patience," he wrote. [Image: Konami]
See Alucard in the flesh in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 DLC trailer
He may not be the 2D sprite we all know and love, but the Alucard coming to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 maintains the character's three crucial hallmarks: vampire magic, daddy issues and the prettiest hair this side of an Herbal Essences commercial. [Image: Konami]
Joystiq Streams: Blindly marching into Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes [It's over!]
Snake! Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is a sneaking mission, so while wandering around some crazy 1975 military base, try not to get caught. Maybe don't start casual conversations with guards or ask to bum a smoke either. Joystiq knows not to make these Metal Gear blunders, having dug into Ground Zeroes' guts for its 3.5-star review, but some of the crew has yet to enjoy Kojima Productions' PlayStation 4 and Xbox One debut. Hence why today's stream will involve blithely marching into Metal Gear, pretending Kiefer Sutherland just wants to make some new friends rather than save Paz. Head on over to the Joystiq Twitch channel at 4PM EST on Thursday to revel in our stealth skill as we play the PlayStation 4 version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Anthony John Agnello will be holding the controller, displaying how good he is at hiding behind stuff just as he did in Thief and Outlast. (Note: He's not very good at hiding behind stuff.) Susan Arendt, Joystiq's Managing Editor, will be hanging out in the chat, relaying your questions as we play. Come hang out! Joystiq Streams broadcasts live every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST. [Images: Konami]
Frustration at social gaming focus drove Igarashi to leave Konami
When longtime Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi announced his departure from Konami earlier this week it came as a surprise, but thanks to a Polygon interview we now know what drove the developer away. "The more hardcore the game ... the less suitable it is for the casual market," Igarashi stated. "Unfortunately, I'm good at making core experiences, so it was two years of making a game that leaned too 'hardcore' for the social market. So it was canceled. Then I'd try again and be canceled. And again and be canceled." Igarashi claims this cycle repeated several times before he decided to call it quits. He also notes that fans were constantly clamoring for more of the 2D, exploration-focused Castlevania games that made him famous, but that Konami's new direction wouldn't allow for such projects. Though Igarashi is unsure of his next move, he does have some idea of what his next game might be. "If you just look at my strengths, most likely it will be an action game," the developer told Polygon. "Of course, fans would like a 2D exploration sort of game, a Metroidvania-type game. That's definitely something i'm interested in to make them happy." [Image: Wikimedia Commons]
Metareview: Metal Gear Solid 5 - Ground Zeroes
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is the amuse bouche of the bigger (and hopefully better) The Phantom Pain, which should sneak into stores sometime between October and the birth of standardized nanotechnology. Our review of this carved out experience called it "too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn." If you want to see what all the la-li-lu-le-lo is about, check out our Joystiq Streams this Thursday at 4PM ET and watch our own Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello) play it for the first time. Head past the break to see what others think of the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain prologue.
Longtime Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi leaves Konami
Koji Igarashi, longtime producer of the Castlevania series, announced his departure from Konami over the weekend. Igarashi's last day at the publisher was March 15, and marked the end of a career at Konami that spanned over 20 years. "I've decided to break out on my own to have the freedom to make the kind of games I really want to make - the same kind I think fans of my past games want as well," Igarashi said in a statement to Polygon. The man affectionately called "IGA" by fans began his time with the dark action-adventure series as assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PlayStation. His involvement in the series has since dwindled, as developer Mercury Steam took it over with 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. "Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly - I've spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of great opportunities - but I hope all the gamers and fans who have supported me in the past will join me in being excited about what comes next. Wish me luck," he added. Igarashi will present "There and Back Again: Koji Igarashi's Metroidvania Tale" at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, tracing the "experiences and methodology" of the series over the last 15 years. [Image: Konami]
MGS5: Ground Zeroes delayed a week in Australia, New Zealand
Idle animation Snake. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is keeping players waiting a bit longer in Australia and New Zealand, where the open-world stealth game won't hit retail shelves for another week. Konami confirmed the new release date of March 27 to NZGamer, and the publisher didn't offer a reason for the delay. It's the second Konami game to receive a downunder delay in a month, after Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was pushed back by a week in Australia and New Zealand. As NZGamer notes, the downloadable versions of Lords of Shadow 2 weren't affected by what was then a "shipping delay," and while it's not confirmed there's the possibility the same may apply to Ground Zeroes. In other Ground Zeroes news, series creator Hideo Kojima explained this morning the game doesn't feature a Platinum trophy on PS4 because of Sony regulations. Speaking on Twitter, Kojima said, "They won't allow us to have them for [a] non-full price game." [Image: Konami]
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]
Kojima toyed with design similar to GTA 3 back when it was released
Speaking to Joystiq, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima said that around the time Grand Theft Auto 3 was released, he and his team tried to create "something similar" to its open-world design. Kojima didn't note to what extent that something similar was worked on, nor which project it was for, but he did say it wasn't up to the standard of Rockstar's crime sim. The Japanese veteran designer presented GTA creators the Houser brothers with lifetime achievement awards at last night's BAFTA ceremony in London. Kojima has previously spoken about being influenced by the vastness of GTA 3, telling EGM back in 2012 the game "definitely opened his eyes." After the awards show, we asked him if the GTA games had inspired the open-world design of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. "When GTA 3 came out, we were on Metal Gear Solid 2," Kojima said, speaking through a translator. "At that point we tried to create something similar and we were completely unable to come up with this design to [a level of] similar success. Actually, around then I had with dinner with Dan Houser who I just saw [tonight] for the first time after ten years. To be honest, looking at their [Rockstar's] success at doing what we tried to do and failed, we went back and made the game engine [and] we first tried to ensure the freedom the player would have. So more than being inspired by them, to be honest they just went ahead of us, they were more successful than what we were trying to create back then. "Now, game-wise what we are trying to create [in Ground Zeroes] is something probably different than they are trying to create. We're trying to ensure the freedom so the player can do some more realistic stealth infiltration by having all this freedom. So I believe we're creating different games." Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is the first game in the stealth series to feature an open world, and Big Bosses worldwide get to explore it in a few days' time. The game hits North America on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PS3 on March 18, and then Europe on March 20. [Image: BAFTA]
Alucard returns in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 DLC this month [Update]
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will receive a "Revelations" DLC pack on March 25 for Xbox 360 and PS3, Konami announced. The add-on content has players controlling series fan-favorite Alucard, learning more about his relationship with Dracula (aside from the whole name reversal thing). The DLC is set before the events in Lords of Shadow 2. In the add-on, players can use Alucard's "Glaciem" and "Igneas" powers and can morph into a wolf, a bunch of bats and can turn back time. Being the vampire he is, Alucard's thirst for the blood of his enemies also seemingly lends a boost in his powers. No price was given for the DLC and Konami did not list PC among the platforms the DLC will arrive on this month; we've reached out to the publisher to find out when the PC version will arrive. Update: Konami has informed Joystiq that the PC version of the game will receive the Revelations DLC on March 25 as well. [Image: Konami]
Konami Digital Entertainment appoints Tomohiro Uesugi as president
Konami Digital Entertainment Inc., the North American division of the Metal Gear Solid publisher, announced a change in its leadership by appointing Tomohiro Uesugi as its president this week. Uesugi was formerly executive vice president of the digital division, which he joined in 2013 following his stint as executive vice president of Sanyo North America Corporation. Uesugi is filling the role of former president Tomoyuki Tsuboi, who was appointed in February 2012. Tsuboi will return to Konami's finance division in Japan, according to a Konami representative that spoke with Gamasutra. [Image: Konami]
