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David Cox on rebooting Castlevania for a new generation
With Castlevania: Lords of Shadow only two weeks from launch, we spoke with producer David Cox about rebuilding the franchise for a modern audience. How did developer MercurySteam look to overcome the failures of past 3D iterations of the franchise? And what role did Kojima Productions play in the creation of this new Castlevania? Cox reveals how Kojima urged him to redesign a once "barbarian" Gabriel and how the game was nearly canceled a year into development in our conversation below. Joystiq: How did poor critical reception of past 3D Castlevania games influence perceptions of this project? How did you pitch this game to senior Konami management? David Cox: I think there was always a desire to make the game 3D. I think people thought that in order to attract a mainstream audience, it had to be a 3D game. I personally love 2D games, but the fact is the market for 2D games is tiny. Most people want to play a 3D action adventure game with impressive visuals, etc. etc. I think for us, one of the things we found in hindsight is that the previous games tried to emulate the 2D games -- basically: turn the 2D games into 3D. We felt that wasn't the way to go. We felt the way to go was to boil down Castlevania to its core tenets, and create a 3D game from there. Sure, it's a brave decision, but we needed to be brave, and we needed to have the freedom to do what we wanted to make.
New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow screens: Witch you were here!
To go alongside the decidedly batty TGS trailer, Konami has released new screens of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. They show off Gabriel Belmont doing what Belmonts do best: Slaying demons, exploring castles and ... chatting with Baba Yaga? Even witches need some company now and then, right? %Gallery-102608%
New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer is positively nuts
What's in this Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer? The more appropriate question might be what isn't? Werewolves, faeries, vampires, angels, giant chess boards, giant eagles, giant giants -- even the grim visage of Death makes an appearance. It is absolutely the nuttiest and most awesome thing you'll see today. Well, maybe not, it is TGS week ...
How disc swapping works in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for Xbox 360
If you haven't heard, the Xbox 360 version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will ship on two discs (Limited Edition pictured above). Here's a tip: You can save yourself some precious disc-swapping time if you install at least Disc One to your hard drive. Although Lords of Shadow's story is told in an episodic, linear fashion, you'll want to revisit earlier levels to find missing collectibles and beat any additional challenges. Without installing, you'll have to swap discs every time you want to revisit earlier levels. However, if you've installed the data, you won't ever have to swap discs again; you'll be able to continue playing with just Disc Two in the drive. It's an interesting way of overcoming the DVD format's size limitation -- a clever trick that could be employed by future multi-disc releases.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sinks teeth into North America Oct. 5, DLC planned
Konami has announced that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be whipped onto North American shelves starting October 5. This puts the American launch just shy of the October 7 and 8 release dates for Europe and the UK, respectively. In related news, Lords of Shadow Producer David Cox informed 1UP that two DLC packs are planned for the game. Cox offered few details, though both packs will feature new areas to explore and enemies to slay. He also attempted to assuage fears that the revelation of DLC means the full game will be less than complete, saying that it "absolutely has an ending." Check out the full interview for Cox's thoughts on working with Kojima Productions and how Mercury Steam approached making a 3D Castlevania title. Update: Check out some new screens, renders and box art in the galleries below! %Gallery-99909% %Gallery-99907% %Gallery-99906%
Preview: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
It's difficult to comment on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as a product of the long-running (and now rebooted) gothic action franchise. Abandoning large-scale exploration in favor of linear action -- which was itself abandoned when Castlevania: Symphony of the Night debuted in 1997 -- Lords of Shadow invites comparison to God of War more than any other modern game. That's an admittedly tiresome shorthand as far as game previews go -- "It's like God of War but with whip-swords!" -- but it's still useful in conveying how Lords of Shadow plays. Your attacks are sweeping and imprecise, yet bolstered with enough combos and violent flourishes to make you feel in charge. Castlevania's sub-weapons return to your repertoire as well, with the first two levels of the game allowing you to quickly dispatch a flying dagger into approaching enemies. The resulting explosion of bloody mush is a fair indicator of the game's disgusting, wonderful violence. Even the most trivial battle, such as Gabriel Belmont's tutorial tussle in a rain-slick village under siege, is given a certain gravitas by the game's tight camera and atmospheric visuals. And if there's one thing that brands Lords of Shadow as a promising 3D Castlevania game, it's the effort that's gone into creating dark, imposing environments that feel like they extend far beyond the boundaries of the level. Developer MercurySteam has delivered an impressive showcase of scale and animation here, with even the lowly warg becoming a pouncing cause for concern. So yeah, it's a few steps up from recycled Game Boy Advance sprites. %Gallery-95596%
Meet the cast of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Okay! So, forget everyone from those twenty-odd Castlevanias from the past three decades. Just crumple up that whole ludicrous timeline and throw it right in the garbage. Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the franchise, and with it comes a new Belmont, a new quest (his lost love!) and ... Patrick Stewart. Get familiar with the rest of the cast in the E3 gallery below and trailer posted after the break. %Gallery-95596%
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow slays retail 'later this fall'
During its keynote press conference, Konami confirmed that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the Kojima-assisted, MercurySteam-developed 3D reboot of the classic series set to vanquish the forces of evil on the Xbox 360 and PS3, would arrive "later this fall." Word came from producer David Cox, who emerged before a new trailer was shown to attendees. We'll try to get our hands on said trailer and whip it up on the site. Get it? Whip? Anybody?
New 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow' screens, artwork
Click to Enlargania This post may not offer any new Castlevania: Lords of Shadow details, but you can find new pictures and art in the gallery below. Those looking to do creature comparisons should check out the enemy renders -- the warg from Symphony of the Night has certainly grown in both size and definition. %Gallery-86910%
Producer: Lords of Shadow was always a Castlevania title (also: new trailer!)
We were a bit perplexed when Konami announced Castlevania: Lords of Shadow at E3 earlier this year. The reason: Konami announced the exact same game last year, minus the "Castlevania" in the title. Many of us here at the 'Stiq had assumed that Konami had seen an opportunity to raise the profile of the title by attaching the Castlevania name but, according to producer David Cox, that wasn't the case.Cox tells 1UP that the game was always meant to be a Castlevania title, but the association was removed when it was first announced at E3 2008. It seems Konami didn't want to steal any thunder from its then upcoming Castlevania: Judgment. Probably a good call, considering Judgment's nominal thunder could be stolen by a reasonably large rubber ball.Cox also revealed some fresh details on the game, most importantly saying that it will not follow the design of most of the recent titles in the theory, abandoning Metroid-esque exploration in favor of more linear action. In response to franchise purists, Cox pointed out that some of the best entries in the series (notably Castlevania II and IV) have been action-only affairs. Of course, it helps that the main character, Gabriel, is actually a Belmont. Head over to 1UP for more details and be absolutely certain to watch the new, extended trailer above.
New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow screens are bloody, awesome
Holy crap! We've been connoisseurs of vampire-centric media for quite some time now (thankfully, we've managed to avoid those dreadful books), but we never knew that vampires were made entirely out of blood. At least, that's the conclusion we've drawn from the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow screenshot you see above -- one of a handful of pieces of media we just got our hands on. You can see the whole batch in the gallery below.None of the others feature this bizarre phenomenon -- however, we suppose it's equally amazing that the vestments of Gabriel (the game's protagonist) remain so hemoglobin-free while he's running around, popping dudes like bloated mosquitoes.%Gallery-70457%
Kojima Productions in 'support role' for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Hideo Kojima has further reiterated his supporting role in Castlevania: Lord of Shadow in a new interview with Weekly Famitsu, reports 1UP. "This has become a big project, one with the idea that we needed to make a Castlevania which had that same kind of feverish Western support, and that's why Kojima Productions came in to help," Kojima told the Japanese publication.With his Metal Gear Solid games beloved by everyone the world over (everyone with taste, anyway), Kojima's the right man for the job. But seeing as how this game is being developed by Madrid-based Mercury Steam Entertainment, Kojima obviously won't be on-site to aid in development. Instead, the team comes up with concepts to run by Kojima and he has them "fix things based on my objective viewpoint." An example given is the initial model for the hero's face, which Kojima had them redesign to be, well, more heroic looking. See, people, this is the kind of thing only Kojima can bring to the table!
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, minus the 'Castlevania'
Lords of Shadow's Gabriel, circa 2008 If Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- announced today during Konami's E3 press conference -- seems ... familiar, it should. The game was actually announced at last year's E3 -- by Konami -- as Lords of Shadow, minus the Castlevania. But, as far as we can tell by comparing what we saw today versus a year ago, that's the only difference.Lords of Shadow was a gothic action-adventure game starring a character named Gabriel, who just so happened to wield a whip -- iconic weapon of Castlevania heroes -- that emerged from a crucifix. Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is -- in keeping with the series -- a gothic adventure, starring a crucifix/whip-wielding character named Gabriel (who, like the rest of the game, looks exactly as he did last year). Both years' trailers even feature the same giant, stone golem boss character. Oh, and look amazing. Only now, Kojima Productions is steering MercurySteam along the development path.2009, where everything old is new again -- and carrying the Castlevania name. Check out the game as it appeared a year ago in trailer form after the break (and in original concept art below).%Gallery-65063%
Feast your eyes on the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trailer
Konami's whipped Castlevania fans into a furor with the announcement of Lords of Shadow for PS3 and Xbox 360. Oh, and the fact that its development is being overseen by Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions. But Konami -- and we -- can only say so much about the game; you really have to see it in action for yourself to achieve the absolute height of excitement. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.
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?
New Jericho preview with details to scare you silly
If these Clive Barker's Jericho screens don't already demand your attention, we're not sure what else will. Judging from the success of the last Clive Barker Undying outing on PC alone, this is definitely a highly anticipated title for all consoles. The boys at IGN had their fill of the latest build and felt similarly to CVG during their earlier play-test. Needless to say, they came away impressed, noting crisp textures across the diverse levels and enemies with clever touches of detail throughout the world, like swarms of helpful black flies that scurry fallen enemies off the map. Cool. The game also features interactive anxiety-riddled button-pressing segments (ala Resident Evil 4). No official word on SIXAXIS interactivity for these scenes, but the type of game play during these scenes practically screams for it. At any rate, feast your looking balls on the new gallery and stay tuned for more updates as we approach the September release date for Clive Barker's Jericho. %Gallery-3908%
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.
