Konami Digital Entertainment has released a second trailer for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. The trailer contains game footage from the upcoming action platformer for the DS. it introduces the characters and showcases the classic gameplay style of Ecclesia.

I saw Order of Ecclesia at Konami’s press conference at E3. It was everything I expected and more. You can find additional information and screenshots for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on FileFront.

I am beginning to think that Capcom and Ubisoft have a lot in common when it comes to two of their most popular franchises. Both are apparently willing to whore out RE – like Castlevania – and Prince of Persia until they have exhausted all options – all in pursuit of the almighty dollar no matter how detrimental it may be to the game.

Case in point, not only is Ubisoft unleashing this Fall the very interesting retooling of the PoP franchise with Prodigy, but they are also planning on releasing another Prince of Persia title to coincide with the upcoming movie release next summer.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot made reference to a movie tie-in for the series at Ubidays and you can expect both to hit around the same time. While the film was written by PoP creator Jordan Mechner, it stars an very strange choice in Jake Gyllenhaal in a retelling of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

Any gamer on the planet can tell you that a game/movie title usually flat out sucks, so I am curious as to how this one is going to turn out since most Prince of Persia games were pretty decent offerings. Please note that I said “most”.

Thanks: Shacknews

Konami has released a new trailer for the next DS installment in the Castlevania franchise. As you can see, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia looks like every other Castlevania game from the past few years, which all look like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Of course, that’s not really a bad thing, and it actually makes sense since this game takes place right after the PS1 classic. This new game will have you playing as Shanoa, one of several people who have come together to fight Dracula’s minions. As usual, this means you’ll run around dank castles destroying monsters, collecting spells and abilities, and re-affirming that 2D side-scrollers aren’t dead yet.

Crystal Sky, the production company behind the Tekken movie and the recently announced Castlevania has secured $200 million worth of financing for five of their films. The other films include “Pac-man” (??) “Losing My Virginity,” and a sequel to John Woo’s “Hard Boiled”. Crystal Sky also controls the rights to Brad Thor’s bestselling novels, as well as the toy and comic book licenses Bratz, Deathlok and Ghost Rider.

Variety is reporting that Crystal Sky Pictures made the deal with Grosvenor Park for the five movies mentioned above and Steven Paul, head of Crystal Sky stated:

“This financing is helping us in our expansion plans to green light films more quickly. We’re now one of the few companies to have a big budget with which to develop our slate.”

Good lord. A Pac-man movie? Seriously? I shudder at what it could actually consist of script wise, let alone the thought of what it will look like – green screen with actors or animated.

Jonathan, one of our wonderful writers here at Gaming Today, provided what he thinks the new Pac-man movie should be about, and I think he is on to something: An action thriller where Pac-man’s a hard-nosed cop who plays by his own rules and has a dot-eating problem that he developed after his wife died. The ghosts would be the dot-smuggling gang he has to take down at the end, and he has issues with his Chief: “You’re a loose cannon, Pac-Man!” “You want my badge, Chief? You can have it, you damn wakka wakka!”

God, I really hope that is the route they go.

Via: Variety

Sadly, the production of the feature film adaptation of Castlevania was put on hold in December due to the continuing writers strike. But that doesn’t stop new information from surfacing. Seems Kotaku managed to get their hands on 32 pages of the movie’s script. It doesn’t have any dates though, so who knows at what stage of production this was written? I haven’t read it myself, because, well, I have a deathly fear of movie adaptations of video games. Still, if you want to indulge yourself, feel free to click the link below. Apparently, it contains two Belmonts and a succubus. And of course the shot of teh whole thing involves a whip.

Via Kotaku

The continuing writers strike has claimed another victim. The upcoming movie based on the Castlevania franchise has now been stalled by Rogue Pictures until some kinks can be worked out with the script, written by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil). The production was slated to begin filming this April in South Africa with Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) directing. With a budget of around $40 million and plans for a franchise, this is one of the most ambitious projects Rogue has ever undertaken; so they decided to wait for a resolution to the strike to make sure they get it right.

I’m actually a little relieved they decided to shelve the film for now. Sure it may take longer for the film to see the light of day, but at least then we can be assured they did everything in their power to make it as good as possible. Well, except get a new director and screenwriter.

Via Variety

Halloween is here, and what better way to celebrate than by paying homage to some of the most notorious ghouls and monsters to grace our PCs and consoles? Without such cannon fodder as spiders, vampires and zombies we would be condemned to just shooting our fellow man, which although fun, would get old after a while. In compiling this list, I came across some notables worthy of an honorable mention, but who have yet to become mainstream enough to cross over into different genres, and instead continue to be pigeon holed within their niche. While this list is in no way a complete list of video game baddies, it is instead a list of some of the most common miscreants to get within our pistol sites or in the vicinity of our broadsword.

These distractions on our way to victory in our gaming universe are also not listed in order of importance or occurrence rate – because face it – one is just as annoying and evil as the other. Unfortunately, these monsters never get the glory that their bosses do, because they are nothing more than expendable minions set upon our paths to deplete our life force so that the main antagonist may continue with more important matters – World Domination. In truth, they become nothing more than something for you to enjoy chopping to bits or a vessel for extra health, magic, or cash, the poor, misguided fools. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the stars of this post.

Read the full article

Nintendo has a Halloween themed update for gamers today for this spookiest of weeks. Sink your teeth into the classic Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest as the fearless Vampire hunter Simon Belmont. Masquerade as the Samurai-Ghost to halt the rise of demons and evil spirits or seek the tomes of power to become the next Magician Lord. (The art above is from Symphony of the Night and is a great illustration of all the characters in the Castlevania series.)

Read the full article

Looks like the Castlevania movie may be coming sooner rather than later. Rumors of a possible Hollywood strike have prompted execs to ramp up production on a number of projects, including the Castlevania film adaptation. Paul W.S. Anderson, director of Resident Evil and Event Horizon, was slated to direct, but now it seems he will act as producer instead. At this time, Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) is slated to direct, with Ian Jeffers (Death Sentence) finishing up the script right now. Anderson anticipates the film to begin shooting in just a few months.

So the Castlevania film is being directed by a guy whose only major release was a dance movie? And it’s being written by a guy whose only screenwriting credits to date are a mediocre sequel to a 1970’s Charles Bronson movie? Can’t wait for the final showdown between Simon Belmont and Dracula where they break out in an impromptu hip hop dance off.

Via 1Up

Among many other announcements, Koji Igarashi, producer on the Castlevania series, revealed to Game | Life that a new DS game is in development, although it has yet to be officially announced. Iga says the wait on announcing the game is so that people can enjoy Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, which releases today on PSP (and was one of the games I reminded you all about this month).

When asked what was next for the series (as far as games go), Iga responded, “First, we’re doing another Nintendo DS version. There hasn’t been an official announcement, but we’re doing it. First, we want people to enjoy the PSP version, and afterwards we’re announcing it. So, please wait a little bit.”

He also discusses the Castlevania live action movie and a few other subjects, including this mystery:

Wired: Last question. Why does Dracula keep putting meat inside the walls of his castle?

Igarashi: You should ask, why do they eat it! I’ve thought about this stuff. I’ve actually thought about the candles. The candles are people’s souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a “thank you” present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water.

The meat, I have no idea.

I knew it!

via Game | Life