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Granted we were all a bit shock that Konami was turning one of the most famous game franchises into a roving fighting game, but if these screens for the game are any indication, Castlevania Judgment for the Wii looks promising.

The fighting game has been designed specifically for the Wii, and uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers to offer a level of control over the central heroes. Taking centre stage within a series of 3D locations inspired by previous Castlevania games, the controllers are used to slash, stab and employ a series of attacks against the assorted minions of Dracula.

Each of the stages are fully interactive, and as the player battles their way through, various elements can be picked up, thrown, or used against the forces of evil – players can even make use of monsters on the field, while traps can also be set by specific characters. The game will also make use of the Wii’s Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing players to fight with online friends in one-on-one settings, while the game also enjoys connectivity with the forthcoming Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the DS, which will allow users to unlock a very surprising bonus.

Castlevania Judgment will be released for Nintendo Wii sometime in September. More E3 screens are posted after the break.

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Man, I take one week off and everything the next is just one weird surprise after another. Like the fact that Castlevania Judgment, the rumored-and-now-confirmed Wii title, is actually a fighting game. So imagine my surprise when I received a batch of new screens showing Alucard and Dracula going toe-to-toe with life bars and a timer. At first I thought someone was playing an elaborate prank on me. But I guess it’s true, and the game actually looks kind of cool. The fighting controls have been specifically designed for the Wii-mote and Nunchuk, so you can stab and slash to your heart’s content. Plus the game will feature destructible environments and various undead creatures that you can use against your enemies.

You can check out the rest of the screens here.

Konami announced today that Castlevania Judgment, the first Castlevania title in the fighting game genre, is currently in development exclusively for the Wii.

Developed by Castlevania series producer Koji “Iga” Igarashi, Castlevania Judgment bridges the past with the present as it pits several generations of the Belmont clan against a host of characters that span the franchise’s 22-year history.

With 3D environments rendered on Wii, players can choose sides between good and evil using iconic Castlevania characters designed by manga artist Takeshi Obata. Using the motion-sensing controls of the Nunchuk and Wii Remote, players can slash, stab and whip their way across a variety of stages and environmental elements with various surrounding objects as weapons. Select characters can also set traps and make use of monsters on the field to achieve victory.

As an added bonus, players are also able to compete head-to-head using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and connect with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the Nintendo DS to unlock bonus gameplay content.

Castlevania Judgment will be released in North America sometime this Fall 2008. The press release did not contain any screens, and the only one I could find came from Kotaku and it is a bit blurry. Check back often because I am sure Konami will remedy the situation soon.

Via: Press Release

[image: Kotaku]

Looks like we will no longer be getting any spoiler leaks regarding upcoming titles from the ESRB website. You see, they are no longer going to be posting unannounced games that it has given a rating to on its website. Of course, it is not their fault really, its it because the publishers have gone crying to them about upcoming game titles being released early. Unbisoft or Konami anyone?

Because of the outcry, the ESRB is to include a new field in its submission form so that publishers can enter the date they want their listing to become public domain. But, according to the ESRB, they are only going to allow this if there is a specific concern regarding premature disclosure.

“Unless there are specific concerns regarding premature disclosure of a title, we expect this field to be left blank. While we recognize some publishers have concerns regarding earlier-than-desired ‘announcements’ of product[s] on our website, the ESRB system will not work for consumers if publishers arbitrarily select dates bearing no reasonable relationship to consumer interest in the product.”

Yeah! Take that you little tattletales.

Considering the fact that I am the type of person who tries her hardest to see both sides of every situation, I can completely understand why a publisher would not want their game information leaked before they were ready to “wow” the public with an official announcement. However, once a game has been given a rating, it goes without saying that the game is pretty much already completed sans a few tweaks and a final rating from the ESRB anyway, so really the only harm done is the title of the game being leaked.

The ESRB site does not contain any screenshots or trailers let alone any gameplay information other than what you would garner from the rating. Once in a while, a logo may be present within the listing such as when the new Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was listed, but other than that, I personally think that publishers need to relax.

The most important aspect of a game is not in the title but in the contents of the package you are paying up to $60 for - the title is not really a spoiler. Now, if some screens were to be leaked, that is one thing - but that would not be because of the ESRB site. It would be because you have some hanky panky going on in your midst from someone who does not know what a non-disclosure agreement entails.

Via: Next-Gen

While Konami is gearing up for the big release of Metal Gear Solid 4 — the sole reason I will be at Best Buy way, way too early on Thursday — they may also have another MGS project in the works. Ripten recently received a tip that the original PS1 game could be ported over to the Xbox Live Arcade. The classic stealth game may even have a subsequent release on the PSN. Of course, such a transition is not going to be without its share of problems.

Obviously, there are some logistical issues going along with this announcement, not least of which is the question of size limitations. Microsoft may soon be raising the XBLA file limit to 35oMB, but that still may not be enough for MGS1, considering it spanned more than one disc originally. On the other hand though, Microsoft did publish the PC version of the game; and Konami managed to keep all of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night down to 95MB. We’ll have to see. What I’d really like though would be Konami to take Twin Snakes, Substance, and Subsistence and cram them onto one big, fat Blu-Ray to keep me warm through the winter.

Via Ripten

As someone who has written about videogames for years, I know as well as anyone the annoyance of spell check. Whether it’s Word, Firefox, or whatever else, spell check has been the bane of my existence for the last seven years. Everything from “videogame” to “Shigeru Miyamoto” to “Ikaruga,” it’s a constant struggle for anyone in the biz. (I actually type in plain old Notepad now, just out of spite.)

Imagine, if you would, what any article about videogames would look like if spell check was to be believed. GamesRadar went through the trouble of actually seeing what kind of world we’d love in if that were the case. The results? Horrifying.

There would be no Castlevania – only Televangelist. No Katamari Damacy — just Catamaran Intimacy. No Pikmin – just Minibike, as depicted above.

What other examples can you come up with?

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.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia will be the tenth 2D Castlevania game that developer Kori Igarashi has worked on, and even with 11 games in the franchise under his belt, he’s still going strong. But the challenge is as great as ever, he told MTV Multiplayer.

“Making a quality 2D game is really tough,” he said. “The reason why it’s tough is that even though I’ve been doing it for a long time, each time I do it I have to do it better. Fans expect something more. Just to keep them happy and to meet my own expectations, I have to try that much harder.”

He explained that he has a passion for the franchise, and that he’s “definitely excited to do each iteration of the game — and also my team. A lot of people came to Konami because they’re huge fans of Castlevania. That’s another inspiration to keep on going, and it is a passion, definitely.”

While I can understand not being tired with the series, how Igarashi or anyone else in a similar position can continue to come up with new ideas blows my mind. I have trouble coming up with new ideas within the course of a single paragraph, so this really, uh, blows my mind.

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

Konami today announced Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia exclusively for Nintendo DS which will introduce the all-new “Glyph” attack system which allows players to use special attack combinations as they attempt to defeat Dracula and his horde. Also new to the series are the outdoor locales ranging from forests to the ocean, giving players the chance to explore outside of Dracula’s Castle.

In Order of Ecclesia, players take the role of a member of the Ecclesia, an organization that has sworn to defeat the evil forces of Dracula. By using the Glyph attack system, players can unleash more than 100 different combinations to battle Dracula’s minions throughout 20 explorable areas. Utilizing Wi-Fi , players can choose to compete head-to-head, or trade items and equipment they have found while exploring the environments. Multiple endings that can be unlocked depending on how the player completes the game adds to the game with plenty of exploration, combat and items to discover.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is planned for release in the Fall 2008.

Via: Press Release

The gaming site Jeaux France has posted some scans for the upcoming Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Because they are so blurry and full of Japanese characters I decided not to post them on here and have instead supplied you with the link.

Over on Destructoid, which I got this lovely bit of info from, has provided a link to a cool Castlevania game-name generator, which most of you may already know about but I am just seeing it for the first time - and I found it to be hilarious. My Castlevania name game? Castlevania: Polka of Testicular Cancer. Gotta love that.

Thanks: Destructoid

Not content with Castlevania:Order of Ecclesia coming to the DS, Konami has filed another trademark for our favorite vampire franchise.

Over on the lovely and boring USPTO site, you will find that Castlevania: Judgment was filed for trademark on April 11th. Whether this one will be for the DS as well or for a full fledged console remains to be seen, but I am sure we will find out once they apply for a rating through the ESRB.

Here is the trademark info in all of its boring glory, just like last time.

Word Mark: CASTLEVANIA JUDGMENT
Goods and Services: IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038.
G & S: Video game software, video game programs, computer game software, computer game programs, electronic game programs
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line video games; providing information to game players about the ranking of their scores of games
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code: (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number: 77446112
Filing Date: April 11, 2008
Current Filing Basis:1B
Original Filing Basis:1B
Owner: (APPLICANT) Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. CORPORATION JAPAN 9-7-2, Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo JAPAN
Attorney of Record: Jeffrey H. Kaufman
Type of Mark:TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register: PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator: LIVE

Thanks: Aeropause

This week’s GameTap Thursday will add three new games for subscribers: Alien Shooter Vengeance, Dark Matter, Dracula Twins. (All together now: who, what, and huh?) Only subscribers will be able to access those games, as well as last week’s major addition, the Sam & Max Season Two Finale.

In the world of freebies, one new game is being added to GameTap’s free play service. X2 The Threat will now be free for all to play, so long as it remains on the free play list, which still includes Tomb Raider Legend and the ever-excellent Psychonauts.

You’ll also be able to find coverage of Nintendo’s Media Summit on GameTap TV, and a new Castlevania Retrospective will be added to the Games channel.

All in all, not really a substantial update in terms of games, but that’s excusable with new Sam & Max content so fresh in our minds.

It’s pretty handy that the ESRB updates their website as often as possible, since that means we an unexpected surprise every so often. Recently, the organization apparently approved a “T” rating for a DS game titled “Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.” Konami has’t mentioned any details on the game yet, but considering it has a rating already, we should hopefully get some details soon. Until then, DS owners should probably prepare for more whipping, vampire slaying, and most likely turning into bat at some point.

This is a confirmation of the news Stephany posted a week or so ago, where she mentioned that Konami had filed for a trademark on the name of the upcoming DS title.

Via ESRB

Gamers have been well aware that Konami has been developing a new Castlevania DS game for quite some time. Koji Igarashi has mentioned the game in numerous interviews, but refused to divulge more than a “yes we are working on one” because he wanted people to enjoy the PSP’s Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the time being. Good luck with that Konami.

Today though, we have at least found out what the title to the game is thanks to the wonderful US Patent and Trademark Office. The new game will have the illustrious title of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Still nothing on the storyline, what sorts of adventures await the Belmont clan, graphics, gameplay, release date or anything else that you would want to know, so just be happy with the title for now until we can gather more information.

Here is what I pulled from the USPT site- though boring it may be, it is proof:

Word Mark CASTLEVANIA ORDER OF ECCLESIA
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Video game software, video game programs, computer game software, computer game programs, electronic game programsC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line video games
Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number 77434565
Filing Date March 28, 2008
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. CORPORATION JAPAN 9-7-2, Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo JAPAN
Attorney of Record Jeffrey H. Kaufman
Description of Mark Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

The first Xbox Live Arcade Awards that Jonathan posted about last month have come to a close and the winners have been announced – Pac-Man: Championship Edition and Bomberman Live were the big winners, taking home five of the ten awards. Bomberman was named Best Overall Arcade Game as well as Best Competitive Multiplayer Game. There really isn’t a whole lot of diversity in the winners (five games took home all ten awards) with no Puzzle Quest to be seen, which is disappointing to me.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Awards – 2007 Winners

• Best Overall Arcade Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
• Best Classic Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• Best Original Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
• Best Family-Friendly Game: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
• Best Competitive Multiplayer Game: “Bomberman Live” (Hudson Entertainment)
• Best Cooperative Multiplayer Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
• Best-Selling Game: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Ubisoft Entertainment)
• Most-Played Game: “Worms” (Team17 Software Limited)
• Highest-Rated Game: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (Konami Digital Entertainment)
• Xbox LIVE Arcade Staff Choice: “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

What were your choices for the awards?

Sometimes, I find some really interesting lots for sale on eBay. Doing a little searching today, I came across a lot of 400 video games for $3,199.99 + Shipping (US $250, Canada $400). That works out to about $8.62 per game if you have it shipped to the United States. Keep in mind that a majority of the games are for the PS2 and original Xbox. I’m not sure what a collection like this would cost you at a store like GameStop for example, but I think the price would actually be pretty close. I wouldn’t classify this as a great deal, but it would be sweet to have all these games in your collection. If the price were closer to say $2,000 for all 400, I’d consider buying it myself.

Auction Link

The exact games included follow the break:
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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

Major Nelson has posted up a few lists of interest on his blog detailing the most played Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 games on Xbox Live, as well as the most purchased Xbox Live Arcade games from 2007. Unsurprisingly, Halo 3 and Halo 2 dominate the first two lists, while TMNT 1989 Arcade was the most purchased Arcade game of the year. I thought I was alone in loving that game prior to its release on XBLA.

Top Xbox 360 Games (Unique Users)

1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
5. Call Of Duty 3
6. Crackdown
7. Oblivion
8. Guitar Hero II
9. Forza Motorsport 2
10. Lost Planet

Call of Duty 3? Really? I found that one to be pretty shocking considering how terrible I’d argue the game is. Apparently, people don’t seem to care, and so long as you’ve got a popular name attached to the game, people will play it. (Why do I get the feeling that saying that is just begging someone to bring Madden up in the comments?)

The other two lists can be seen after the jump.

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