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.)

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The biggest game to hit GameTap recently is undoubtedly Clive Barker’s Jericho, although after seeing the reviews, you might not be quite so excited to play it. If that’s the case, then maybe new additions Clans or Abomination will tickle your fancy. That’s assuming you’re a subscriber, of course, but there’s plenty of love for the freeloaders out there, too. 46 games are available to play for free, including a Sam & Max episode and Tomb Raider: Legend. Check after the break for the full list.

To celebrate Halloween, GameTap will also be home to an exclusive Clive Barker Jericho interview (which, for some reason, I doubt will discuss why the game isn’t any good) and some Castlevania games. Can’t go wrong there.

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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

Everyone knows that the rest of the year is absolutely jam packed with huge releases, even with delays to titles like Unreal Tournament III and Grand Theft Auto IV. It’s easy to lose track of quality titles with so many games coming out, but that’s where we come in — each month until the end of the year, we’ll be pointing you in the direction of some games you might be interested in but may have forgotten about.

Let’s take a look at October. Read the full article

Everyone loves lists, and within this list is something everyone can love. Below you will find complied release dates for games coming out in October. The dates listed are as current as possible, so if a publisher changes the date we will try our best to update the list. We are well aware that September still has a couple of weeks left, give or take, but we just want to help plan your lives for the next month or two. Who loves you baby?

10/1/2007

Backyard Basketball 2007 —- GameCube
Field Ops —- PC
Heavy Rain (working title) —- PS3
Hot Shots Golf 5 —- PS3
MLB Power Pros —- PS2
Popx3 —- Wii
Race —- PC
RACE 07 – The WTCC Game — PC
The Chosen – Well of Souls —- PC
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass —– DS
Ultimate 3D Pinball —- PC, Wii

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

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ESRB has done it again. The U.S. entertainment board has listed two new games, the most intriguing being Indiana Jones for the PSP. So far, we know LucasArts will be creating it, but Activision isn’t ready to fork over any details yet.

Indiana Jones has been given a Teen rating in contrast to the kid friendly Lego Indiana Jones game in development. The game appears to be a handheld conversion of Indiana Jones 2007.

The other leaked title is Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. The game will most likely be a virtual console update of the classic NES game. Gaming Today will offer you more details as we get them.

via Eurogamer

Some of you are probably Xbox Live Arcade addicts like myself. I currently have 43 games in the arcade and will probably expand that as soon as more worthy titles come out. My favorite arcade title which also happens to be the one I am the worst at is Geometry Wars. I simply love the game considering the fact that it proves that games can be very simple and still awesome. There are so many titles from the past that I would love to see added to the arcade in the future as well. Feel free to share your opinions on XBLA in the comments below. I have included a list of the current titles I have and also my wish list. If you have questions on any of the titles I own, definitely send them my way. I can tell you if the download was worth the price or not. Some are great buys while others are simply not worth the points. I have put my favorites in bold.

Here’s a list of titles I would love to see head over to the Xbox Live Arcade:

• Dragon’s Lair
• R-Type
• Super Space Invaders
• 1943
• King Of Dragons
• Out Run
• Darius

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Remember when Nintendo announced the newest version of their Gameboy? The Nintendo DS broke boundaries with its controversial dual-screen technology. Looking back, I remember seeing countless threads using the words “Virtual Boy DS” as a slam towards Nintendo’s upcoming hand-held. I imagine threads such as those are printed out, used as decorations for the Nintendo offices like the severed heads of defeated enemies. There is absolutely no doubt about it, the Nintendo DS has sold an amazing amount of hardware and software, and quietly continues to absolutely dominate the gaming Market. Nintendo, you can feel free to take your victory lap.

So what is it? For those of us currently “DS-less”, we have to ponder the unnatural success of this dual-screened enigma. So, if we were to buy one of these systems, what games should we be on the look out for? Let’s take a look at the most popular games for the DS after which maybe we can ascertain the true nature of this phenomenon.

Check the list below:
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I started out playing arcade games at my local grocery store. My mother would shop while I fed quarters into Asteriods, Space Invaders, Galaga, Q-Bert, Frogger, Dig Dug, and Tetris. Those were the four games that my local super market would switch back and forth – once a year or so, they would pull Pac-Man out of the back room much to the delight of the kids in my small town. At this point I was hooked, and I would get very impatient waiting for some little dork to get eaten by ghosts so I could play – only to find out that his mother had given him more quarters than mine.

Gradually, I started to get my own games at home. My parents bought me my first hand-held – a 9-volt battery operated Battlestar Galactica from Mattel. Eventually, I acquired an Intellivision, an Atari, and then moved on to Nintendo Country. Today, I own almost every console created, and still play them every once in a while. When my boyfriend and I moved in together, it was under the condition that the Colecovison and Commodore 64 came with him along with his stash of games and Conan novels.

Over the years, people have been shocked that I am into so many hardcore games. I suppose being a woman automatically makes you want to play kinder, more genteel games. This sort of stereotypical thought pattern, thankfully, is beginning to wane in this day and age. It still rears it’s ugly head once in a while, but thanks XBL, and games like WoW – men are finding that women like to frag enemies and go on raids as much as they do. Personally I have never been one to entertain the thought of even playing some silly namby pamby game. The most innocent game I have (besides the Mario collection) is Diddy Kong racing. You can’t get more tame than that – there is not a hint of violence surrounding that game, unless you count the violence that rages inside of me when I play the frustrating game.

More nonsensical ravings and my list after the jump

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