When Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was announced at this year's E3, I'll admit, I pulled a little bit of the retro snob behavior. I wasn't so sure I wanted a 3D Castlevania game,but after I saw the trailer that you can watch after the jump, my jaw kind of hit the floor and I was convinced. This is going to be very different from the side-scrolling Castlevanias of old, for sure -- and that may not be a bad thing.
You can check out the official site right here or peruse some new images over at Gamekyo. What do you think -- totally incredible, or not your thing at all?
Konami unmasks the Belmont Clan in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Veteran heroes of Konami's Castlevania series to return in new Next Gen epic Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has unveiled an extended trailer for its eagerly-awaited Castlevania: Lords of Shadow title, and confirmed that the Belmont family – the stalwart heroes of the long-running series – will play a part in the new game.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is under the wing of Konami’s fast-growing European Product Planning department, and marks a new beginning for the Castlevania series, with Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam working closely with Konami’s respected Kojima Productions studio, led by Hideo Kojima. The PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360 title is an incredibly ambitious and ground-breaking title that mixes stunning combat elements, with a fully interactive 3D realm populated by all manner of undead and inhuman denizens.
The new trailer further outlines the sheer scale and epic nature of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and reveals key new elements to the game’s plot. The game’s as yet unnamed protagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs, is heard to proclaim he will “wipe the name of Belmont from this world… forever”, while a mysterious new Mask adds further to the mystery…
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is set in a ravaged Europe of the middle ages. The planet has been devastated by a powerful magic. The souls of the dead are trapped on our earthly plane unable to find peace, and inhuman creatures of nightmare now roam the Earth, wreaking havoc. Having witnessed his wife Marie (voiced by Natascha McKelhone) murdered at their hands, Gabriel (Robert Carlyle) pledges revenge against those responsible: the mysterious Lords of Shadow.
Gabriel learns from an ally called Zobek (Patrick Stewart) that each of the Lords possesses pieces of a relic called ’The God Mask’ that, when assembled, can purify the world and has the power to bring the dead back. Thus, Gabriel must face the three factions of the Lords of Shadow and confront them – defeating huge adversaries that dominate the screen, making his way across inhospitable but beautifully realised locations, and using the Combat Cross device to whip, swing, and rappel his way to the Mask’s location.
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Gabriel will stop at nothing to see his beloved returned to him but someone has other plans for Gabriel and the mask holds the key. For good or for ill, Gabriel will meet his destiny: what is the secret of the masks and how are the Belmonts involved?
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a visual masterpiece, and the new gamescom trailer details more of the gameplay elements that have established the game as a worthy return for the Castlevania series. The additional uses for the Combat Cross are alluded to, while more of the enormous adversaries and the action set pieces fans can look forward to are premiered for the first time.
“gamescom is shaping up as the most exciting European showcase imaginable, so it is fitting that we bring something new and exciting to the show – and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is just that,” commented Dave Cox, Producer and Head of Product Planning for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “The new trailer will show key elements and content for the first time and will further cement Castlevania: Lords of Shadow’s reputation as one of the landmark games of 2010.”
About KONAMI CORPORATION KONAMI CORPORATION was established in 1973, and became a holding company on March 31, 2006. KONAMI CORPORATION covers the fields of "Digital Entertainment Business", "Health & Fitness Business" and "Gaming & System Business". KONAMI CORPORATION went public on Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1988, the Singapore Stock Exchange in 1997, the London Stock Exchange in 1999, and the New York Stock Exchange in 2002. Home Page URL: www.konami.co.jp. Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary, responsible for popular franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Pro Evolution Soccer amongst other top sellers. For more information concerning Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH and its products, please visit www.konami-europe.com/games
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be released for PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. For more information, please contact Steve Merrett at Voltage PR on 020 7903 5122 or email steve@voltagepr.com.
Man Patrick Stewart AND Jason Issacs? Very cool. This looks better than I thought, looks very very story driven, I like that. Still, where the FUCK is my 2D HD PSN XBLA whatever, side scrolling metroid game? WHERE IS IT YOU FUCKS!
Am I the only person who actually liked Castlevania 64?? If this 3D addition to the series is anything like that I'll be happy (minus the crappy camera angles and controls of course...)
Wow, indeed; I'm stunned! Looks like the platforming elements have been transposed to the 3D realm amazingly. If they can manage to keep the feeling of exploration and puzzle solving with platforming elements throughout the game, then this will be a truly successful shift for the Castlevania series.
As a major Action-genre fanatic, I can't wait for all the games 2010 has to deliver!
Am I the only one that does not feel excited about Kojima's involvement in the Castelvania series? I mean, he is good at what he does, but I don't want 20' cutscenes of choreographic figths and characters talking for 10' about the nature of vampirism, in an ACTION game...
I'm sorry, I'm wasn't "Wow"ed at all. It's probably because I still remember when the game was just called "Lords of Shadow" and had nothing to do with Castlevania at all. Now they turned it into a Castlevania game, and just threw in a few element from Castlevania. It could still be good, but the fact that this use to be a stand alone game that had nothing to do with the Castlevania series kind of soiled it for me. It just feels like a way to make a quick buck off of the fans of the series on a game that otherwise would probably not sell well and would have been forgotten before it was released.
@Trevor McGee - Back when it had nothing to do with Castlevania... it just contained a Gothic setting and a man with a whip fighting undead and zombies. I'm sure Konami never intended this to be a Castlevania title, right.
@megaStryke - I believe they're referring to two different people.
Having witnessed his wife Marie (voiced by Natascha McKelhone) murdered at their hands, Gabriel (Robert Carlyle) pledges revenge against those responsible: the mysterious Lords of Shadow. ---
The game’s as yet unnamed protagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs, is heard to proclaim he will “wipe the name of Belmont from this world… forever”, while a mysterious new Mask adds further to the mystery…
Gabriel is voiced by Robert Carlyle; we don't know who will be voiced by Jason Isaacs. It is misleading by calling Jason's character the protagonist when we will be playing as Gabriel.
This game gets more interesting every time I see it! I'm glad that they are giving the metroid-vania style a rest for a little while. This looks great!
I am looking forward to this a lot.
I have wanted a really awesome 3D Castlevania for a while and to have Kojima Productions involved... that is pretty awesome.
I don't have a PS3 for God of War III, so this will do quite nicely.
This doesn't look bad, but neither does it look much like Castlevania (basic gothic set-dressing aside). If I wanted to play God of War I'd play God of War. I might give it a try but so far it hasn't really grabbed me.
It looks pretty cool, but also at the same time, very God of War-esque. I've never played any of the other Castlevanias, so I don't feel any loyalty to their brand of sidescrolling action. But at the same time, this looks like it could be fun.
Once again people wave the God of War flag. No need.
I'll check out this Castlevania, as this is exactly wahat the series needed, a decent 3D game design, that breaks its old chains, while hopefully remaining fun.
Super excited but super worried about it losing some of the old charm the 2D versions had. Better still have the exploration and item collection, etc. involved then I'll be happy.
The combat looks satisfying and well done, not original and the other elements look solid too. It is too bad this dub is so bad, really ruins the game for me.
I'm a fanatic for Castlevania games, and most of that trailer is recycled from the last one...but I never knew Kojima was working on this game!. Needless to say, this game is going to make me quake in the pants.
Dumb. Please can we get another 2D Castlevania? Castlevania is 2D you fucks! Give it back!! This is GoW in Gothic garb. Hooray. I would buy Shadow Complex over this any day because SC is more like an actual Castlevania game than this derivative junk. A-holes.
Yeah, I'm a crabby old man who liked it better back in the good old days, but come on, we've got enough cookie cutter 3D hack and slashes, don't we?
God of War or not, if it can breathe life into the decimated corpse that is every damn 3D Castlevania, then so be it! This will be the one to make the series rise from the ashes of past shitty iterations, and I can't wait to bust a nut all over the cover.
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10:10 AM on 08.19.2009, Colette Bennett
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