Are you guys all over the shock that Konami's Castlevania: Judgment for the Wii is a fighting game starring your favorite characters from the Castlevania universe? Well I have some news for you, according to the game's producer Koji Igarashi, it's not a fighter -- it's an action fighting ... game ... thing.

OK, never mind what Igarashi and Konami want us to refer to as the game as. Plain and simple, Judgment is a fighter. At least that's the impression I got when I went hands-on with the game yesterday. The build playable at Konami's media event was the same one on display at this year's E3, with only three of the game's 14 characters playable -- Simon Belmont, Maria Renard, and Alucard. 

More after the jump.

The gameplay is surprisingly simple, with all attacks mapped to the waggling of the Wii Remote; by holding down B or A (or a combination of the two), I was able to different combinations of attacks. One thing of note: whether you waggle up, down, left, or right it doesn't matter -- you'll still unleash the same moves, and simply shaking the remote will result in a reasonably impressive-looking combo. 

You can move freely in the game's 3D environments using the Wii nunchuck, jumping and blocking with the C and Z buttons. Various items and collectibles are scattered in the environments as well; one particular had interactive candelabras that could be destroyed and would reveal hearts used to power the game's "sub-weapons." These sub-weapons were chosen before entering a match. A knife and the boomerang-like cross could be chosen for Simon; an axe and holy water for Alucard; and the cross and holy water for Maria.

For better or for worse, it seems like Judgment was most definitely created with the Wii in mind. To that end, it's not surprising to find that it's not an intense hardcore title along the lines of Sega's Virtua Fighter.

I'd imagine Castlevania fans will get a kick out of seeing their favorite characters battling it out in the different areas, one of which includes a field of interactive attacking zombies. Or they'll feel like Konamia has bastardized their series because well, gamers are never truly happy, are they? Either way, fans might want to pick it up anyhow -- the game will connect to the upcoming Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS to unlock bonus content.