RipTen Videogame Blog » kojima

Slice It Up With This Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Trailer

Chris Carlson — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:20:11 +0000

There’s been a long silence with Metal Gear Rising, but Kojima-san came out today at the VGAs revealing an all new trailer. You’ll quickly realize how much different Metal Gear Rising looks as the trailer also reveals it’s being developed by Platinum Games. That could be a good or a bad thing depending on your personal taste.

Check out the trailer below:

Hideo Kojima Talks Metal Gear Solid 5 in Upcoming Interview

Justin Carter — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:45:54 +0000

It’s been over three years since Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots hit stores, and fans have been waiting for a fifth numbered entry in the series ever since. If you’re a fan of Hideo Kojima and his work, you’ll be pleased to hear that he’s taking full charge of development on Metal Gear Solid 5, if there is a Metal Gear Solid 5.

First details about what Kojima-san is working on will be revealed in Official Playstation Magazine UK’s upcoming issue. Kojima’s got the cover front and center and will be talking MGS 5 and Project Ogre, a recently teased…well, project, obviously.

The issue will be out on November 29, but if you can’t wait that long, interview excerpts should be hitting the internet sometime next week. Stay tuned to RipTen to see what Kojima’s got to say.

Via [OPM]

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection ‘Limited Edition’ Confirmed and Detailed

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:30:18 +0000

Konami has confirmed an upcoming special limited edition for the Metal Gear Solid Hd Collection. The Limited Edition will come in beautifully drawn packaging and include a 248 page artbook.

Here is all of the additional content detailed below:

Standard game
Specialized packaging created by series lead artist, Yoji Shinkawa
248 page exclusive ”The Art of Metal Gear Solid” artbook

Features for METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION include:

Remastered from the ground up for PS3 & Xbox360
Stunning 1080p graphics
60 frames-per-second graphics
Icons, sound effects, and all fonts upgraded for HD
User interface rebalanced for HD
Added right analog stick input and force feedback*
Features Trophies on PS3 and Achievements on Xbox 360
Worldwide matchmaking for multiplayer (tentative)
TRANSFARRING (save data sharing) compatible with PSP version*

The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Limited Edition will be available this winter for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Kojima Pushed MGS2 to 60FPS to Make it Feel “Alive” Yet Had to Run MGS3 at 30FPS

Dave Oshry — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:39:41 +0000

Hideo Kojima has always been a man with vision, and his games have often felt more like movies.

That being said, according to recent comments on Twitter, Kojima-san pushed MGS2 out at 60FPS to make it feel “alive”

The reason for this is because his old VFX supervisor had convinced him that anything above 45fps made our brains recognize it as more realistic… or something like that.

Anyway, it paid off. MGS2 looked fluid and realistic in a time long before many other producers would even consider a console game at 60FPS.

In fact, MGS3 only ran at 30FPS. However. it looks as if the MGS HD collection will run at 60fps once again!

Kojima later stated that it was just too difficult to get MGS3 running at 60fps ont he PS2, so he reluctantly had it at 30FPS:

He always goes for realistic sensation… baby

Hideo Kojima, keeping you immersed in his games since 19xx ^__^

Kojima-San Will Sign Your Tits (and Games) at Comic Con for Two Hours Only!

Dave Oshry — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:00:22 +0000

Ok, well maybe he won’t sign your tits, but he will probably sign your copy of MGS3 or whatever else you bring with you.

Here’s the rundown:

Event: Kojima Productions Signing Event

Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011

Time: 1:30 pm to 3:30pm

Location: San Diego Convention Center Meeting rooms 16 AB

**No line ups before 11am **

Hideo Kojima, Executive Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., Director of Kojima Productions and creator of the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise, will be on hand to sign autographs for fans attending Comic- Con 2011. Mr. Kojima will not be alone, as fans will be able to meet and greet Yoji Shinkawa, Art Director of Kojima Productions and Yumi Kikuchi, the popular Japanese actress and the voice of Raging Raven (METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS) and Strangelove (METAL GEAR SOLD: PEACE WALKER).

Good luck, you’re gonna need it.

Konami Set To Unleash MGS, Silent Hill and Zone of the Enders HD Remakes

Bryce Wilson — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 02:52:12 +0000

Ever gotten to a good point in one of your favorite games and then the wife starts nagging you to go visit the in-laws? Well I haven’t, but I imagine the problem would exist, and now there’s a solution.

Transfarring, announced at the Konami Pre-E3 2011 event we attended, was amongst a number of reveals including announcements of a series of HD remake collections for Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Zone of the Enders.

The Metal Gear Solid HD collection is set to include MGS 2: Sons of Liberty, MGS 3: Snake Eater and a HD remake of the hit PSP title MGS: Peace Walker. The Enders collection will feature the first two games in the series and the Silent Hill HD collection will feature SH 2 and 3. Better yet, all of these collections are coming to the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3! All games also will feature achievement and trophy support. Sweet!

The new collections will be completely redesigned, they are not ports or emulations. They’ll even have new HD interfaces. Ooooh, ahhhhh.

Transfarring, as previously mentioned, was also revealed and will allow players to transfer their saves from a Playstation 3 to a PSP/Vita and vice-versa. The quick and simple process literally only takes a few seconds and will be supported by a wide variety of titles in future. Genius!

How did the one and only Kojima-san announce all of this? Via a Mega64 video!! No… seriously:

Now, I know what you’re saying. “Guys, if you were at the Pre-E3 event on Thursday with Konami, why did it take you two days to post this amazing news!?” Well, because we were playing a new game called “Drink many beers” It’s NOT in HD.

More importantly, is the Mega 64 video funnier in Japanese? Of course it is!!

Stay tuned for more as RipTen invades E3 2011 as well as the Konami booth and press conference!!

Kojima-San Will Not Be At E3 – Commence Teh Sadness

Dave Oshry — Mon, 30 May 2011 09:50:11 +0000

If you were hoping for E3 2011 to turn into Kojimacon 2011, you will be disappoint. The man himself has said that he will not be there.

Luckily, this came in the form of a Tweet and not a 30 minute CGI cutscene:

Instead he was interviewed by everyone’s favorite resident Japanophile game journalist Mark MacDonald. Good for Mark, rather shitty for the rest of us who were hoping to spend some quality time with Mr. Kojima in a VIP booth up in da club at E3.

We’ll be sure to ask Konami wtf is up with the lack of Kojima when we see them next week in LA at their Pre-E3 showcase.

#rawr

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection May Be Coming to the PS3

Matthew Sims — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:39:41 +0000

According to Official Playstation Magazine, there are rumors in the air about Solid Snake getting an HD makeover for his first three MGS titles. The makeover would be in the same vein as the current HD packages in the works, such as the Sly Cooper and ICO/Shadows of the Colossus HD upgrades.

Apparently the magazine has heard “inside whispers” about the remakes that are apparently forthcoming. It says that that Snake and the crew are in the “facelift queue” and that the “first three” MGS games are going to get a PS3 retail release. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima also spent this morning revisiting and digging through old Metal Gear concept pieces. This could mean that Kojima is trying to get some ideas for the HD release, or that the man is simply cleaning out his office.

Whichever the case, Ripten will be there if and when he finds a sandwich that time has forgotten, and you better believe that we’ll have pictures.

[Source: thegamingliberty]

Kojima Productions Hiring for “Next Generation” Metal Gear Solid?

Sam Naylor — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:40:22 +0000

Kojima Productions have posted a job listing for a “Next Generation Metal Gear Solid Series Production Staff,” implying even more future entries in the series.

The listing seeks “general planners, level designers and scripters,” along with programming jobs in “graphics, network, plug-ins, audio and game character.” Other jobs include “concept art, 3D character modeling, 3D stage modeling, 3D character motion design, event scene production, effect production and interface design.”

Interestingly the platforms mentioned aren’t just PS3 and Xbox 360, but PC as well. Perhaps we could be seeing Metal Gear coming to the high-powered world of home computing?

So, nothing solid, but some promising things coming from this job listing, especially for die-hard fans of Kojima’s epic series. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Via Shacknews

Two New DLC Packs Coming To Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow

Aaron Alexander — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:49:43 +0000

Konami has revealed details on two upcoming packs of DLC for Castlevania:Lords of Shadow. The two packs will hit early 2011, and are entitled “Reverie” and “Resurrection” .

“Reverie” would have you return to the Castle to assist an ex servant of the Queen of Vampires.

SPOILERS: It would seem after the Queen was slain, evil was unleashed. Being that Castlevania is about kicking evil’s ass, its your job to stop it, naturally.

“Resurrection” is the second pack, which is apparently the larger of the two. It will take place immediately after the end of the disc based game, giving players “some insight into the dramatic epilogue seen by players upon completion of the game.” (Epic ending was epic) Konami also states that it will feature a, “Final showdown with a very notorious enemy.”

No pricing or concrete release date (aside from early 2011) has been announced yet, but RipTen will keep you up to date as soon as details are confirmed.

Still not sure about Lords of Shadow? We are – check out the RipTen review.

Source: Dtoid

VGA Clip Teases Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Announcement

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 02:06:16 +0000

It looks as if Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will likely have an announcement at the 2010 VGA’s. Clips promoting the award show have shown quick flashes of the Peace Walker logo. The most recent clip released comes to a full stop to display the logo aound the 48 seconds in.

Could this be for a long awaited PS3 version of the game? Hopefully. For an awards show that has increasingly become a great spot for big video game announcements, it’s definitely possible.

Yet another of the increasing list of reasons to watch the VGA Awards this Saturday night on Spike.

Source

World Premieres 2.010 | Games & Gadgets | SPIKE.com

Metal Gear Solid 4 New Greatest Hits Box Displays Trophy Support

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:04:55 +0000

Thats right Metal Gear Solid 4 fans, the day you have all been waiting for may finally come soon. Trophy Support has been one of the few things many MGS4 players have desired. The game came out shortly before the PS3 adopted the trophy system and fans of the game have often had their hopes dashed several times by baseless rumors.

Thankfully, it seems this one could have more concrete evidence behind it. It’s been reported that the newest boxes for the Greatest Hit Edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 display ‘trophy support’ on the back. It unlikely for Konami to make an unintentional mistake like this. View the picture here.

As a Metal Gear Solid fan, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a patch with trophies and other goodies sneaks it’s way to the PS3 console soon!

Source

Castlevania’s Familiar Konami Cheat Codes

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:07:02 +0000

October 5th has arrived! A great day for vampire hunters worldwide as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has finally been released. So you want to know the cheat codes? I’ll give you a hint: you’ve probably used them before.

That’s right…the familiar Contra code:

XBOX 360 Version
U, U, D, D, L R, L R, B, A

PS3 Version
U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, O, X

By entering the familiar, players will be able to unlock a list of cheats which can be enabled. Unfortunately, entering the code disables acheivements/trophies – Nothing comes easy.

Simply press the buttons at the loading screen before the mission starts.

CHEATS Unlocked:

All Relics – Discover all Relics
All Combos – Activates all Combos without purchasing
All Gems – Discoverall Magic Gems
All Upgrades- Discover all Weapon and Relic upgrades
No Damage- Invicibility

Sorry, no Solid Snake.

Have fun storming the castle!

Play as Solid Snake in Castlevania? David Cox says “No”

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:12:51 +0000

Last night various different websites claimed Solid Snake as a playable character in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Thanks to a Tweet by David Cox, we know it not to be true:

“No not true you do not play as Solid Snake but there is an unlockable that is Kojima related :)”

Hmmm? Well, there is something Kojima related. A Solid Snake costume? Definitely likely.

Let’s just hope it isn’t the notoriously gassy Johnny Sasaki.

Source

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Demo Available Now on Xbox Live

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:57:31 +0000

Yep, for those of you wishing to demo Castlevania: Lords of Shadow before purchasing the game, Xbox Live has it for you a full day early. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is now available on Xbox Live to Demo!

Castlevania:Lords of Shadow is a dark and re-imagining of the Castlevania Mythology. Popular because of it’s stiunning visuals and the involvement of video game legend Hideo Kojima.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be released in North America on October 5th. Look for the Ripten review soon.

Lords of Shadow Gameplay Trailer (Almost) Tells All

Dave Oshry — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:20:34 +0000

With Castlevania: Lords of Shadow ready to hit stores next week, Konami and G4 have teamed up to bring you this epic trailer which literally tells you (almost) everything you need to know about the game. Shame this video wasn’t around when I was writing my hands on preview and interview titled, “Everything you Need to Know About Lords of Shadow”

Anyhow, enjoy as Jason Isaacs goes into great detail about the story and gameplay and almost reveals a thing or two in the process ;-)

The obvious reveal here is that Jason Isaacs is indeed Dracula and that Dracula is the final boss!! . . . or is he? I for one, am not so sure . . .

Look for Lords of Shadow as well as the RipTen review on October 5th.

10 Minutes of New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Gameplay Footage Narrated By Kojima & Friends

Dave Oshry — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:23:14 +0000

Think you’ve seen all Kojima-san had to offer at TGS 2010? Think again …

We’ve already learned all about Kojima’s involvement with the game, but it’s good to see him being a bit more hands on with the game in front of us.

In case you haven’t already, check out our EPIC hands-on preview of Lords of Shadow and Interview with Producer David Cox from Mercury Steam.

There was also this TGS 2010 trailer that surfaced last week.

But today check out this brand new footage from the special Kojima Productions presentation in Tokyo. Unless you speak Japanese, the commentary will be useless to you. However, rest assured, the footage makes up for it in spades. Enjoy:

Seeing as I’ve had extensive hands on time with the game and it’s producers, perhaps you’d like to ask me more about it? Feel free to do so at Dave@ripten.com or @DaveOshry on Twitter

Kojima Announces Metal Gear Solid 3 3DS Port For 2011

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:57:04 +0000

Kojima announced Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater will be released on the 3DS sometime in 2011. During TGS, Konami held a press event where Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima, explained demo Naked Sample’s purpose.

At E3 this past year, Konami put together a short demo for the Nintendo 3DS that showcased the upcoming handheld’s graphical power and glasses-free stereoscopic 3D technology. The demo was code named Naked Sample, rendering parts of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2). Speculation ensued.

MGS 3 for the 3DS will be a straight port of the PS2 title, with no work being put into upgrading graphics from the 7 year old game. Still a great looking game for a 3D portable screen.

Kojima’s New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow TGS Trailer is Awesome

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:45:54 +0000

Wow!! I need someone to teach me to say Awesome in Japanese. The new Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Trailer is just that.

Thank God for Kojima-san and may he and Mercury Steam bring 3D Castlevania back from the dead! I certainly can’t wait for it.

Watch the epic new trailer below:

If you haven’t already, check out Ripten’s epic preview of Lords of Shadow that includes new footage and an in-depth interview with producer David Cox!!

Everything You Need to Know About Lords of Shadow

Dave Oshry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:08:15 +0000

Last weekend Ripten brought you brand new footage from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Then, in an excerpt from our interview with producer David Cox, we told you just how Hideo Kojima was involved with the title. Now, we’re telling you literally everything we’ve learned from our hands on time with the final build of the game and our full interview with Mr. Cox. Are there spoilers ahead? Yes. But only enough to whet your appetite for destruction.

As I arrived for “Lords of Shadow Boot Camp” in NYC Last Wednesday I was greeted by Konami PR and brought into a room filled with HDTV’s and PS3′s, all running Lords of Shadow. “What build of the game is this?” I asked. “Oh, it’s the final version” they replied. “Holy hell!” I blurted out, “I’d better start playing!!”

And play I did … On and off for six or so hours, only stopping periodically to hang with the devs, drink with the PR guys and gals, and goto the bathroom.

I played til my eyes burned and my fingers went numb, and then I played some more.

Futhermore, after playing the living hell out of the game and spending some quality time with executive producer David Cox, I believe that I can absolutely tell you damn near everything you will need to know in order to decide whether or not Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is for you. (Hint: It is) So lets get into it, shall we?

Not a remake, it’s a reboot.

Lords of Shadow is not a remake of any previous Castlevania game, nor does it tie into any previous game. Gabriel is indeed a Belmont, but how he fits into the family tree is not known at this point. Mr. Cox has proclaimed that to him, Castlevania has always been about Belmonts fighting creatures of the night, and by golly, that’s what Gabriel does, and he does it well. There has not been a successful 3d Castlevania to date and even the most hardcore Castlevania fans (myself included) have been skeptical. David was aware of this and decided that the only way to make this title truly stand out was to start from scratch with a new Belmont and a new story. If anything, it let Mercury Steam open up far more avenues creatively than simply doing a remake would have.

The Story (SPOILERS)

Lords of Shadow stars Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light. (He’s a Paladin!) This brotherhood prevents the innocent from all things wicked. The Lords of Shadow (three super beastie baddies) have made it so the souls of the dead cannot rest in peace. Now this would be all well and good, except that Gabriel’s wife Marie has recently been murdered and her soul cannot rest. Better yet, each of these Lords of Shadow contains a piece of a mask that some say can bring the dead back to life. (Splatterhouse?) Anyhow, our crusading hero is now off to find these Lords of Shadow to find answers and settle the score. Gabriel himself is a tortured soul, a man of honor, a white knight, and an expert at slaying all sorts of evil. Once you get your hands on the game, you will see just what sort of character Gabriel is. He is not a blank canvas, he is a richly painted portrait of a man. One with depth and emotion. One clearly influenced by Kojima-san. Speaking of characters, let me inform you (if you didn’t already know) that Lords of Shadow contains more Sir Patrick Stewart than you can shake a bottle of holy water at. Not only does SPS (totally what he should be called) serve as the narrator of the game, but he also portrays a character named Zobek within the game. Zobek is a fellow member of the Brotherhood and aside from appearing at certain key plot points he also fights alongside you as an AI companion during certain chapters. Needless to say, the presence of SPS in this game only elevates it further into the realm of the epic, as his voice work is always magnificent.

Sir Patrick Zobek

What else do we know of the story? Well, we know that it is long. 25 or so hours spread over 12 chapters and 50 some odd levels. David Cox has promised one hell of an ending that consists of a 14 minute cutscene. Does Gabriel live or die? Does Dracula appear? Does Alucard appear? Does Sephiroth suddenly appear and kill Gabriel’s wife . . . again!? Who knows!?

Jason Isaacs (who you may recognize as Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films) is credited in the game as a voice actor for an unnamed character. One can only assume he plays a major role, perhaps he is the final lord of shadow? Perhaps Dracula himself!? (I’d bet on it)

Is This The New Dracula?

Only time will tell. But what I can tell you is that you will not simply skip over the cutscenes in this game. Just as you wouldn’t skip them in Metal Gear Solid or God of War, you will watch intently as these brilliantly directed scenes only help to move along the story and narrative of the tale of Gabriel Belmont and the Lords of Shadow. Epic storytelling awaits you, you can quote me on that.

The Combat

Enter the Combat Cross. Gabriel’s weapon of choice. Part holy relic, part chain whip, part stabbamajig, this thing does it all. Basically it will feel as if you’re playing with a one-handed version of Kratos’ blades of chaos. But that’s not a bad thing and trust me when I say there is more to it. I’m just trying to convey the feeling you get when handling this bad boy. The whip play is visceral and satisfying and due to the experience system, you can upgrade your attacks and develop your own style of play. I myself became very fond of a jumping downward chain slam attack known as the “Guillotine”

Now, let me explain a bit further. As you kill enemies, they will drop yellow orbs, these orbs give you experience and you can then spend that experience in your skill book. (A book which is very well detailed with awesome hand drawn art may I add) You can add combos to your attacks, unlock all new attacks, and even upgrade your secondary weapons. That’s right, classic secondary weapons like throwing daggers and holy water are back. You don’t need to pickup little floating hearts to keep them in stock however :-) enemies will drop them for you.

Not long into the game you will learn the powers of light and dark magic. This adds a whole new level to the gameplay.

Take a look at the UI above . . . in the lower left hand corner is your light magic, and in the lower right, your dark. The middle bar is sort of a combo meter that fills as you perform attacks without taking damage, but we’ll get to that in a bit. Light magic allows you to trigger an ability that I like to call “Light Metamorphisis” (It works like Alucard’s Dark Metamorphisis) As long as you have light energy left while this is activated, you will drain health from enemies. However, it does not last long and you do not get a ton of health back rom foes. But trust me when I say that learning to use light energy at the right time is absolutely necessary if you plan on keeping your ass alive. On the other hand, your dark energy bar will allow you to add dark fiery energy to your whip attacks and secondary weapons (Flaming dagger wave anyone?). Striking a balance between using light and dark energy makes the combat thoroughly enjoyable and all of this in combination with your favorite style of whip play makes for some very satisfying combat. Now, you see that bar at the bottom? Well, like I said, as you perform successful attacks without taking damage, it will fill. If you manage to get it completely full, then enemies will start dropping a ton of orbs. Needless to say, it will behoove you to keep that meter filled, but bear in mind, you cannot use it while you have either dark or light magic activated. They didn’t want to make it that easy on you.

There is also mounted combat. That’s right, mounted combat. After subduing certain large enemies (Trolls, Worgs, Spiders, etc) you will be able to perform a quicktime sequence and mount them. This will usually happen when you have a long gap to jump or a wall to smash down or any other obstacle you simply can’t pass on your own. Once your mount has outlived its usefulness, you can then strangle it to death and move on. It’s all quite satisfying and fun.

That’s the main thing about the combat. Any hack and slash 3rd person action game can get combat basics right, but it takes a lot for the combat to feel continuously fresh and satisfying. With the additions of the different magics and unlockable skills throughout the course of the game, the combat manages to stay fresh as you build upon your own personal playstyle over the 20+ hours of solid gameplay.

Now, before I get into the platforming, I must mention another Belmont whom I met that day. Veronica Belmont to be precise. It takes a lot for a room full of gaming journalists to stop playing an epic game that they’ve been given the opportunity to see months in advance … but when Veronica walked in the room, I swear you could hear a pin drop. Nearly every head turned and I swear even Gabriel himself broke the fourth wall and kneeled before Ms. Belmont. Why am I bringing this up, you ask? Why am I talking about Veronica Belmont when I should be talking about Gabriel Belmont and the Lords of Shadow? Because I thought you’d like to know that this chick is the real deal. Not just another pretty face, Veronica can game with the best of us, never mind the rest of us. I sat next to her and we spoke at length as she played Lords of Shadow for damn near three hours straight before her interview with David Cox (which will appear on PSN on October) So impressed was I by this lady and how genuine and approachable she was, I had to put her in this preview. I am also hereby demanding that she be put in the next Castlevania game. She is a Belmont after all.

Whip Not Included

Now, back to the game …

The Platforming

Think Prince of Persia, with a chain whip. That’s about the gist of it. Aside from the usual climbing, shimmying and jumping across ledges, Gabriel can also use the Combat Cross to latch onto all sorts of things. You will soon find yourself swinging from platform to platform or repelling down cliffsides, only to have to jump off that wall and whip onto another ledge whilst in mid air. Think of it as a really bad ass version of Link’s hookshot. The platforming is solid on all accounts and downright fun when you get the Combat Cross involved. The first time you rappel down a wall, push yourself off of it and kick through a stained glass window, you’ll most definitely be impressed by the mechanics of it all. It breaks up the monotony of the combat sequences and also adds its own level of challenge and fun. It’s never easy to do 3d platforming right, so my hats off to Mercury Steam for pulling it off.

Not only that, but in a game this size, simply going through the motions of each chapter may only net you 15% completion of each. That’s right, finish a chapter outright, and achieve a whopping 15% completion. The reason for that is that there is simply so much to see and do outside of just progressing through the story. Some content you can only see once you are powerful enough or have the requisite skills. Think of it like backtracking in Symphony of the Night, only in a fully rendered and lush 3d world. There’s something for the casual and the hardcore in this game, believe me when I say that.

So, now you know how Lords of Shadow looks, and you know how Lords of Shadow plays … but what makes this game any different from God of War or Devil May Cry or Dante’s Inferno? What truly makes Lords of Shadow a Castlevania game? One that new fans and hardcore Castlevania fans will enjoy? Well, instead of me bombarding you with another wall of text, how about I let executive producer David Cox talk about it?

In the following interview, he spills all the details about how he came to produce the Castlevania game he always dreamed of making, and how the damned thing actually got made. Enjoy.

No Amount of Booze Could Get Him to Tell Me The Ending

DO: Your first Castlevania title was . . .

DC: As a product manager, I worked on Symphony of the night

DO: Ah, my favorite in the series … before you came to Konami, how big of a fan were you of Castlevania and what was it like coming into the fold after this IP had already been so well established?

DC: It was pretty exciting. Not just as a game fan but as a guy who also worked in a game shop. I never thought I’d end up being a producer of a Castlevania title. When I first joined Konami it was huge thrill to work on SOTN. We didnt realize how big it was going to be. We didn’t know it would have this cult following and be considered a classic at the time. We were a little worried, it was quite different.

DO: Oh yeah quite different, it had RPG elements, it had no whip … it had swords, and you weren’t playing as a Belmont . . . you were playing as the son of Dracula. However, Alucard may in fact be the most popular Castlevania character to date. In fact when I play Harmony of Despair, sometimes I’ll end up playing with 5 other Alucards!!

DC: Haha, yeah Alucard is a really cool character, and Symphony was a thrill to work on. And that visual style has really defined Castlevania for the last 12 years.

So there’s a bit of trepidation about working on this title, simply because there is such a hardcore fanbase for the franchise. When you do anything new you’re going to meet a bit of resistance. Even internally from Konami. We’d been asked to propose a new western style Castlevania that would appeal to mainstream audiences, one that’s going to broaden the appeal of the series. Because it was really only appealing to a niche group of fans. So there was a bit of trepidation there. Our pitch was very dark and gritty and adult, and there was worry about that. It took us over a year to even get the project going. We pitched it a couple of times . . .

DO: Well, there hasn’t been a successful 3d Castlevania yet.

DC: Absolutely, yeah, so there was a lot of worry about it. We’d even been told to stop at one point. We submitted one last demo in LA which they liked and they said, “Ok, you can goto prototype, but that’s it.”

DO: Was there any point where they loved what they saw but wanted to call it something else because they weren’t sure that this was the next Castlevania game?

DC: Absolutely. It was greenlit as a Castlevania title, but then we were told it was going to be an original IP. We said, “Ok we can work around that, we’ve got a great game here either way.” Then we showed it as Lords Of Shadow at a senior managers meeting in Japan. Kojima-san was in the room, all the senior managers were in the room. When they saw the game . . . you could tell there was a change in the room, you could feel it. There had been some resistance up until this point, but once they saw what we’d been doing, they were finally on board. It was after that meeting that Kojima-san came up to me and said, “I really like what you’ve shown today, I want to help in some way.” Now, I thought it would end there, I thought he was just being nice. So I went back to England and then I got a call from him saying he wanted to come to Mercury Steam and visit the team. He got on board at that point, about two and a half years ago. I was surprised when Kojima-san came on board. He’s a bit of a geek like me. He could see us struggling a bit and just wanted to lend a hand.

DO: What does his involvement mean for the title? What does it mean having his validation on a game like this?

DC: It was reassuring, but at times a bit scary. It was reassuring because it opened doors and gave us freedom to do what we wanted to do. Also, it’s my first big title so having his advice and mentoring on the project was invaluable. At the same time it’s a double edged sword because of the fact that we’re a bit nervous when it comes to pleasing him. We’d ask ourselves, “Is it good enough?” Sometimes he’d say, “Well no you need to fix this or work on that“, and having his feedback was great. Other times he’d say to me, “It’s your call, you’re the producer who fought long and hard to get it off the ground, i’m going to let you run with it.”

DO: Gabriel was a totally different character before Kojima got involved, what was he like, was he like Kratos?

DC: No, not like Kratos . . . Do you remember Schneider from the N64 game?

DO: Sort of . . . really bad ass, kid of brash, a bit suicidal?

DC: Yeah he was a bit like that, kind of this furry big armor, very brash, very one dimensional . . .

DO: Gabriel seems very vulnerable, like a lost soul . . . but a man to be feared and respected just the same

DC: Exactly, exactly, and that’s what Kojima-san said was missing from our character design. He said Gabriel himself needed to be worked on more. He said, “you’ve got this deep and emotional and tragic story, but yet you’ve got this very barbaric character.” So he thought we should redesign Gabriel. At that point we thought Gabriel was great, but he said, “No no no, you have to change him.” So we went back and turned Gabriel into much more of an everyman. He’s not a one dimensional action hero anymore. He’s much more of a real person now. I think Kojima’s input on that really helped us, and you can see it in the character.

DO: Other than redesign Gabriel, what else did Kojima-san do to help you along the way?

DC: Well other than that, a lot of small things. For instance, we were having problems with mocap. We didn’t capture the faces properly, and we had a lot problems with lip sync, so he sent out the team from Kojima productions with all the Metal Gear Solid rigs. They showed us how they did facials and it helped us tremendously. In fact, one of the more interesting bits . . . you know how in videogames all the characters have very white teeth?

DO: Yeah . . .

DC: Well, Kojima-san said, “When you get the textures lay them out, and then shade the back teeth blacker, and shade the tongue, so when they are actually in the mouth they look much more realistic.” It sounds kind of basic . . .

DO: Well yeah, but it’s not something you’d normally think to do, and it makes the characters look more realistic.

DC: Exactly, it’s the kind of thing where we all sat around thinking, “Why didn’t we think of that?”

DO: Well that’s why he is who he is, and why he’s regarded in such a way.

DC: Exactly, it’s simply experience, so he helped us with a ton of little things like that. He really oversaw the entire project nearly from beginning to end, and his input and experience were invaluable.

DO: So, there has not yet been a successful 3d Castlevania. Why is Lords of Shadow the one that will finally break the mold? I mean, I think I know why, I’ve played it extensively today. But why will this one finally win over audiences?

DC: Well, I think hindsight is a wonderful thing. We looked at all the 3d Castlevanias and thought well, what works and what doesn’t work. A lot of them were simply trying to emulate the 2d games in 3d. I don’t think you can do that, you have to be brave and take risks. We need to perhaps lose some features that are series stalwarts, in order to make an effective 3d game.

DO: Such as?

DC: Well combat for one. Enemies are coming at you from 3 directions. You need to have a combat system that will stand up to that kind of scrutiny.

DO: Yeah, well it cant be simple. It has to evolve and it has to constantly engage the player and feel visceral throughout the game. As I played the game I found that I was constantly not only using my new powers and whip combinations, but I was developing my own unique style of play within the game, one that seemed to work quite well.

DC: Exactly, and I think it has to be deeper than any sort of combat system we’ve seen in a Castlevania game before. It works quite well in a 2d game, but in a 3d game its completely different. We had to give the player toys to play with, and options.

DC: The platforming has to work in a different way as well. Jumping from platform to platform is one thing. But in a 3d game, if you take on a 2d mentality, you’ll probably find most players falling to their death quite frequently. So you’ve got to build the game around 3d platforming. Decisions like that worried us, but at the same time we said you know, lets be brave.

DO: Exactly, and I think it works well. Another new idea is mounted combat, where did the inspiration for that come from?

DC: Well it was just a new idea, we just thought it would be nice if you could use the Combat Cross to take over these giant beats. It had to make sense in terms of gameplay. We already had all these secret areas and places the player couldn’t access, so we thought it would be cool if these creatures could access these special areas for you.

DO: So do you think there is room in the world for two types of Castlevania? Both 2D and 3D?

DC: Oh yeah, absolutely. these are some of things that make me smile when I read the forums. They say, “Oh you’re going to kill Castlevania.” And I don’t take that. I think there is room for both 2D and 3D Castlevanias. I also think there is room for Castlevania to be realized by others. I’m a huge comic book fan, and I love seeing people’s work such as Batman and Superman interpreted by others. That’s what makes the characters interesting, gives a richness that you wont see from only one creator. The same applies to Castlevania. This is a series that’s been around for 26 years with a really intersting mythology. Were adding and building to that mythology. And I think, “Why not?” I don’t want to be Mr. Castelvania. I want to do Lords of Shadow and maybe do another one, but after that I would love to see what other people bring to the series and the Castlevania mythology.

DO: That being said, if this game is wildly successful, what do you foresee as the future of this franchise and what do you foresee as the future of Gabriel? How does he fit in with the likes of Simon and Richter and Alucard? Can Gabriel be so iconic that he’ll end up in a 2d game? I mean, he’s got the look . . .

DC: Oh yeah, hes got the look, thanks to Mr Kojima.

DC: I mean, if players spend 20+ hours in this game, there’s a big payoff. I thnk the payoff is one of those moments that I hope will give people a lot of pleasure. Whether we’ll see gabriel again remains to be seen. Certainly, I’m excited. I think the series has such a richness and depth that even I’m excited to see what’s next. All the hardships that went into the two and a half years of making this game, the blood sweat and tears . . . I think people can see there’s a lot of love in this game. That especially should inspire people to want to see another one.

DO: As a critic and reviewer I try to rate value. Lately we see a lot of games that are very short or lack depth beyond the main story. Where do you find inherent value in a game like Lords of Shadow and why is it worth a purchase to someone?

DC: Well, It’s very important that we gave people a world to explore in. We gave them an adventure that they’d want to stay in. They’d want to find out what happened to Gabriel and what happens to these characters. When you’re developing a game, its very hard to balance budget and resources and all the other things. But we were adamant that this would be a huge game. Castlevania players have come to expect a huge game since Symphony of the night.

DO: Yeah, they wanna play the entire game, then have it flipped upside down and play it again!

DC: Haha exactly, and we wanted to have that element. We knew it was going to be very much of a linear action platformer. But we wanted to have those areas to be able to come back to … the areas where they can explore. A lot of players are not going to want to. They are just going to play the game, see the story, say, “That was awesome, thanks very much”, and move onto the next game. But Castlevania players always tell me, “Man I hope its long.” And they are right. The kind of games I like have got lots of depth. I’d rather spend two weeks of my life lost in a game than anywhere else, and with 50 stages and 20+ hours of gameplay there is definitely a lot of game here and I think a lot of value as well.

DO: I couldn’t agree more. There is definitely a lot of game here, and I like players are going to love it.

So, there it is. Everything I know about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and hopefully everything you need to know before you decide to buy this epic new addition to the Castlevania series. I’ve shown you how it looks, I’ve told you how it plays, and I’ve let the executive producer describe the inspirations, production and development. What more can I say?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is set for release on October 5th, 2010.

Somehow think I’m still holding back? Get @DaveOshry on Twitter or email me at Dave@ripten.com