Castlevania
The project centers on the battle between Dracula and the Belmont clan of vampire hunters in a labyrinthine fortress in the Carpathian mountains.
‘Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate’ Review: A Slaying Spree Without Substance
MercurySteam’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, released in 2010, played like no Castlevania game that came before it, yet it still felt like it took place in the same universe. The series’ flagship European castles, dark and moody forests, and supernatural creatures worked better than expected when mixed with God of War-esque combo-driven combat, larger-than-life set pieces, and light RPG elements, a noticeable departure from its NES and SNES ancestors and Metroidvania counterparts.
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Twisted Music Video Of The Week Vol. 76: Over An Hour Of Castlevania Covers
I decided to do something a little unique and strange for this week’s Twisted Music Video Of The Week simply because I was feeling a bit cheeky. Below is YouTube user Monjakure‘s ten movement suite that is an homage to the Castlevania series. I grew up playing the Castlevania games, including my personal favorite Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. The homages here were all done via MIDI except for the guitar and many of the songs have a strong metal vibe going on.
Considering that the Castlevania series has long had some of the best and catchiest tunes in video game history, I thought it was an appropriate fit. Enjoy! READ MORE
Moss Might Be The Slowest Doom Metal Band I’ve Ever Heard
Metal Blade Records doom trio Moss are gearing up to release their latest album Horrible Night on Apr. 2nd (pre-order here). The band comments, “We wanted to write something that would stand up over time…no disrespect to our earlier recordings – we feel the essence and atmosphere of those is still very much with us, but they were of a time and place that we’re no longer part of…” Below you can listen to the title track as well as see the album cover art and track listing.
Can we also just take a second to love the name of the album? It reminds me of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and the ever loved (at least by me) quote, “What a horrible night to have a curse.” God, I love that game. READ MORE
VGA 2012: Feast Your Eyes On This Gorgeous New ‘Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2′ Trailer
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was one of the many games that had world premieres at last night’s VGAs, and now the trailers are finally beginning to come online. I absolutely loved the original Lords of Shadow, and its twist ending created an intriguing situation for the sequel. In it, an ancient, white-haired Dracula awakens in modern times and recounts the good old days, when he was a strapping young Dracula who could kill giant house robots. Sadly, this is trailer doesn’t offer a glimpse as to what the actual game will look like, but it still looks great. Check it out after the jump.
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Get Your Wallets Handy (Again), Here’s Your 2013 Video Game Release Schedule
You thought you were safe, didn’t you? You thought because the busy holiday reaching its end and the year’s remaining games have finally made their way to store shelves that you could start saving up your hard-earned money again. What you failed to realize is this was only the beginning. Over the last few years, the months following the holiday season have become just as busy, and often busier, than the holiday season itself. Early 2013 is the new crazy, and boy does it look wonderful. Head past the break for a complete rundown of the games you can expect to see draining your wallet when 2013 rolls around.
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[Random Cool] Castlevania’s “Bloody Tears” Gets A Reggae Ska Treatment: Free Download
A game that I grew up playing nonstop was Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. Regardless of what the AVGN says, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for that game. And one of the things that I will always remember from that game is the fantastic music by Kenichi Matsubara. Several of those songs are still stuck in my head, even after more than 20 years.
So the other day, I was screwing around on the Internet and I stumbled across an awesome little gem. A band that goes by International Dub Ambassadors have a 7-track live album entitled
The Return Of The Curse Of The Creature’s Ghost where they take several classic video game themes and give them a ska/reggae treatment. While the audio quality isn’t stellar, it’s still pretty awesome hearing these songs that I grew up get such an interesting twist. You can check them out below as well as download the album fo free!
What is your favorite/most cherished video game them? READ MORE
[WTF?] “Worf” Cast As A Werewolf In Long-Delayed ‘Castlevania’ Adaptation?!
Michael Dorn – the actor best known for his portrayal of the Klingon Worf in the “Star Trek” series – revealed on the Nerdist Podcast that he is playing a role in an upcoming Castlevania movie.
As transcribed by StarTrek.com and reported by The Verge, Dorn revealed (at 31:20) that he is working on a movie based on the popular video game.
“People have been trying to get this thing done for a long time and they finally got the producers together that want to do it,” he said.
“They finally got the OK from the owners, and so they’re doing that. It’s a fun little part. It’s four days, and I’m playing a werewolf that’s been around for a gajillion years who works for this vampire. It’s not too far fro Worf because there’s a lot of killing and jumping and sword fights and everything. So that’s what I’m doing now.”
Crystal Sky Pictures had Saw and Insidious director James Wan once attached, as was Resident Evil: Retribution‘s Paul W. S. Anderson, who bailed in 2007 over creative differences. The project centers on the battle between Dracula and the Belmont clan of vampire hunters in a labyrinthine fortress in the Carpathian mountains. READ MORE
This Is The Coolest Castlevania Poster I’ve Ever Seen
Well, this is strange and exciting. It’s my first foray into Dead Pixels since the new website went live and I feel some tingling sensations coursing through my body. It’s like I’m going through puberty again! All I ask is that you don’t ask me to come up to the chalkboard and solve a math problem. I’m kinda pitching a tent, if you get my drift.
But coming to the focus of this article, I need to begin my saying that I’m a huge Castlevania fan. No, seriously, I played the absolute HELL out of Castlevania, Simon’s Quest, and The Castlevania Adventure when I was a kid. Later on, I got pretty obsessed with Symphony Of The Night and I loved Lord Of Shadows. So, when I say that I love me some Castlevania, trust me.
And that’s why I had to share this amazing poster of a skull that is made entirely with old-school Castlevania sprites that you can check out below. Personally, I’d make a copy for each room in my place, kitchen included. Then again, I’m batshit crazy. READ MORE
Watch Dracula Beat Down A Giant House Robot In This Debut Trailer For Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
My undying love for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is no secret, so the idea of going at it again with a decidedly less likable Gabriel who’s now the owner of an intensely creepy castle and some crazy badass vampiric powers is an exciting one. In case you were planning on playing Lords of Shadow, this trailer will spoil everything about that game’s ending. Though really, if you haven’t beaten the first game yet, you deserve to have it spoiled. Head past the jump for the sexy new trailer, complete with fiery whips and huge house robots. READ MORE
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Could Be Unveiled At E3 Next Month
Rumor has it we could be seeing two Castlevania titles announced as early as E3 next month, with the first being a 3DS and Wii U-based title called Castlevania: Mirror of Fate and the second the highly anticipated sequel to Lords of Shadow. It’s no secret I love that game with a burning passion I usually only reserve for Mountain Dew: Pitch Black, and with the crazy twist ending we saw in the Resurrection expansion I’m very much looking forward to where they take the story. Head past the break for more!
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[OMFG] Two Brothers Bust Out An Awesome Castlevania Acoustic Guitar Medley
Stumbling across awesome YouTube videos isn’t really that hard of a chore. I mean, how many YouTube videos are there? The number is probably in the billions by now, right? Tens of billions? Meh, whatever, I’m straying from the point. Finding awesome videos isn’t that hard but finding awesome videos that I want to share with YOU, my lovely readers, is something completely different!
Below, you can see a video from YouTube user SuperGuitarBros as they acoustically jam through several Castlevania tunes. The song was actually recorded as part of a greater soundtrack of Castlevania jams from several different musicians. The compilation, entitled Vampire Variations, is available for free download here. I’ve snagged it but I haven’t had a chance to peruse it yet. Here’s hoping it rocks! READ MORE
Konami Producer Teases Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Sequel
David Cox is a producer at Konami who’s been working on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. David likes tweeting about the game, posting links to interesting articles, and he also recently tweeted a link to an article on CVG about titles that will define gaming this year. It might be a bit of a leap to suggest his tweet is a tease of a sequel for one of my favorite games of last year, but because I’m enough of a fan I’m willing to throw logic out the window and go full fanboy.
Lords of Shadow deserves a sequel and it certainly did well enough critically to warrant one. If you want to check out the tweet–maybe you think you can find something I didn’t in Cox’s three very intriguing words–you can check it out right here. Until then, let’s all just let the idea of a Lords of Shadow 2 simmer in our minds. READ MORE
Dead Rising 2 Expansions Are Half-Off This Week
Until May 2nd XBLA is offering Dead Rising content for a fraction of their original prices. Case Zero, a short prequel to Dead Rising 2 that includes a taste of what you can expect in the full game has dropped to 200 Microsoft Undead Poultry Points, Case West for 400 and the Psycho and Soldier costumes are now at 80 points. They’re practically giving them away people! If you have yet to check out the Dead Rising 2 expansions they’re both pretty good, just remember that while Case Zero is exclusively single-player, Case West brings in Frank West for a more social experience. The deal ends on May 2nd.
But that’s not all, oh H-E-double hockey stick no it’s not. When the Dead Rising deal ends a Castlevania-centric one will take its place. Think of it like the circle of life – when you die someone younger and more talented will replace you. I’m not saying Castlevania is better than Dead Rising and it’s definitely not younger, but you get the idea. Head past the break for next week’s deals, just make sure you’re ready to save some goddamned money! READ MORE
Lords of Shadows’ Reverie Available March 30th
Looking for a reason to dust off your copy of Lords of Shadow? Well, look no more as the first of the two announced batches of DLC called Reverie will be out in just a few short weeks. In it we get to return to Carmilla’s Castle to help Laura (who will also be a playable character in certain parts of the episode) vanquish a new evil.
I’d say that trailer gets me sufficiently excited for the DLC. The second DLC entitled Resurrection, is larger than Reverie but no release date has been announced. Reverie will cost you $10, which translates to roughly 800 Microsoft Vampire Testes. READ MORE
Dorkly: Dracula Likes Getting Whipped, But Who Doesn’t?
Dorkly brings up a good point. After so many years of Dracula getting whipped and whipped, it seems he has started to like it. Who really knows what the next Castlevania game will be like? Maybe the video below will give you an idea.
Not One, But Two DLC Packs En Route For Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Don’t put away your copy of Lords of Shadow just yet as there are two DLC packs on the way that will continue the story next year. The first, dubbed Reverie, will have Gabriel returning to the vampire’s castle to vanquish an evil that was let loose after he took out Carmilla. The second dose of DLC, entitled Resurrection is an epilogue to the main game and will continue the story and promises a fight with a yet to be revealed “notorious enemy”. No word on what these packs will cost but Reverie and Reserrection are due out in February and April, respectively.
If that wasn’t enough to quench your thirst for all things Castlevania, maybe a delightful Christmas e-card will from the team at Konami will. It’s cute, and this is the time of year where cuteness runs rampant, growing in power until mid-February where cute hits its climax of over Valentine’s Day. Check it out at the Konami site. READ MORE
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review: Trolls, Vampires and Werewolves, Oh My!
In the past this series hasn’t had much luck when it comes to its forays into the realm of 3D gaming. This inability to produce a decent game not of the side-scrolling variety led some among the gaming community to label it a curse, but lucky for us Lords of Shadow has taken that curse, torn it apart and placed its head upon a stick that faced the bedroom where it would then proceed to make love to its mom. Multiple times.
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Castlevania Composer Outs Lords of Shadow Sequel
With Lords of Shadows barely out and our review incoming, the game has received a solid amount of acclaim so far. Speaking with a Spanish radio station the game’s composer, Oscar Araujo outed that the game’s sequel is already in development.
It’s hardly surprising that a gorgeous game in an established franchise that’s garnered very positive reviews would get a sequel, it’s just surprising we’re hearing about it so soon. Read Araujo’s tease after the jump. READ MORE
Album Review: Attila ‘Rage’
‘Rage’ is the Artery/Razor & Tie debut album by Atlanta, GA so-called ‘’party death metal’’ band Attila. From this description I came into reviewing this album hoping to hear some music that made me want to head bang a bit, grab a few beers, etc… Y’know, get into the mood to party and rock out, right? Well, I’ll say this: I bobbed my head along for a few sections, but… Well, read on.
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow Screenshots
Yes we have been siting around waiting for Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow screens, and trailers patiently. Well I’ve got some screens and a bit of character designs. But that’s it for right now. Guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer for anything else. But I can’t wait to see what the 1st nex gen (Wii not included) Castlevania game is like.
This Castlevania is set in a ravaged Europe in the middle ages. The planet was messed up by powerful magic, and now the souls of the dead along with a bunch of other horrible abominations walk the earth. Gabriel witnesses his wife Maria murdered at the hands of the Lords Of Shadow for whom he seeks revenge. READ MORE
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