It wasn't the playable demo I'd been hoping for, but I did watch an awful lot of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow gameplay yesterday. The footage was screened during the Konami Gamer Night 2010 event and was narrated by the game's producer, David Cox, from developer Mercury Steam, as a remixed version of a Super Castlevania IV track played in the background. (Cox would later tell me that I'd "feel chills" when I heard the finished game's updated, fully orchestrated takes on many classic tunes from the series.)

Lords of Shadow looks absolutely incredible. From the opening seconds of the preview, there was no questioning that this was a Castlevania game -- a proper, "next-generation" Castlevania with visuals that immediately drew comparisons to God of War III. Now, again, I don't know firsthand how well Lords of Shadow plays, but there was nothing in the footage to indicate that the final product wouldn't be anything less than a competent action-adventure. In fact, it showed the promise of being a great one.