Konami Message Board

The leaf on Totoro's head seems a bit small when he's replaced with a REX from Metal Gear Solid. The iconic scene was reimagined by Dragunovi, and The Omega Nerd added a rain animation to it. Not sure if any bus would stop for these two.Read more...

It's time to sharpen your fangs and fasten your finest cape, as Konami has released the Revelations DLC for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.

Revelations follows Alucard immediately prior to the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, as he prepares for the return of his father, Dracula. Along with waifish good looks, Alucard comes equipped with his own unique slate of vampiric powers, including time control, and the ability to transform into a wolf or a swarm of bats. As an undying creature of the night, Alucard is fueled by the blood of his victims, forcing players to periodically drain vital fluids from his foes instead of simply annihilating anything dumb enough to stand against a magical, immortal killing machine.

Revelations is now available for download on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, where it bears an $8 price tag. [Image: Konami]

Konami has dived head-first into the mobile gaming waters with Chain of Souls, an iOS game that blends elements of the puzzle and card battle genres. Using the touchscreen, players must link together three or more runes of the same color to form a chain and attack their opponent; the more runes you link, the more damaging the attack.

Simple, right? That's where Chain of Souls' cards come into play.

Should you manage to form three or more chains, you can play a card. These cards have a variety of effects, such as reducing the damage you take or increasing the damage you deal. Your cards can also have relationships with other cards in your deck, which can boost their power even further.

The game is free to play, and available now via iTunes. [Image: Konami]

He may not be the 2D sprite we all know and love, but the Alucard coming to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 maintains the character's three crucial hallmarks: vampire magic, daddy issues and the prettiest hair this side of an Herbal Essences commercial. [Image: Konami]

Hey, did you know that Alucard is dual-wield spelled backwards? Ok, maybe not. But you can still get a look at how different the fan-favorite Son of Dracula plays from his dad in this trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's Revelations DLC. Read more...

It's been awhile since we've checked in with the folks at Hot Pepper Gaming, where every game review is accompanied by self-inflicted torture. Let's watch Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson review Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes while eating one of the world's hottest peppers. Read more...

IGN shows you the location of all 9 X.O.F. unit patches, which will allow you to unlock the console-specific exclusive mission - Jamais Vu and Deja Vu (play as either Raiden from MG Rising or classic Snake from MGS1 ). For more on MGS5: Ground Zeroes, check out the full wiki on IGN @ http://www.ign.com/wikis/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes/

Koji Igarashi is 46 years old. Dubbed "Iga" by fans, he's best known for his work on the Castlevania series. Nearly half his life was spent making games at Konami. Yesterday, he announced he was leaving that company, and in an exclusive interview with Kotaku, he explains why.Read more...

Recreate scenes from the original Metal Gear Solid (1998) in this Playstation-exclusive mission in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Completing this mission and correctly answering all of the quiz answers will unlock the Classic Snake skin (normal mode) and Cyborg Ninja / Gray Fox skin (hard mode). For more on MGS5: Ground Zeroes, including all the answers to both quizzes, check out the full wiki on IGN http://www.ign.com/wikis/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes/

Koji Igarashi, a veteran game producer best known for his work on the Castlevania series, has left Konami. His last day at the Tokyo-based game company was March 15.Read more...

Having drained the blood from the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate will next dine on Steam, at an unknown date later in March.

Originally released on Nintendo's handheld as a bridge between Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and the recently-released Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Mirror of Fate sees Trevor Belmont traversing the familiar gothic climes of Dracula's domain. Gameplay is a cross between the action-focused Lords of Shadow games and those Castlevania entries (mostly notably Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) that focus on 2D exploration.

The PC incarnation of Mirror of Fate is based on the more recent PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games, which means that it comes equipped with high-definition graphics, online leaderboards and a Boss Rush mode. New to the PC game are Steam Achievements, though they should be essentially identical to the Achievements and Trophies found in the Xbox 360 and PS3 games, respectively.

Unfortunately lacking from Konami's announcement is a price point for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD, and any specific release date. The best the publisher is willing to offer is a vague "later this month" release window which only leaves about two weeks for Dracula to crawl from his tomb once again. [Image: Konami]

It took 27 years and a lot of plot twists for the main character of the Metal Gear series—whether it's Big Boss or Solid Snake—to become something more than just a bunch of pixels or polygons.Read more...

If brevity is the soul of wit – and what reason to doubt arras-dwelling Polonius? – then Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow: Mirror Of Fate HD is the most witless game title since Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army. Of course, if brevity truly is the soul of wit then you could also argue that the first paragraph of any article in this esteemed periodical is a hollow parp from the joy-buzzer of a dead clown. Let’s move on.

Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow: Mirror Of Fate HD is coming to PC later this month, having made its society debut on the Nintendo Several Screen before porting across to the last-gen MicroSonys. Although it is canonically related to the 3D Lords of Shadow games, Mirror Of Fate is a more traditional side-scrolling Castlevania. And therefore, to my eyes at least, far more interesting.

… [visit site to read more]

While the console version of Dark Souls II hits next week, the PC version, with its increased texture resolution options, isn't due out until April 25. That gives us plenty of time to make sure our systems are up to recommended specs. Let's have a look! Read more...

Lords of Shadow 2—the latest variation in Konami's long-running Castlevania series—let you play as Dracula . Its upcoming add-on will keeps it in the family, making the alpha vampire's albino spawn playable in the Revelations DLC.Read more...

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will receive a "Revelations" DLC pack on March 25 for Xbox 360 and PS3, Konami announced. The add-on content has players controlling series fan-favorite Alucard, learning more about his relationship with Dracula (aside from the whole name reversal thing). The DLC is set before the events in Lords of Shadow 2.

In the add-on, players can use Alucard's "Glaciem" and "Igneas" powers and can morph into a wolf, a bunch of bats and can turn back time. Being the vampire he is, Alucard's thirst for the blood of his enemies also seemingly lends a boost in his powers. No price was given for the DLC and Konami did not list PC among the platforms the DLC will arrive on this month; we've reached out to the publisher to find out when the PC version will arrive. [Image: Konami]

More than just a pretty face, sharp fangs and philosophical ramblings on what a man consists of, the Dracula of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 can throw down as well as any centuries-old creature of the night. [Image: Konami]

To mark the release of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Konami and Puma are teaming up for some licensed Ground Zeroes gear.Read more...

Over nearly three decades and dozens of games, the Castlevania series has let players battle through iconically fragmented gameworlds and crack the Belmont family's whips against Dracula. Now, with Lords of Shadow 2, the biggest, baddest vampire of all is yours to control. The shift from implacable archfiend to playable hero changes everything about him, though, and that's where this game's troubles start.Read more...

Folks were complaining about how much it was going to cost to play the first chunk of Snake's next adventure, which seems pretty short. Now it's going to be a bit cheaper, taking ten bucks of the price for last-gen and current gen consoles. From the press release:Read more...

As the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy would have it, Dracula is very different from the vampire we all know, even when compared to his many incarnations in the Castlevania series. Betrayed by God, hated by Satan and feared by humanity, this Dracula treads an indefinite path, struggling with his own darkness and the remnants of the man he once was. He's equivocal, and that makes Dracula a more interesting protagonist than any vampire hunter could ever hope to be.

The Lords of Shadow mythos doesn't stop there, though, giving us one more truth at the heart of Dracula's existence: The man he used to be was a vampire hunter, a man of intense faith. It's the perfect internal conflict, self-loathing versus self-preservation, destruction versus redemption.

It also means Dracula is handy with a whip, and that's great news for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.

If you're a down-under Dracula-to-be, you'll have to wait an extra week to sink your teeth into a retail copy of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. A local Konami spokesperson told CVG the vampiric hack-and-slash sequel, originally due in Australia on February 28, will now hit the region's retail shelves on March 6 because of a shipping delay. Presumably the Steam version is still due this week, but that's not been confirmed.

Lords of Shadow 2 resumes where the opening game left off, with hero Gabriel Belmont transformed into the toothy anti-hero Dracula, re-awakened in the present day to face off with Satan once more. We'll have our review up soon, but if you'd like to try before you bite then check out the demo, available to all on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. [Image: Konami]

See how PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360 stack up against each other in this graphics comparison video.

Those that pre-order Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on PlayStation Network will also receive Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD.

Dubbed the "companion" game to Konami's two Lords of Shadow games in the gothic action series, Mirror of Fate first launched in March 2013 on 3DS before undergoing a price drop to $30 in August. The HD version landed on PSN and XBLA right around Halloween, and was also included in November's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Collection bundle. Our review of the 3DS version of Mirror of Fate found the game equally challenging as it was unevenly paced.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will launch February 28 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, at which point Konami will drive a stake through this pre-order deal's heart. Metaphorically, of course. [Image: Konami]

The Toy Maker from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate makes a return appearance in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, though neither he nor Gabriel seem too pleased about it. Konami has released footage of the boss fight that occurs when Gabriel meets up with the pudgy amnesiac for all to enjoy, and possibly use as a strategy guide when the game comes out.

Lords of Shadow 2 takes place in modern day, but we get the feeling Gabriel hasn't gotten out much over the past couple thousand years. Had he watched movies like Child's Play, The Woman in Black, or Dead Silence, he'd have known right away that a lover of toys in a spooky castle is just screaming "red flag." [Image: Konami]

Because being an undying creature of the night is apparently not enough to impress people these days, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 equips Dracula with the void sword, a sharp utensil that looks like an icicle but cuts through enemies like a hot chain whip. [Image: Konami]

Konami-cuts its 3/14 OP guidance from ¥27bn to ¥10bn on native app development delays, delays in pachinko and invest in fitness clubs

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 6, 2014

Konami saying digital entertainment sales for 9 months was 25% consumer games and 30% from SNS games

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 6, 2014

Konami saying competitors to Winning11 in EU are putting pressure on title, not able to catch up to their quality

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 6, 2014

Konami budgeted to release 7 major console titles this year and sees the same number released in FY3/2015

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 6, 2014

Konami saying it's cut in Digital Entertainment sales by 12bn and in OP driven by SNS, consumer games and card games in that order

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 6, 2014

The prologue to Metal Gear Solid V comes out next month, and if you're expecting a nice chunk of Snake's story to keep you occupied until the full game is done, you should probably know that it's short. Really short.Read more...

One of the downsides of being a games journalist (violins please) is that you don’t play many games that aren’t also ‘work.’ I secretly indulge a Counter Strike habit and the odd round of Hearthstone behind the sheds, sure, but mostly I play stuff I’m writing about or might write about. To break into that cycle takes a special kind of game. Something unique in style and structure. Which is another way to say I can’t stop replaying Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Hit the jump to learn of ZANDATSU.(more…)

Metal Gear Solid has changed. It's not about rudimentary polygons, or abstract graphics. It's an endless series of awesome photorealism.Read more...