Grave Gamer News & Views — rumor

Castlevania Coming Back in a Big Way at E3?

According to industry reporter Paul Gale of PGN, Konami fully intends on bringing the Castlevania franchise back by releasing titles on practically every next-gen console and new handheld on the market.

One big familiar name the company is dishing out is a direct sequel to MercurySteam’s sublime Lords of Shadow.  Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (which it very well may not be called seeing as how the series has thrown numbers out the window around the 300th release or so) will see a return on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but in what is sure to be a surprise announcement at E3’s show floor is that a Wii U version of the game is being crafted, including console-specific features.  Oddly enough, PGN also goes on to list a PS Vita edition of the game – making it your only opportunity to take LoS2 on the go.

Another surprise title being tossed around in these speculative days before E3, and allegedly confirmed through PGN, is a completely new 2D entry to the franchise called Castlevania: Mirror of Fate.  Built for the Nintendo 3DS, Mirror of Fate hopes to carry on the mantle of quality set forth by its original DS brethren, this time cleverly utilizing the handheld’s 3D cameras to mimic mirror effects, allowing you to complete puzzles and the like with one of two playable vampire killers.  While being a “2D” successor, I’m confident the game’s visuals will play host to some form of the third dimension outside of the camera functionality.

According to the same source, Konami and team originally planned for the 3DS title to have a console counterpart on the Wii U that swaps the dual-screen format for the new system’s TV/tablet setup.  This notion was scrapped in favor of porting Lords of Shadow 2 (a financially safer bet for the publisher) over to the console instead.  However, Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2 will still have some degree of compatibility between one another.

Castlevania seems to be the only fertile ground Konami has left these days, the publisher having actively salted the earth around franchises like Silent Hill and new IPs such as NeverDead (yes, Metal Gear still thrives yet, but I dare you to name a game that wasn’t a re-release so far this year).  For whatever reason, Castlevania has been mostly immune to the negative effects of experimentation and somehow continues to both grow new fans and root old ones.  I absolutely cannot wait to see what’s next from the series.

Next Dead Space To Be Announced at E3

In an investors call EA held, a few familiar franchises (like yet another Need For Speed) were slated for reveal at this year’s E3.  Among those titles, another Dead Space game was confirmed to be in development, lending credence to the rumors circulating that a Dead Space 3 had began production.

The sequel’s storyline was rumored to see Isaac Clarke crash land on a frozen wasteland of a planet where he would encounter icy monstrosities along with his freshly depth-impaired comrade Ellie Langford (an alluring, capable survivor of the events depicted in Dead Space 2).  And to add more rumor to your rumor, rumor also has it that developer Visceral Games is looking to implement co-op gameplay.

Now, no one has gone on record to say that the next installment is actually Dead Space 3.  Allow me to point you towards the least preferred rumor involving Visceral actively looking to incorporate first-person shooter mechanics into the series, as inferred by a job listing the company issued for a multiplayer level designer versed in the FPS realm.  That last one smells a bit…decayed, but we’ll have a better grasp on where Dead Space is heading next at E3.

Are These the Wii U’s Unannounced Launch Titles?

Collected on GoNintendo, these shots are supposedly taken from within Blockbuster UK and display 25 POS system listings for the Wii U’s catalog of upcoming games.  You may recognize previously outed games like Batman: Arkham City, the new Assassin’s Creed, and Rayman Legends amongst the many, but what’s really surprising is that there are still Blockbusters in the UK.

Oh, and almost as surprising, the listings depicted name several games that neither Nintendo nor any third-party have officially said are coming to the Wii U.  Titles like Just Dance 4 and Marvel Super Heroes (please be a sequel) could be some of the names publishers will be showing off at E3 for Nintendo’s big, huge Wii U presentation.  Or the listings are a sham, ripping the prospect of another Just Dance game away from our lives, leaving us no more than purposeless husks.

More El Shaddai on the Way?

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was destined to either become a sleeper hit or fade into obscurity altogether.  It’s a weird cobbling of hack n’ slash action and (sometimes side-scrolling) platforming infused with a thickly stylized take on the biblical story of a priest battling fallen angels in order to prevent God from flooding the Earth  – it’s a tough sell, in other words.  El Shaddai held on amongst the torrent of last year’s releases, however, and rumor of a follow up has surfaced.

A website has cropped up featuring artwork that matches the game’s style as well as a cryptic question posed about “the ultimate angel."  Andriasang refers to the site as the "El Shaddai New Project 2012,” but also makes mention the property has thus far come in many different forms (including designer jeans, unfortunately), which casts doubt as to whether the project is a continuation or not.

I’d be keen on a sequel even if it’s no less confusing than the dizzying narrative of the first.  Simple hack n’ slash and extreme style has always been my crux; if you feel the same – abstract strangeness aside – El Shaddai is truly up your alley.

The rumor mill is in full motion surrounding the third installment of Capcom’s Dead Rising series with minor details brought to light.

Rumblings suggest that Dead Rising 3 will have a change of scenery, this time trapping players in a chaotic Californian town sectioned off by the government thanks to a pesky zombie outbreak inconveniently killing folks left and right.

Controlling a mechanic named Rick (no, I guess Capcom doesn’t know what The Walking Dead is), you set about on a quest to build the perfect getaway plane while improving your knack for creatively macabre, DIY dismemberment along the way.  Dead Rising 3 also intends to tackle themes of illegal immigration (specifically, a cadre of still living infected that are dodging government registration) and the old Capcom standby: corporate conspiracy.