Konami Unveils E3 Lineup (News)

GamePro staff, GamePro Australia

20/05/2005 11:00:56

Konami unveiled its E3 line-up yesterday in the Marc Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Public Library. The selection of games featured the usual Konami franchises in addition to a few surprises. Crime Life: Gang Wars (PlayStation 2 and Xbox) is an offering into the increasingly popular urban action genre, where you, playing a character named Tre, must defend your turf from rivals and at the same time earn respect. The game features one-on-fighting, spray painting and other activities. UK Hip-Hop artist Doom Man lends his voice and songs, and Jason Fleming (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) also makes an appearance. The game will be released this spring.

Entering new territory, mech warfare, S.L.A.I. (Steel Lancer Arena International) boasts to be the first PlayStation 2 game in the genre to feature online play. It's the year 2071, and robot fighting is the national pastime. Alternating between first- and third-person views, up to four players can go head-to-head in cyberspace, with two extra combatants ready on the sidelines to jump into the fray when a contestant is defeated. Mechs come in all shapes and sizes and can be customized and fitted with different weapons and abilities and you can create more than a million war machines. S.L.A.I. hits stores this spring.

Moving to the PSP, Death Jr. is ready for a spring release. A third-person action game, you play the title character (or, D.J. to his friends) - the son of the grim reaper. During a field trip to a museum, D.J.'s friend Pandora unleashes the ancient demon Moloch, who wastes no time setting his evil minions loose on the unsuspecting world. Armed with a sycthe and an array of exotic weapons (C4 Hampsters, guns, flamethrowers, etc.), D.J. must clean up the mess. This game will kick-off a licensing bonanza for Death Jr., as a toy line, feature-length film and comic book are all in the works.

The turtles are back yet again, but this time on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and DS with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare. Based on the popular animated television series, Nightmare adds a few new wrinkles to the tried-and-true 3D beat-em-up formula that served the first two games so successfully. For starters, Turtles can develop new skills and abilities as they advance through the stages and there are new team-up moves for multiplayer battles. The butt-kicking begins this spring.

Castlevania for the DS was announced earlier this year, but the game now has an "official" name: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Playing as Soma Cruz one year after Aria of Sorrow, your mission is to stop an evil cult from resurrecting their master, Count Dracula. The 2D play mechanics are similar to the excellent Game Boy Advance titles, but the extra screen displays the map or character statistics and inventories. The touch pad is also utilized for certain spells (such as sealing enemies away after they've been defeated) and you can also exchange souls with other players via wireless connection. The haunting starts this spring.

Speaking of Castlevania, the follow-up to Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, is coming along nicely. Developed for the PlayStation 2, Curse is a side story of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES), and you play as Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who leaves the biz of making trouble for his boss Dracula to start a new life. After Dracula's defeat at the hands of the Belmont clan, fellow Forgemaster, Isaac, exacts revenge by having Hector's girlfriend sentenced to death under the charge of witchcraft - sending Hector to take revenge on Isaac (got it?). The 3D play engine is reminiscent of Lament, but Hector isn't like any of the Belmont clan: Armed with a sword, Hector overcomes obstacles and foes by creating and summoning various demon creations for help. Curse is (also) a spring release.

Dance Dance Revolution developed a strong underground following in the arcades and Konami took a huge chance when they brought the game to home consoles - especially when the cynics said it couldn't be done. The gamble paid off and this September, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 will hit the PlayStation 2. This incarnation has more than 100 minutes of music, an EyeToy mode and online capability that allows dancers to go head-to-head and post scores. New songs include Genie in a Bottle and Oops!...I Did It Again (fill in your own Britney joke here)...The Xbox gets a share of DDR love in November with Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3. Ultramix 3 introduces new play modes to the franchise. Quest Mode sends players to different locales to recruit members to your dance team by successfully performing certain routines; Freestyle Mode lets you dance any steps you want to a song, without onscreen prompts; and Jukebox Mode lets you listen to any of the game's 65 songs. Xbox Live compatibility allows for head-to-head competition and downloadable new songs.

BeatMania will allow you to use a turntable peripheral to mix your own dance tunes and compete with others...Karaoke Revolution Party combines the fast footwork of Dance Dance Revolution with singing Karaoke.

Another popular kids show, Dragon Booster, is getting its own interactive-game treatment on the DS this spring. A third-person racing-combat offering, you're on a quest to destroy the forces of evil and untie dragons and humans. For a Pokemon twist, Booster lets you catch and raise 12 different dragons.

The popular television show Lost is starting to wrap up its first season, but you can create your own stranded-on-an-island scenario this August with Lost in Blue for the DS. Marooned on a desert island, you must work together with a 17 year-old girl to make weapons, bunt for food and devise a plan to return to civilization. For added replay value, once you finish the first game, you can play again, as the girl.

Frogger is one of Konami's oldest franchises as it first appeared in the original arcades. This spring, fans will get two different games starring the famous hopper: Ancient Shadow (PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube) and Helmet Chaos (PSP and DS). Both games feature a third-person top-down view of the action, and all versions will have the original 1981 arcade game as an unlockable feature.

And finally, for you RPG-ers out there, Ys: The Ark of Napishtim will hit the PSP this spring. Armed with three magical swords, you set out to uncover the secrets of Canaan's whirlpools.

The company saved the best for last with their announcement of Kojima Productions. Formerly KCEJ, this new studio has a couple of projects in the works. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, is a re-working of Snake Eater, but with a free-moving camera, online mode for up to 8 players, new face paint, demo theatre and other modes not found in the original third Metal Gear game. Metal Gear Acid gets a sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2, but with a brand-new visual scheme and a brand-new comic-book style. And finally, Metal Gear Solid 4 was announced for the PS3. No concrete info was revealed, except that he game would see the return of Meryl, Otacon, Ocelot, and that Solid Snake would be the main playable character. Hideo Kojima promised more info on MGS4 at the next E3.