The new 3DS will be produced as part of a special edition package for Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D.

More information, including pricing (and, I suppose, whether or not this stylish little guy will ever make it to other territories) is coming January 20.

ESRB:

PASS

Sigh.

That’s all I’ve got. A bit of quick backstory to why my life has been ruined this week, shall we? Okay, so I’ve been playing Castlevania since I was yet a wee lass. Just dragging Belmont, Richter and Alucard through the perils of each and every incarnation; whether it was 2D and sidescrolling or the horrible swill that was the 3D counterparts. Seriously, I sat through it all and though I definitely played favorites (Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X), I was hardly silent on my disparaging comments. The series was going to Hell in a handbasket and quickly. It wasn’t until Kojima announced in 2009 that a refresh of the series was going to happen that I actually settled myself in. Kojima said it, this meant it had to be golden.

Now, I don’t know why they felt they had to jump the shark and turn this into a Multiplayer fiesta — but they ruined my series with this. This was best left as a companion piece to a full single-player experience. The problem is, this was not worth the price of admission whatsoever. This was clunky and disjointed and with no tutorial to explain the changes they made in both single player and multiplayer, the player is left crippled. I’m getting ahead of myself though, let me point out the obvious flaws in the design.

Do you know what's happening here? No? Me neither.

First off, the single player is storyless. Why are all these people there? How come every homeboy and homegirl from the last games manage to all get behind the same cause? Anyone got an idea? No? Single-player is complicated only because they introduced the system of menu “books” that let you change your items, equip your defenses and change up your offense. If you do not do this, you’re running blind through the game and without making sure you’ve equipped your health potions and such during those “book reading” sessions — you’ll die. You will flat out die if you don’t know what you’re doing. Not to mention, just WHAT do you have to do to level up in this game? Hundreds and hundreds of kills later and I still haven’t seen any items or spells level up. Displeased. You know what this was like? This was like being thrown into a shoddily made Castlevania title without knowing what you’re doing. I know that’s what it literally is, but that’s the only way to explain it!

Secondly, multiplayer should’ve been an additional feature to a full-blown Castlevania title. It should not have been one of the focal points to this excursion and the maps should’ve been completely seperated from the Single Player ones. The game should’ve focused on it’s single player story and then had the additional feature of doing key chapters with your friends. THAT is what it should’ve been, but apparently somebody ran behind schedule and they just tossed all of that out of the window. Once you get underneath the hood of it though and actually get your bearings for how you should be playing the game; you’re in a Co-Op game. Let me tell you, as of print-time, I had to get someone to buy the game since I could never find teams or matches online. Is nobody playing this? I seriously had this game for almost two weeks before I finally got frustrated and just pleaded with one of my loved ones to purchase it and help me with the review. I pity the fact I made him spend his money on it though, let me tell you.

Should've been "Castlevania: Looks Good on Paper"

Within the actual multiplayer though rests both negative and positive additions. It is definitely nice to take a complicated chapter and run it through with another brain on the plate. Having someone there to help with certain puzzle aspects can make time go by quicker and help you see things you couldn’t manage before. That much I appreciated, but then you get this little tiny square window. What does it do? It encases your character in some magical box that follows his every move. You cannot see what’s behind him or where he is at…but you know he is either standing, running or jumping. How does this help? It DOES NOT. All it let me see was if he was at least TRYING to come near my part of the map. Other than that, the damnable square blocked my view and hid enemies from me as they attacked me and essentially was like being haunted by a mime stuck in a telephone booth. Useless. When we lost connection to our game, I didn’t know whether to be upset or relieved because that box wasn’t clogging up my sidescrolling adventure. Yes I know, you can shut it off — but then you’re left calling out into the darkness; “Are you here? Are you under or above me? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!” and there’s just no happy medium whatsoever.

You think *this* is complicated? Hah!

That’s giving it too much credit. This was barely an adventure. A challenge, sure. Adventure? Let’s not get too excited. This was like Symphony of the Night’s dumb younger brother nobody wants to admit to. Take a page out of the book of Sonic the Hedgehog, guys. Just because you have some good games doesn’t mean you can wipe your nose all over a franchise repeatedly. We are listening and we’re not liking it.

Then again, “Mario and Alucard’s Summer Games 2011″ would be fantastic.

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is also getting in on the Metal Gear Love with a line of limited edition t-shirts celebrating Peace Walker. The 10 designs come with codes that, when entered, will give you access to an in-game shirt that is the same one as you purchased as well as a new soldier.

The shirts will be available for sale both in Uniqlo stores and online on June 11, 2010. To celebrate, series creator Hideo Kojima will be at the global flagship Uniqlo store in New York City from noon to 2:00 p.m. on the day of the shirts’ release to sign autographs. That store will also be giving away several Metal Gear prizes.

This actually brings a new level of cool to the Twilight series. Turns out that not only tween girls and slight embarrassed female adults are fans of Twilight. Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima a “huge fan” of the series and will be judging a fan art contest themed around New Moon.

He will be judging along with Evangelion character designer/manga creator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The third judge is Ryuji Gotsubo, the creator of the Sasameke manga and the illustrator of the Japanese edition of the Twilight novels. The illustration contest is being held by Japanese art website pixiv.

“Sadamoto will award one winner with an autographed painting set. Kojima will award one autographed copy of his recent Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots game. Gotsubo is offering an autographed set of the first three Twilight tankōbon novel volumes, which cover the same material as the first American novel volume. The pixiv website’s premium members will also vote on 10 winners who will each receive two tickets for the film. The deadline for entry is November 15. The film will open in North America on November 20 and in Japan on November 28, according to ANN.com.”

There are plans for a Twilight graphic novel in the works drawn by Korean artist Young Kim. No word if Kojima is “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob”.

MGS Peace Walker

Konami had their GamesCom press conference today and one of our favorite people in the Games Industry showed up. Hideo Kojima showed up to demo Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and the co-op abilities in the game.

Kojima showed off the brand new trailer for the game which is below. Then he said the co-op for the game requires teamwork with tasks like CPR, walking in tandem and of course hiding in cardboard boxes together.

Here is the trailer, enjoy!

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Konami held a Q&A session with head of Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima about the new title for the PSP, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The PSP title picks up where Metal Gear Solid 3 leaves off.

Here are Kojima’s thoughts on the upcoming title:
1) I bet many users had expected the next MGS5 announcement. When did you start this project?

I actually had the plan for this project in mind while working on MPO. Back then, I intended to place the project in the hands of the next generation of creators at Kojima Productions. However, in the end, I felt that it was still a little too early to leave it completely in their hands, so I decided to take the reins.

This game is an MGS5-class game. I am supervising, designing, producing, directing, and editing this title together with the MGS4 team. Therefore in that sense, “METAL GEAR SOLID” has not ended, and the “METAL GEAR SAGA” continues.

2) You have been telling for many years that your ultimate theme is “Anti-war and Anti-nuclear weapon”. Does this theme continue in this title?

Absolutely. The METAL GEAR SOLID series has always featured “Anti-war” and “Anti-nuke” themes. This title is no exception.

In the event of an attack from a neighboring country, I believe that finding a solution through diplomacy is ideal. However, the fact is that even peaceful countries with no intention of retaliating still maintain armies just for the sake of deterrence. I am sure there are varied opinions regarding this subject, but I believe that it is our generation’s role to “create peace through discussion.” What makes things complicated is that the youth of today have been born into a world where the current situation is the norm, so it’s difficult to convey this message. That is why my hope is to have players ponder and learn about why there are people who advocate the “need for armies, military power, and nuclear weapons” so that they may realize “why things turned out the way that they did” while they play this game.

3) I understand that it is a tactical espionage action game but could you provide some explanation for bringing this title to the PSP platform? I saw 4 Snakes in the trailer presented at E3, is this COOP?

The game will be stealth-action based. I can’t reveal too many details yet, but we are implementing features that can only be realized on the PSP platform that I believe everyone can look forward to. The game will be a little different from the METAL GEAR that players have come to know. However, the story can be replayed numerous times and the game is full of challenges to complete, so I feel that this title will really satisfy players with its long-lasting play time. Just as an example, do you recall the cardboard box at the end of the Peace Walker trailer? In addition to that two-man box, we are preparing a variety of other different cardboard boxes this time around.

To give a little more insight into the game, you can, how shall I say… customize Snake according to your preferences and determine what kind of soldier you will use prior to embarking on your mission. For example there’s heavy gear configurations that make a lot of noise, but that allow you to equip numerous weapons. Or, there are other configurations that won’t allow you to carry many weapons, but will allow you to be light on your feet. We will be preparing a variety of other types as well. Being able to make decisions and plot a strategy will be one of the really enjoyable features of this title.

We are also working on a “growth feature” as well, where your character evolves. It will be a new type of system, so I hope everyone will look forward to it!

4) “You’re known for boot camps and on site checks. This time which part would you like to stress about the reality in terms of game quality?

We conduct research in many ways and then begin game production. In regards to the quality of the game, the main staff of MGS4 are producing it. They are aiming for PS3 quality because they were creating MGS4 on the PS3 not too long ago. In reality it is hard to maintain the same quality as the PS3 but we strive for it and we are expressing this in ways only we can express it in.

5) Regarding the KJP countdown teaser site, there were several signs as a message, could you explain what this message is all about?

-
5=it is an MGS5 class game
S=Snake
巳＝snake in Kanji
E=E3
R=Raiden
3=3 from 360 and E3
6=6 from 360
P and S=PSP and adding 3 makes it PS3
-

Aside from the Snake and Raiden visuals, we featured a total of 10 “symbols” and when all of these are rearranged, they form connections to the announcements that we made at E3.

The first symbols that appeared were the number “5″ and the letter “S” for Snake that represented PW which, to me, is a “5″ class title. “巳” not only hints at the lowercase lettering of “E” for E3, but it is the kanji for the word “snake.” Also, the symbol that appeared at the very end is the kanji “®��” and represents a sunny background and the sunrise that links to RISING.

The “RISING” of “METAL GEAR SOLID RISING” implies “the sun rising,” “the sun shining,” and “the sun shining on Raiden” that was revealed in the visuals on the HP. In addition, “RISING” also represents how “METAL GEAR SOLID” will be taking the next step up.

Going back to the symbols found on the HP, they also link to “the day of 360″ and also to each of the titles that we announced at E3. When each of the symbols are rearranged, I think you’ll be able to recognize E3, PSP, PS3, 360 and others. So everyone, how did you like it? Were your predictions on the mark?

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is now in the Greatest hits collection and is priced at $29.99 starting today. Enjoy!

Konami had a press conference earlier today where Kojima continued to be the belle of the ball with announcements of four brand new games.

Metal Gear Solid Arcade was announced and is a Playstation 3 exclusive. The title comes with special 3D goggles. It will be released in Japan this year and Konami is trying to figure out how to bring it to other regions.

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker video was shown as well. . The main character is Naked Snake, and set after MGS3 and a true sequel. Kojima is heavily involved with the title as well as the MGS4 team.

Metal Gear Solid Rising was next. Kojima stated that it’s for next-gen consoles.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is the last game to be announced. It stars a character called Gabriel whose mask can bring the dead back to life. It won’t be out until at least 2010. Here is a video shown in 2008 at GDC until we get the new one.

(Please bare with me as I translate the frantic notes I was sent from the girls who were on hand for the event.)

Microsoft opened it all up in a big way, with Rock Band Beatles and Paul and Ringo (as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison) were on hand for the announcement. The game is going to be released on 9.9.09 (the old rumored date for the non-existent Dreamcast 2) and is chock full of Beatles classics: I am the Walrus, Back in the USSR, and Abbey Road. All You Need is Love will be an exclusive DLC track for the Xbox 360. All the proceeds from downloading this track will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Tony Hawk is blessing us with a new game, Ride, which has a skateboard peripheral. The controller is slightly smaller than the average board. Robomodo created the controller.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be heading to consoles Nov 10, 2009. The Xbox 360 will be seeing 2 map packs before the other versions will.

Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox was shown, with a projected launch of Spring 2010. Epic Games announced Shadow Complex for Xbox Live Arcade. And Crackdown 2 was announced, as well as Left 4 Dead 2, some in game footage of Alan Wake, new Forza 3 featuring user content, Halo ODST and Halo Reach, and some video footage of Splinter Cell Conviction.

Hideo Kojima-sama was on hand to announce Metal Gear: Rising for the 360, starring Raiden.

Microsoft also showcased Project Natal, controlling without a controller. Uses facial, vocal and camera movement to control your avatar/characters. Obviously what was shown is still in beta, but it really brings us beyond simple motion controllers.

Microsoft also showcased new Xbox features, like the ability to access Facebook (thank you, Felicia Day!) and Twitter from your dashboard, more integration with Netflix and using your last.fm account via your dashboard as well.

Overall, impressions coming out of the Microsoft conference are amazing. Now we wait to see what big announcements Sony and Nintendo have for us. But those will have to wait until we hear from EA and Ubisoft this afternoon.

(Photo courtesy of Knuckles Dawson)

new Kojima game

An ad in Famitsu teases a May 18th reveal for Kojima’s next game. If you look at the scene you have something in the clouds, long grass and a hidden house.

Sets a very dark scene huh? You can go to 1up where they have done a deep analysis of the picture.