Game director Enric Alvarez stated that, “We proposed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 as a sequel to the original, but with a renovated spirit. In Lords of Shadow 2, the story becomes dark. I would even say cruel. It’s a game of intense and contradictory feelings.”

Producer Dave Cox stated, “When we set out in 2007 to re-imagine Castlevania and do something new with it, it was a very risky proposition and we were all very nervous about it. With the Lords of Shadow universe we decided very early on that we wanted to tell the story of Dracula, but felt that Dracula had never been properly explained, and his story had never been properly told.”

You’ll be using three new abilities this time around, and for the first time, enemies will have shields and armour. Players will need to expose their weaknesses in order to bypass some foes as a result. Of course, thanks to improvements with the Mercury Engine, there will be zero load times and a new free-moving camera so gamers can go where they want, turn in any direction and explore Dracula’s castle (along with a new city) with ease.

As Alvarez notes, “Lords of Shadow 2 is going to have a much bigger graphic quality than the first one. But it will also be more complex, since we will not only be painting, but we want the player to see [everything].”

With that in mind, the official Metal Gear 25th Anniversary site has been opened by Konami. There’s no mysterious countdown or timer or cryptic messages floating about. It only mentions the party taking place. And it’s very much a real event, though by invitation-only (sorry, stalkers).

That being said, fans will be able to enter a drawing for a slot at the party.

There are also links to the various Metal Gear games and anniversary product, which is available through Konami Style. You can also find information regarding the new MGS4 re-release’s trophy support and data install features.

Yes, this only serves to make us more suspicious of a blockbuster announcement.

Nonetheless, it’s been 25 years since Snake first snuck into our lives, and it’ll be a hell of a party come August 30th.

Source/Image: Andriasang

The update is now available for the PSN, XBox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 and various smartphone platforms (which should include Android and iOS). A subsequent WiiWare release is planned for July 12th.

Some of the game modes include Tile Capture, Battle Royale, Freak Out and more that encapsulate the infamous run-and-dodge gameplay the series is known for. There are also a variety of unlockable skins with classics like Castlevania, Contra and 8-bit sprites from the original arcade Frogger available.

PSN and XBox Live Arcade users can compete in 4 player multiplayer matches or against the AI, though smartphone users will be relegated to just the single-player experience.

Vindication for all those years of getting squashed under cars by allowing more people to squash him? Frogger’s never had it so good.