E3 '10: Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
While flitting between appointments, I quickly crossed through the XBLA games being shown, and being a fan of the Castlevania series, decided to try the XBLA exclusive Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, which will be part of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade series.
FaePuck mentioned the rumor of it back in early May, and it does have 6-person co-op. I asked the representative, but sadly it will not support local co-op. There are, so far, five playable characters, pulled from the DS games, with one addition. We have: Soma, Charlotte, Jonathan, Alucard, and Game-Boy and I have already stated our intent to play our beloved Shanoa (whom I played during my demo). You may be scratching your head wondering how you can have a six-player game with five characters from which to choose, but when you choose your character, you also choose from a selection of colored outfits, so there can be multiples of the same character.
Each of them has their own specific powers and the levels are culled from the previous titles as well. The nifty part is that there are three views, which you activate by triggering the right analog stick, which switches among a close, middle, and level-encompassing view. There is a time limit to finish the level, so players are encouraged to play strategically and map out their actions; I played the first level by myself, which had a targeted end boss, and I saw a few opportunities where co-op was necessary (though you can play it single player), and others where it would have just been useful to have that level all the way over there pulled while I went on through the gate on the complete other side of the wall.
The graphics looked to be on par with the DS titles I've played, so I was glad to see them stick to the sprites I've come to love. It appears each level has items you can pick up, and you cannot change spells or equipment on the go, but must find books, where you can swap them.
The game will premier at 1200 MS points ($15), and there are plans for additional content that includes characters and levels.
VorpalBunny
Posted to E3 on 16 June 2010
Other stuff like this: castlevania, castlevania: harmony of despair, e3, e3 10, xbla
