Konami opened a San Francisco studio this year devoted to social and portable games, which indicates this arcade-era survivor is still able to change with the times. Their E3 line-up is a short list of very highly anticipated titles.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
This game looks to be something that players haven't seen from Konami in way too long....something special. Raiden once again plays the protagonist in the new Metal Gear. Armed with a bad-ass, cut-anything sword he does just that. The demo shows Raiden slicing the whirling blades off of a helicopter and dispatching an enemy...by cutting through a concrete column and bisecting the AI target in one mighty slice...hell yeah! A quick time game element gives the game a nice sense of pace and propels map progression. Stylized combat is more reminiscent of Dante than Snake.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
Developed by mercurysteam, Lords of Shadow 2 is set 25 years after the events of the original Lords of Shadow. The premise is a story of revenge for the death of Dracula. Konami's pre-E3 trailer shows a vampire lashing hordes of armored knights with what appeared to be a blood whip, before facing a giant robot. No...I didn't make that up. This one is set to hit store shelves this fall.
Castlevania: Mirror of Fate
Konami has kept a fairly tight lid on this title and their pre-E3 show featured a teaser trailer at the end with blood mixing with water and a picture of one of the Belmonts. We do know that Konami has registered the website castlevania-mirroroffate.net.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
Konami's latest PES offering has focused on ball control, independent player control, and more lifelike representations of real soccer players. Only time will tell if PES 2013 can steal some of FIFA's thunder.
