http://slyoyster.com

There is a certain stratum of the populace whom, when posed the question, “What weapon is best-suited to vampire slaying?,” would give the singular answer: “The whip.” This is a group, who, for the most part was coming of age in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the mighty and ubiquitous Nintendo Entertainment System (aka old Nintendo, regular Nintendo, etc.) dominated the video game landscape, and would be familiar with the Castlevania series and its unique conventions regarding vampire lore. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a title crafted specifically for this age of gamer, now displaced by the first-person shooter generation and almost altogether bereft of the 2D action/platformer.

Castle Dracula appears out of the mists every 100 years, and it is up to the members of the ancient and venerable Belmont clan of vampire hunters, wielders of the legendary whip “The Vampire Killer,” to venture therein and vanquish its evil and cunning master.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles takes the two games widely considered to be the greatest entries in this long-standing series’ illustrious catalog, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, and bundles both onto one PSP disc at a ten dollar discount compared to most PSP games.

Rondo and Symphony came back-to-back in the series canon; they take place only 4 years apart in the series chronology, feature the same set of characters, and finally, mark the transition of the Castlevania series from the hardcore linear action of the Nintendo days to the Super Metroid-influenced, more free-form action game. This centers on castle exploration and item-gathering for progress, similar to modern titles in the series like Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. One might say that these are the seminal games of the entire series. Rondo is much more like the classic formula, and Symphony much more like a Metroid game, so much so that successive entries in the Castlevania series have been termed “Metroidvanias”.

Oh, but that’s not all, oh no, developer Konami has also given Rondo of Blood, never before released outside of Japan (though widely imported and much-ballyhooed over the Internet) a modern-day graphics face lift. This newly-remade Rondo sports polygonal “2.5D” gameplay, in which all the classic side-scrolling action of the original title is preserved, but now displayed in a 3D space. The end result is a game that plays like a classic but looks more contemporary. MORE »

Rather than fill a list with each and every game slated to be released each week, I’d like to shine a more finely tuned spotlight on a few more notable titles. Without further ado:

–> Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is being released for PC this week. See my post earlier in this blog for more info on this crazy fun game.

–> Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation releases this week on the Xbox 360. This series has always been about arcade-y fighter jet dog-fighting mixed with nice visuals and a nonsensical narrative, and has always been quite fun.

–> Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles takes the two most highly regarded entries in the long-running whip-wielding/vampire slaying action series, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, and bundles them together in this PSP release. Rondo of Blood never saw a western release in its true form, and this package not only includes the classic 16-bit version, but a fully remade version featuring fully polygonal “2.5D” graphics. This is where it’s at for console old-schoolers this week.

–> Clive Barker’s Jericho is out this week, but by all accounts it’s a stinker, so caveat emptor. Those into the survival-horror genre might get the most out of it. It’s on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

–> Conan, of barbarian fame, gets an action game on the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week, but it is not to be confused with the promising-looking upcoming MMO title.

–> Eye of Judgment is an interesting game, being a PS3-based collectible card game, played either wholly on the console, or using actual cards on an actual game map, via the PS3’s camera accessory. The game is reputedly very good and preventing cheating, as players scan their physical cards using the camera before playing.

–> Front Mission comes out for the DS this week. If you are a fan of strategy-RPGs, check this out. It is a re-release of the first entry in a great SRPG series, and one of the few to make it out of Japan.

–> Mega Man ZX Advent is out on the DS this week, and takes the old blue bomber to some new places, introducing Metroid-like exploration to the action series for the first time.

–> Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations also sees release on the DS this week. This is the third entry in the popular Ace Attorney series, featuring cartoony trials and investigations. The series is known for it’s comedic writing and inventive gameplay, which is more about thoroughness than twitch action.

–> Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction comes out for the PS3 this week, after having it’s release date shifted around a few times. Fans of 3D action-platformers should celebrate, as this is the newest, and first of the new console generation, in this well-liked series.

–> Tomb Raider Anniversary is slated to hit the Xbox 360 this week, and for those who don’t know, the game is a remake of the very first Tomb Raider, which was an amazing and awesome game in its day. All reports say that Anniversary does a good job of upholding it’s good name, and the PS2 version which saw release earlier this year was certainly very good.

–> Zack and Wiki comes to the Wii this week, which should be good news for Wii owners looking for a 3D adventure game. I hear good things.