3D modelers? Ugh. 2D Castlevania should stay completely 2D. 2.5D rarely even looks good on consoles. On handhelds, it's pretty much guaranteed to look terrible.

Still, another 2D Igarashi game is just what I need to get back into Castlevania after all this Judgment and Lords of Shadow nonsense, so I'm at least hoping that part of the rumour is true.

[QUOTE="Icemael"]So I played the demo.Didn't like it one bit. Inconsistent framerate, nondescript aesthetics, and the dullest, most generic 3D beat 'em up combat ever. It plays like a mixture of God of War and Ninja Blade.chang_1910

So I played the demo.

Didn't like it one bit. Inconsistent framerate, nondescript aesthetics, and the dullest, most generic 3D beat 'em up combat ever. It plays like a mixture of God of War and Ninja Blade.

The highlight of the demo was the "Castlevania is back with a vengeance" at the end, just because it made me chuckle.

It's a modern third-person shooter from the father of the modern third-person shooter. Virtually everyone with hands-on experience has come away very impressed.

I'll be very surprised if it isn't AAA.

I don't think these videos have been posted yet.

I really like the aesthetics -- the music isn't half bad, and the environments are beautiful -- but the platforming looks slow. Like, sssssssssssloooooooooooow. And the combat looks pretty dull.

Still, this is the most promising footage I've seen so far.

Okay, here's the first half of the E3 demo (the video semi posted is the second half).

Let's see here:

• The combat looks ripped straight out of God of War.
• There are health fountains, which act like the health chests in God of War.
• There are quick time events, like in God of War.
• When you kill enemies you gain experience you can use to buy new combos, like in God of War.

That's it. I'm tired of hoping for good news only to be disappointed time and time again. They said at the Konami press conference that they're wrapping up development. If this is what they have to offer, I'm afraid I'm not interested; I don't think I'll be buying this.

Wow. In motion, the game looks even more like Prince of Persia: God of War than it does in screenshots. It literally looks like the developers played Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and God of War, and said to themselves "let's copy some of the segments in these two games, slap them together, reskin them, and call it Castlevania."

If that's what they're showing at E3 and the game is coming out this year, I don't think there's any hope.

I find it pretty amazing that they've managed to make a trailer that's five minute long, yet tells me absolutely nothing new about the game.

Oh, and Gabriel's voice really bugs me. I've been following Stargate Universe (terrific show, by the way), in which Robert Carlyle plays one of the main characters, so every time he opens his mouth all I'm gonna think of is "What's Dr. Rush doing in my Castlevania?"

[QUOTE="Icemael"]Will the Konami press conference be live-streamed anywhere, or is it closed doors like last year?semianonymous