E3 2005: Level Up
Konami and Their Portable Goodness
Product: Konami Portable Lineup
Company: No Company
Date: 05/26/2005
Avaliable On:

Konami had a plethora of portable prowess to present to us.

My favorite was Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. A direct sequel to the Game Boy Advance title Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow is coming out this fall and will once again puts you in the shoes of Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula. With their master finally gone, the former servants of Dracula have decided to create a new dark lord, and it?s up to Soma to stop them. The game plays nearly identically to Aria of Sorrow in most respects, with Soma taking on the power of monsters and using them. The touch screen displays your menu and map information. It?s really nice not having to stop the game every time I want to look at my map.

If Castlevania was my favorite, Lost in Blue was most assuredly the most interesting game I saw from Konami. The basic idea behind Lost in Blue is that you and a girl are trapped on an island and must try to survive until help comes. It will utilize each and every feature of the Nintendo DS, and I promise there are a few you haven?t thought of. You will dig in the sand with the stylus, start fires by blowing into the microphone, and even cook by closing the DS itself (a first on the DS as until Lost in Blue, Nintendo wouldn't allow a game to utilize the closing of the system during gameplay). Expect this fascinating little gem in September. Arriving this summer for the younger PSP player, or at least the young at heart, Death Jr. offers classic 3D platforming action. The cool part is it incorporates elements from a first-person shooter. Oh wait Jak and Daxter and Rachet and Clank already did that, but I only kid. Death Jr. offers what any pseudo-3D platformer really needs, entertaining characters and an interesting setting.

It seems Frogger just will not be stopped and has returned for a new portable game for the DS and PSP coming this fall. Frogger Helmet Chaos uses the familiar top-down view gameplay that has you hopping around collecting the things you want, and avoiding the things you don?t. The game is fairly identical for both with the DS touch screen being used primarily for mini-games and the classic Frogger is unlockable in both. Woot!

Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 is a Game Boy Advance RPG based off the popular Saturday morning cartoon of the same name. There are two other Saturday morning cartoon games from Konami that are being released for Nintendo DS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare and Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour.

Coded Arms is a fairly typical, though attractive, first-person shooter for the PSP. Offering customizable controls, random maps, and multiplayer support, it should offer some cheap thrills for FPS enthusiasts. It should be in stores this summer.

Then there is, ahem, Winx Club. Another game based on a cartoon, except this one, as fate would have it, is not likely one I would have watched as a child. The game is based on the first season of the cartoon and follows the adventures of a girl named Bloom when she discovers she is a fairy and is whisked to the magical world of Magix.
*sigh*
I wish I could get whisked.

Finally, Metal Gear Ac!d 2 was announced for the PSP. Unfortunately it was not yet playable, so we?ll just have to wait and see.

Alucard aka Stephen Triche

GameVortex PSIllustrated TeamPS2