The gaming portion of my blog has become a little shrivelled and husklike on account of the information vaccuum that exists before E3. Game developers are usually tight-lipped regarding any exciting new releases, but they occasionally throw a scrap to the press so that these companies do not fade entirely out of the public eye.

So, I’m sitting here, with a blog that is growing tired and unbathed due to uselessness, and I don’t know what to do.

I suppose I could deliver on that “life” post that I promised Caleb.

Or, I could play Blockland with Binkle.

It seems the people at Konami have decided to pilfer more money from my wallet in November of this year, as they have just announced a second Nintendo DS Castlevania title, Portrait of Ruin. The news was not exactly a surprise, on account of Nintendo Power’s less than cryptic remarks in their last issue, which utilized some of the worst wordplay ever.

They have not announced an official release date (I mean, when do Nintendo DS games ever release on time) but it is expected to hit stores in November, at the dawn of the early Christmas rush.

This Castlevania title - according to the description found everywhere - will apparently play in a similar fashion to Julius’ Mode from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows. That is to say, there are two main characters - Jonathan Morris, a vampire hunter who uses a whip (the Belmont clan) and Charlotte Orlean, a magic user (the Belnades clan) - and the player can freely switch between the two during gameplay.

The game takes place during World War II, where Morris and Orlean are battling two vampiric sisters who are attempting to bring Dracula back to life because, well, it seems to be the “happening” thing to do. Both characters - apparently - have the ability to use summons, and the game makes a note of pointing out there are 100 different adversaries.

Due to this number being cited, I’m inclined to assume that the next Castlevania installment will have the characters operate in a similar fashion to Soma Cruz - lead character of Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow - who could kill enemies and take their souls for future usage. While Soma could use souls in different ways (offensive, defensive, tactical and ability), it is unclear if Portrait of Ruin will offer the same opportunities or if the main characters can merely “acquire” all 100 enemies as offensive summons (think every modern RPG-style summoning).

Personally, I was quite partial to the Soma-method, and I would like to see it return with a few more useful creatures to use. There were some that were pathetically useless in Dawn of Sorrow, and it made gathering the more useless ones to be a tedious task.

Now that we’ve heard a bit more information on this title, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is going up on my game wishlist (which presently consists of mostly DS games). I’m beginning to hate the temptation of that foul little device…

Apparently, April 18th was a false release date. IGN is now saying the game will release in North America for April 25th. While this may be false, Nintendo has said on their website that it will release in April of 2006, and we’re almost out of April.

If the game is delayed, I will be awfully furious. I mean, what could possibly be wrong with it? The game looks stunning, and I’ve been itching to get it ever since I lied to you all about having it. Well, even from before then.

Okay, so I happened to find this about two years later than everyone else. So sue me.

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In a desperate attempt to help the PSP recover from a staggering slump over the past few months, Sony has announced a new DVD Recorder with PSP connectivity. So, you can record stuff onto a disc and transfer it to a PSP. A potential apology for the utterly abysmal showing of UMD movies? Possibly, but it is a duct tape repair job.

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An interesting article.

I agree with most of the points, except “Controller Accessories” threw me for a loop.

Take a look, and tell me if you agree with the points.