What do you think? How are your hype levels for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, particularly after having seen this Dracula underling? I'm more excited than I have been for any of the 3D Castlevania games, but I've also played three 3D Castlevania games, so it won't take much at this point.

Early Christmas Present... [Twitpic]

David Cox, producer on the Konami Europe side, tells Videogamer that visits from Mr. Kojima inspire a level of fear amongst the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow that no level of bowel control could possibly withstand.

"Yeah we're shitting ourselves! You got to make sure that the quality of what you deliver is very very high," Cox says of Kojima pop-ins. "You're constantly saying to yourself, is that really good enough? Is that really going to be good enough? It's funny, because sometimes you think, no, he's not going to like that and he loves it, and then other times you think, check this out, it's amazing, and he'll go, hmm don't know. It's shit. So it's swings and roundabouts."

Cox calms some of our own fears about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, noting that the game's cut scenes last no longer than 15 minutes, despite Kojima's involvement.

"Story is important but it's not the most important element in the game," he says. "The most important element in the game is the combat, the exploration, the platforming, the puzzle solving, all those kinds of things, the atmosphere, that kind of stuff. That's more important."

Agreed!

Dave Cox: When Kojima visits we sh*t ourselves [Videogamer]

But we have something... better? Screen shots!! Yes, fresh Gamescom-exclusive stills of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, showing whip-wielder Gabriel in action. Watch out, because there's a bit of gore ahead in the form of an exploding pool of blood. Gruesome!

Instead, meet MercurySteam, pictured here with Hideo Kojima, who will be "helping out" on the project. MercurySteam are Spanish developers, who are probably best known for their work on... Clive Barker's Jericho. And American McGee's Scrapland. Not the finest pedigree, we admit, but everyone's gotta start somewhere!

Looks like Iga's going to need a new business card...

The game has been farmed out to Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam and brings together a star studded cast that features Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle. This is the game's latest trailer.

Lords of Shadow was actually announced at last year's Games Convention, a title to be developed by Madrid-based Mercury Steam and originally pitched as the foundation of a new "action-adventure IP." Looks like that might have changed, as the game may have been retrofitted to be a new Castlevania game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Not that difficult of a retrofit maybe, as the game's first trailer showed a cast that looked very much at home in the Castlevania universe, with a protagonist named Gabriel wielding the hilt of a weapon—known as the Combat Cross—that's part whip, part stabbing weapon.

The Castlevania: Lords of Shadow connection comes as part of a triumvirate of Gamespress leaks and may be tied to Kojima Productions "Mask" project. Will Mr. Kojima have another sneaky announcement planned for Sony's E3 press conference tomorrow? Tune in and find out!

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced that Spanish development studio Mercury Steam is to produce a new title for PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360.

The as-yet unnamed title will be the latest release to be overseen by Konami's fast-growing European Development team. Details on the new project are currently shadowed in secrecy, but the title will form a major part of Konami's 2009-2010 line-up.

"With the development of New International Track and Field coming to an end, it is fitting that we are ready to announce this significant addition to our European Development roster," commented Dave Cox, Head of Product Planning for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "Mercury Steam is an exciting and very talented group, and their plans for the first Europe-grown title for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3 are both ambitious and ground-breaking. We look forward to unveiling full details of this stunning title further down its development cycle."

"We are delighted to be working with a publisher of Konami's obvious esteem," commented Enric Alvarez, Co-owner and Projects Leader for Mercury Steam. "Konami's track record for innovation and large-scale projects is second to none, and we are looking forward to working closely with them on a title that will match their high standards."