GamesCom 2009: A brief summation of Konami’s announcements

Konami was among the many major game developers/publishers that decided Cologne, Germany was the place to be this week. The company showed up with multiple games in tow, in a display that quite possibly rivaled their presense at E3 2009. The bulk of the games were titles the public had already heard about at the prior convention, though now new information was available, as were playable demos.

The wide selection of games seems to know no genre or platform limitations. Konami is showing off console, handheld, cell phone, iPhone and PC games. There are games for families, casual players and hardcore gamers represented in the batch.

Let’s take a look at the new game information and appearances, in tidy bulleted list form:

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3, Xbox 360): A new trailer was released, which reveals that the Belmont family is going to have a crucial role in the latest Castlevania, even if they aren’t the stars.
• DanceDanceRevolution (PS3, Xbox 360): Naoki Maeda, producer of the game, was there to present the game to the press. Also the fact that DanceDanceRevolution implements an Octo-Move Mode, where you use eight directional arrows, was highlighted.
• GTI Club Supermini Festa! (Wii): The GTI Club racing series is making its first appearance on the Wii. The focus of the game is racing compact cars around the world, and the Wii version will contain all of the aspects players loved from the arcade iterations. There will be 16 cars to choose from, which players can customize. There are two single player modes, Arcade Mode, which is strikingly similar to the arcade version, and GTI Quest, which is a sort-of story mode concerning a world-wide tour. Multiplayer is, of course, included, in the form of four-player mode if you’re all playing on one Wii and a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer mode with standard races and mini-games.
• Karaoke Revolution (PS3, Wii): It’s headed not only to the US, but to Europe as well. Songs from the Jackson 5 will appear in the game.
• Krazy Kart Racing (iPhone): Sort of a combination mash-up and racing game. There will be 10 characters from Konami games included as racers, and there will be 16 tracks to traverse. You can play against the computer in five single player modes, or against fellow Krazy Kart Racing owners. There will be nitro boosts available to characters, as well as extra items racers can pick up and use against opponents.
• Let’s Party (Wii): Konami announced Groove Box Japan’s newest game, a mini-game compilation with 40 activities that all use the DDR mat peripheral and the Wii Remote. It will test the obligatory physical or music skulls, based on rhythm and accuracy, as well as mental skills. It is for one to four players, and Miis are used as character avatars. The Miis can be decorated by earning and unlocking new accessories and outfits from the Party Shop.
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP): Hideo Kojima is attending GamesCom 2009 specifically to discuss Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which he wrote the story for. It is a sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, is set in 1974 and will allow players to control two characters at once. A new trailer is going to debut at the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker event Kojima is attending. The event will also mark the first time the multiplayer co-op feature for the game is discussed in depth.
• pop’n rhythm (Wii): The first worldwide entry of the popular Pop’n Music division of Bemani is at GamesCom 2009, and happens to be playable.
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (cell phone, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360): A series of European release dates have been announced. The cell phone, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will be out October 22, 2009. The PS2 and PSP versions will be out November 5, 2009. The Wii version will be out last, on November 19, 2009.
• The Tower of Shadow (Wii): Konami’s going to work with Hudson Soft to release this WiiWare game outside Japan. In The Tower of Shadow, you control a shadow boy who can only interact with shadows on his journey to the top of Shadow Tower. What the boy does in the shadows influences what happens in the real world, and thus creates more shadows for him to interact with and traverse. The boy also has a sylph companion called Spangle who can effect physical aspects of the environment that shadows can’t reach.
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PS2, PSP, Wii): We learn more about two important new aspects of the reimagining, the psychological profiling and cell phone. After the initial Q&A introduction in the game at a psychiatrist’s office, player’s responses and actions are monitored. This means that, based on how you play, the NPCs in the game will treat Harry Mason differently and the game will progress in a different manner. The cell phone will be used as a GPS, will have a text message/email function for Cheryl updates and can be used to talk to NPCs.
• Winx Club: Your Magic Universe (DS): Another application is on it’s way to turn the DS into an organizer. This time, it’s Winx Club themed, featuring the Enchantix characters. There’s a diary, mini-games, contact information, important dates, personality tests, a Closet where users can create clothing for the Winx characters and a means of trading information with other Winx Club: Your Magic Universe game owners.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 4 (PSP): Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s is getting a game on the other major portable handheld, the PSP. The story mode is based on the Dark Signers’ anime plot arc, has 14 duelists from the series and takes place all around Neo Domino City. There will also be multiple multiplayer modes, allowing for up to four players to play. Players can also use trading card passwords to unlock new, downloadable cards. Each game will also come with three Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

That about covers Konami’s contribution to GamesCom 2009. See anything that interested you? I think I’m most excited about Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and The Tower of Shadow.

Read [GamersHell] Also Read [Classy Gamer] Site [Kojima Productions GamesCom 2009 Special Site]