Why is the next Castlevania game a current generation system only?, Dave Cox explains some details

With the next generation of gaming systems hovering around the corner, one might think of why a company like MercurySteam would only make the next Castlevania game Lords of Shadow 2 a current generation title only. To answer that question along with a few others, Dave Cox made some statements in an interview recently with GamingBolt about the whys and why nots of the upcoming sequel to the first mega hit.

"The story started on the current generation of hardware, and it is only right that it concludes on it. We knew from the outset where we would take the sequel, and didn't want to just keep churning out new versions."

Cox also mentions about how LOS2 will require the player to use skill and timing, and not just "button mashing" to progress through the game. "Players cannot use their magical abilities unless they are focused. This means if you play with skill, you have more tools at your disposal during combat to deal with enemies, however if you spam the buttons or don't play well or with skill, you will find the game very difficult."

The other fine aspect about the new Castlevania is the fact that it will have more of an open world appeal. When Gabriel Belmont acquires new powers and abilities, he can return to other previously explored areas to unlock that which was once unlockable. Free exploration seems to be the key to a long lasting game with decent replay value, a complaint among the players about a lack of such in the past has certainly been addressed by LOS2.

The rest of the interview at GamingBolt covers a wider range of long asked questions. Personally I can't wait until the launch of the demo hits the market next month. New gameplay trailers among it to boot.

What would the future of Silent Hill games be like if MercurySteam took over the production like they did Castlevania?

That has to be a pretty big question, and one worth asking. I'll say it again. If the same people that made Lords of Shadow so great were to take control of the production of a Silent Hill game, what would it be like, and would the fans accept such a change? In recent years if you've been observing the gaming scene as I have, then you've also noticed a massive transition taking place with huge titles like not only Castlevania, but Metal Gear as well. The "MetroidVania" series we've came to know and love had undergone some massive surgery, not fully knowing how well the fans would accept the outcome, and yet they did.

The same is happening right now with Metal Gear Solid. For the first time in history, an open world Metal Gear game that has many heads turning. This a new catalyst for game developers out there if they expect to keep the customers coming back for more. Games are becoming more and more lifelike, and starting to play out like a movie, or even a television series. That kind of progress is fine by me, but what about the Silent Hill series? Should it be thrown into the same crowd of change that other titles are going through? Let me explain a bit further.

Last year, Hideo Kojima had expressed his desire to use the Fox Engine itself to overhaul Silent Hill. It was time for a big change, one that only the Fox Engine could likely deliver. But the slight concern was that the Fox Engine was meant for an outdoor environment, and not indoors. But still the change would be a welcome one in the eyes of Kojima. Adam Cox, the producer for MercurySteam had also expressed an interest in seeing Silent Hill get a full "reboot" of the series. Something he felt was long overdue. In an interview he did recently, he gave some statements along those lines.

“I guess Silent Hill would be the obvious one. Sometimes a series needs a little break. Sometimes it needs to have fresh eyes, a new team to come in and bring their creative vision to it. Perhaps Silent Hill will be a project Konami can bring back.”

“It’s not something that I would be particularly interested in doing myself. I’m more of an old school guy. I grew up with Castlevania, and Contra is what made me want to work at Konami at the end of the day. They are my passions. I’d like to see Konami do some new stuff, bring something new to the table. I think next generation offers great opportunities to do new things.”

The same guys at MercurySteam, Dave Cox himself being one of them, had also mentioned a while back of the desire to do a Contra "reboot". It seems that nearly all of Konami's big hit titles are undergoing some major changes, hopefully it will lead to some new fans being added to the existing ones out there. Konami had already filed a trademark for the title "Contra: Run and Gun", which you can gladly take a look at the official page for it here.  The publication date also happens to be listed for two days from now, on the 27th.

The new question is this, we know Silent Hill needs a change, but who will initiate that change and what will they change it to is any person's guess at the moment. If the change is along the lines of what they are doing with Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, then it's a change I certainly look forward to.

Dave Cox and Enric Alvarez talk about the challenge that was outlined for them in taking the Castlevania game series into a new direction

It seems that Castlevania has been such a long running series, that a lot of fans have probably thought at one time or another that it's run out of ideas. When Order of Ecclesia came out, after finishing it myself, I wondered if there would ever be another title like it. I enjoyed it, but at the same time I also saw the gaming industry doing everything it could to push a lot of past titles into a new 3D realm.

Sure Castlevania faired pretty well with Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, but what after that? That's where Konami decided to turn the steering wheel over to MercurySteam, letting them take the series into a new direction, and praying that the fans were accepting enough to give it a shot.

Recently in an interview with Dave Cox and director Enric Alvarez were asked about the challenges that they were faced in taking Castlevania in the direction they felt it should go. Here are a few of the statements they had to say on the issue.

ALVAREZ: "At the end of the day, we (at MercurySteam) are a Western developer. If we did the same type of game (as the classic Nintendo games) it'd be a failure. This is our philosophy, the way we see things. After all, the vampire mythology we are depicting in this game belongs to the European culture. We handle this a different way than a Japanese developer. It's not better or worse. It's just different."

Dave Cox also weighed in by adding....

COX: "We always knew it would be a difficult task to bring everyone along with us. Once we got our heads around that, we were able to do what we wanted. I think that gave us a lot of confidence to develop Lords of Shadow 2 again in our own way. We almost felt vindicated in a way. We accept that some people aren't going to like what we're doing. And there's nothing you can do about that."

Also adding....

"We felt more confident in the second one that we could do more risky things. We really love to surprise people. It would have been very easy for us to knock out a sequel (in 2012) after one year. But we just didn't want to do that."

What was also helpful was the fact they received some help and advice from none other than Hideo Kojima himself, whose role was simply to advise, and to not interfere. He knew it was a bit of a risk. It always is when you change the direction of a project to something that's never been done before. But after seeing the success of the first Lords of Shadow game, if was pretty much on automatic pilot with the next Lords of Shadow title.

LOS2 will however be the last Castlevania game ever created by MercurySteam again. This marks the end of the series in terms of what they will produce. Cox in a few statements at the GamesCom round table had this to say about the future of the series.

"I think if you've got something to say, you should just say it, and when you're done, just shut up, and we've got something to say. Once it's out there, think it's time for somebody else, somebody younger, a younger producer to come in and take up the mantle and do what they think would be right for Castlevania and for us to move on to something else."

Something else indeed, let me just add that whoever that somebody else is, I hope they can also embrace Castlevania the way the rest of us have over the last 26 years, and if they too decide to take it in another new direction, let's hope the results are similar to those that MercurySteam has so well delivered to us.