First look at Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on DS

Headlining a slew of new game announcements at Konami Gamers' Night in San Francisco, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia certainly took the spotlight. Brand new combat mechanics and a gorgeous illustrative graphic style mark the third entry for the hack 'n' slash action franchise on DS. While we weren't able to go hands-on with the game, creative director Koji Igarashi gave us a full rundown of his new game.

We began with the story. Following the disappearance of the vampire-hunting Belmont family, organisations arose throughout Europe to combat the threat of Dracula. Only one, however, was able to effectively confront the Dark Lord: the Order of Ecclesia. Utilising the powers within magical runes called glyphs, the Order was able to defeat Dracula. So you take the role of Shinoa, a young woman within the Order of Ecclesia who seeks to stop Dracula's resurgence once again.

A number of changes mark this new instalment of the long-running action series, including the introduction of the aforementioned glyphs and a new world map. Fortunately, the game retains the side-scrolling action of the two previous DS titles with the touchscreen housing all the action and the top display showing a map.

How you engage enemies in combat, however, is slightly different than past iterations. Shinoa's ability to control glyphs opens a wide range of attack options simply unavailable in previous versions.

Igarashi demonstrated the variety offered by the glyph system, showing a few different glyphs and their uses. First up was the blue rapier glyph that enables Shinoa to strike at enemies with a short blade. Once absorbed by pressing up on the D-pad, Igarashi was able to equip the glyph to either of Shinoa's arms or her back. Using magic points (tracked via a green gauge situated below Shinoa's health meter), the rapier glyph could be activated to attack enemies. Equipping the glyph to both arms instigated a special attack, although at a higher MP cost.

A second glyph equipped to Shinoa's back powered up a circular magnetic field. Holding down R instigated the field, which responded to special magnetic access points set within the level. Activating the field around these points pulled Shinoa towards them, enabling her to reach high platforms and other previously inaccessible areas.

Other glyphs include a sword that summons a massive blade that slams down on enemies, and a bow that unleashes a barrage of arrows upon foes. Along with physical attacks, glyphs can summon magical energy, as is the case with both light and dark glyphs. As you'd expect, these cast holy and dark magical energy. Interestingly enough, Igarashi equipped both glyphs and cast them simultaneously for a powerful wave of light-dark magic that managed to be as deadly as it was beautiful.

You'll find glyphs and even absorb them from enemies as you explore the game's wide range of environments, from Dracula's castle to an icy mountain top to the wreckage of a galleon at sea. Order of Ecclesia marks the first game in the series' 20-year history to feature a world map from which you select stages. The previous instalment on DS, Portrait of Ruin, included locales away from Dracula's domain in a linear fashion. Here, you'll actually switch to a world map and touch your desired location via the touchscreen.

Regardless of these additions, it still looks like classic Castlevania to us. Hack 'n' slash action aplenty awaits, which is really all that matters. Boss battles against a giant crab and Frankenstein monster lookalikes are promised, although we weren't able to try them for ourselves. Expect series enemy standbys like living skeletons and aggressive little bats to make a reprise, too.

Whichever enemies Igarashi and his team throw out way, we're sure to be happy to beat them back into the underworld when Order of Ecclesia ships in North America before the year's out (a date for the Europe hasn't been confirmed yet).