Hands on with DS' Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Just as people either love or hate the idea of vampires (bloodsuckers – why don't they get a proper job like everyone else?), so with the Castlevania series.

With the regularity of werewolves greeting the full moon, the descendents of Castlevania's Belmont family have spent the past 20 years unhooking their magical whips and riding forth to stake Dracula back into his box. And taking the role of cheerleading goths in their unhallowed worship have been hordes of unwashed old school gamers, who just can't get enough of Castlevania's hardcore action credentials: solid 2D graphics, a rock hard difficulty setting and plenty of secrets to unlock.

Still, games such as Castlevania DS debut Dawn of Sorrow sit somewhat incongruously in the DS world of movie tie-ins and colourful puzzlers, and so not surprisingly Konami is trying to soften some of the series' more unpalatable elements in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Most obvious when starting off (we tried the E3 demo back in May) is the flexibility that comes with having two characters playable from the beginning, rather than the traditional Castlevania-style of one being unlocked after you've completed the game.

Designed to bring more variation into the gameplay from the off, the two-character set-up means you can instantly swap between vampire hunter Jonathan Morris (who uses bladed weapons like swords, as well as boomerangs and even grenades) and Charlotte Orlean, who relies on magic for her survival (although as her basic attack uses a double-axe and sword, she's no shrinking violet).

As well as enabling you to fight more according to your own style, you sometimes have to use the two characters in conjunction to solve particular puzzles. For example, Charlotte can shapeshift into a bird to get to otherwise inaccessible places, while Jonathan's weapons can destroy parts of the levels. You can even use one character as a springboard for the other to jump onto in order to reach higher areas.

You'll also have to use the duo in combo attacks to overcome the more powerful boss characters. (When you're not controlling a character, their artificial intelligence takes over and hopefully keeps them out of trouble.)

Another subtle modernisation away from Castlevania's heritage is the judicious use of 3D graphics. The gameplay remains resolutely 2D, but now some of the backgrounds are 3D, which makes parts of the game more immersive. A similar trick is used on various enemies. It's not a big shift, but one that demonstrates Konami is aware it needs to appeal to more than just the hardcore fanbase.

What hasn't changed is the fast-moving action, with plenty of imaginatively designed skeletons, zombies, mummies, flying eyes, ghosts, and even an enormous suit of armour to beat up on. Do so successfully and you'll get more weapons for Jonathan and more spells for Charlotte, as well as the experience points both characters need to level up.

As for the game's World War II setting, there wasn't much on show at E3. Instead, linking into the Portrait of Ruin part of the title, we saw how we'll get to access different areas by entering portraits hanging on the walls of Dracula's castle. Examples included an Egyptian tomb area, a desert – complete with huge sandworms – and a ghostly forest.

Also absent was a convincing exploitation of the DS' unique features. The main action takes places on the touchscreen but at E3 there wasn't much stylus interaction – the gamemakers don't think it fits in with the action pace of the game. The topscreen was relegated to map status, although we'd expect it to show more information than just the map when finished.

More evolution than a revolution – and certainly still one unlikely to be promoted under Nintendo's massmarket Touch Generation banner – Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is due to be crossing swords with evil (again) sometime in November.