Fans of the Pro Evolution Soccer brand can now mark their calendars as a release date has been set for the annual installment in this franchise.  Konami announced today that Xbox 360, PS3 and PC owners will be able to pick up this title at retail on September 27th, 2011.  Other platforms will see release dates announced at a later date.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 looks to add several new features that will enhance the series for fans, including a new AI engine, better character models,  and a new passing system that should make things a lot more fluid while running on the pitch.

Check out the full press release below for more info on the new release date for Pro Evolution Soccer 2012.

KONAMI’S CRITCALLY ACCLAIMED PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2012 STARTS A NEW SEASON THIS FALL

Latest Pro Evolution Soccer Installment Features Significant Advancement in Gameplay Controls        

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced its eagerly-awaited Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 title will be released in the Americas on September 27 for PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and Windows PC. Release dates for Wii, PlayStation®2 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) versions of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will be released in the future.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 goes further in giving the user total control than any other football title, offering AI innovations and gameplay additions that cover every aspect of real football. Central to Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 is the all-new Active AI system which ensures that teammates work to close down space, defend zonally and hold their line to minimize attacking options.  As such, on defense their teammates will look to hold the defensive line and mark oncoming offensive support. Conversely on offense, when attacking, the player will see that their teammates will make dummy runs, draw defenders, and work to give the player more options in attack.

The emphasis on the team as a unit is demonstrated with Pro Evolution Soccer 2012′s ground-breaking Teammate Control system – a truly unique addition which allows the user to control two players at once, prompting runs or drawing defenders with one, while the other holds the ball up. Teammate Control works in two ways; with users pressing the right analogue stick in the direction of the player they wish to control. Support play is offered in assisted mode wherein users prompt a second player to make a timed run to cut inside or receive a ball, while total control is afforded by the fully Manual mode which gives the user complete freedom of movement of the second player.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 is full of new gameplay additions. Animation has been enhanced, while the overall presentation has also been refined. Managers can now be seen wandering the sideline, while the general atmosphere of a big-match day has been faithfully recreated. Gameplay, shooting movement and reactions are also improved and control is no longer totally lost when losing possession of the ball. The game features a return to the classic ‘behind player’ penalty system, and one-on-one situations offer greater control as defenders press and jostle to win the ball, and attackers use upper body feints and movements to bypass and wrong-foot their man.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 also continues KONAMI’s exclusive partnership with UEFA that sees the Pro Evolution Soccer series as the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup licenses. In addition, KONAMI also has the Copa Santander Libertadores license. Attention to detail within these key tournaments has been extended to the match officials, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will see referees and their assistants dressed in the official kits ofthe competitions.

Konami and Gaijin Entertainment are looking to aim high in 2012, with the announcement of Birds of Steel, a new combat flight sim focusing on the air battles of World War II.  Birds of Steel is shooting for a mix between hardcore flight sim and pick up and play fun, which can be a tough nut to crack.

Birds of Steel will focus on 20 historical battles from World War II, as well as many more fictional missions that will add more points of action for the game.  It will also feature a dynamic online campaign, which one would assume means that battle lines will constant be moving and the battles will be persistant in the online space.

Gaijin is also looking to model over 100 aircraft from the period, and from the early screens and attached trailer, the detail in the craft is amazing, right down to the teathers that connect the rear rudder to the fuselage.

Check the jump for a lot more screens and the aforementioned trailer.  Birds of Steel is set to come to Xbox 360 and PS3 some time in 2012 from Gaijin Entertainment and Konami.

That would be NeverDead, a demon-slaying action game coming this fall for PS3 and 360. Today Konami has offered up a bevy of screenshots for your human sacrifice, I MEAN, perusal.

In addition to the statue head thing, I like how the screens show a scene from about two o’clock in the afternoon. Not all demon battles have to take place inside decaying hellholes at midnight, you know.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today unveiled new screenshots and key art for its all-new original IP, NeverDead for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, slated to launch in fall 2011. The images reveal the explosive action and combat as the game’s hero and his female companion, Arcadia, take on the horrific, otherworld demons of the future.

NeverDead takes place in the not-too-distant future when the world is threatened by a demonic plague set to blanket the globe. An immortal hero, created by the demons themselves, is forced to use his regenerative powers that allow him to reassemble his own body to evade death and save the world. Gamers will have an arsenal of guns at their disposal, as well as a butterfly design-inspired sword ready to decimate waves of ungodly enemies. NeverDead will feature third-person action gameplay set in a fantasy and horror-influenced universe where supernatural battles between humans and extraordinary creatures dominate a vast city landscape.

Sorry about the unclear headline, those of you who came here expecting to use alabaster baby heads as a weapon against demons.

The press release, which you’ll find below, describes a game that sounds pretty similar to what Level-5′s been doing with the Professor Layton games. That’s been a winning formula for Nintendo and Level-5, so it will be interesting to see if Lautrec is dismissed as a clone of Layton or if it brings enough new to the design to stand out on its own.

Source: Konami

KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. ANNOUNCES

DOCTOR LAUTREC AND THE FORGOTTEN KNIGHTS

FOR NINTENDO 3DS™

All New Puzzle Adventure Game Ushers in a New Wave of Gameplay on the Revolutionary Nintendo 3DS

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Feb. 16, 2011 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights, a new puzzle-based adventure game set for the new Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights takes place in 19th century Paris and revolves around a wily and aloof archaeologist named Jean-Pierre Lautrec. His love of history and unorthodox attitude keep him busy as a spelunker, searching for “living treasures” throughout Paris’ underground. Upon stumbling on an old and mysterious map, Dr. Lautrec and his assistant, Sophie, traverse the peaks and valleys of old world Paris in search of hidden treasures and jewels that are believed to be those of Louis XIV, one of the most storied dynasties ever to rule.

Players steer Lautrec through the game using reasoning, logic and a keen eye to decipher riddles, solve object-related puzzles and work out the puzzle at the very heart of the map. Thanks to the power of the Nintendo 3DS, the game makes full use of the system’s added dimension to add 3D solutions to key puzzles, including the ability to scrutinize located objects from all directions, or zoom in to highlight a piece of scenery that matches something on the map. Similarly, the linking scenes are also viewed in stunning 3D, with the cartoon links brought to vivid life.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights offers hours of puzzles and exploration with a rich cast of supporting characters on hand to both assist and hinder Lautrec’s quest. As the Doctor and Sophie search for clues, rival Professors will attempt to sabotage his mission, while an elegant scholar is revealed to be a member of a notorious crime gang. And, even then, that’s just the start of the many perils that Lautrec and Sophie find themselves facing…

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights is scheduled to be released for Nintendo 3DS in Summer 2011. Look for more information soon at www.konami.com/doctorlautrec

About Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.’s titles include the popular franchises Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami can be found at http://www.konami.com.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION.

Nintendo 3DS™ is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2011 Nintendo.

Microsoft has had a lot of success with its XBLA events, like the Summer of Arcade.  Now expanded into the winder season, and the fall, we now have a new event starting in February 2011 called House Party.  As with prior events, House Party will have a line up of five big titles, each coming with avatar extras that can be downloaded to celebrate the release of each title.  What did catch me by surprise is that this is the first event Microsoft has had in awhile that will have 800 point titles in it, and not just 1200 point titles.  Check out the release list of what is on tap in the House Party:

• Hard Corps: Uprising (Konami) – 1200 MS Points – February 16th, 2011
• Bejeweled Blitz Live (Popcap Games) – 800 MS Points – February 23rd, 2011
• Beyond Good and Evil HD (Ubisoft) – 800 MS Points – March 2nd, 2011
• Torchlight (Runic Games) – 1200 MS Points - March 9th, 2011
• Full House Poker (Microsoft) – 800 MS Points – March 16th, 2011

Hit the jump for more info on each title.

Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party Launches Next Week, Release Dates and Prices

When: February 16 – March 16

Where: Your living room

What: Xbox LIVE is proud to present the biggest bash of the season: The second annual Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party! Starting February 16, a new hit downloadable game will launch on Xbox LIVE Arcade every Wednesday. See below for full release details for this season’s line-up, and don’t forget dress your Avatar in apparel and props tailored to each game – all available on February 16 to celebrate launch!

Xbox LIVE Arcade is home to some of the most innovative and fun downloadable games at a great value on Xbox 360. Whether you’re sitting on the same couch, or on the other side of the globe… invite your friends because this is a party you don’t want to miss!

“Hard Corps: Uprising”

(KONAMI)

February 16 | 1200 Microsoft Points

Thrilling retro run-and-gun action is back with a vengeance in “Hard Corps: Uprising” on Xbox LIVE, a new 2D side scroller developed by ARC System Works that pays homage to the classic Konami action series. Play as the soldier Bahamut as he begins to write his legend in this prequel to “Contra: Hard Corps.”

“Bejeweled® Blitz Live”

(PopCap Games)

February 23 | 800 Microsoft Points

Take on friends in the brilliant gem-matching action of Bejeweled® Blitz Live! Choose your favorite playing style – Classic or Twist – and rocket up the leaderboards! Battle your way to the top in the all-new 16-player Party mode over Xbox LIVE.

“Beyond Good & Evil”

(Ubisoft)

March 2 | 800 Microsoft Points

Now you can experience the thrill of the fan-favorite “Beyond Good & Evil HD®” on Xbox LIVE in full HD. Enter the futuristic world of year 2435, a world full of deception, where nothing is as it seems and exposing the truth is the only hope of restoring freedom. Play as action-reporter Jade and capture the truth using stealth, force, and wits against a government that deceived you in this action-adventure game with elements of puzzle-solving and stealth-based games.

“Torchlight”

(Runic/Microsoft Game Studios)

March 9 | 1200 Microsoft Points

A highly-regarded PC game with over 800,000 units sold to date, “Torchlight” is now coming to Xbox LIVE! Combat is more exciting with revamped controls and mechanics, new armor and quests! There’s even an exclusive new pet for your character. Send a select goodie or two to your friends on Xbox LIVE to share the fun for the first time.

“Full House Poker”

(Microsoft Game Studios — Xbox/Krome Studios — Windows Phone 7)

March 16 | 800 Microsoft Points

Bet your way to fame by playing “Texas Hold ’Em” anytime, anywhere in “Full House Poker.” Compete against your Xbox LIVE friends on Xbox 360 and build your bank roll on the go with a companion game on Windows Phone 7. Play a quick two-player game for some lightning action, join a big 30-player tournament, or play a round of Texas Heat, our live poker game show where you play with thousands of players worldwide and have 30 minutes to bluff, bet, and raise your way to the final table!

This is the current release schedule for House Party titles. As with everything game release related, dates and prices are subject to change.

X-Men was a coin-op brawler in the 1990s that many of us aging gamers were raised on. Along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, it completed a trilogy of excellent entries in this genre that were never quite represented properly, if at all, on the home consoles of the day. Now, our consoles are mighty, and the time has come for X-Men to appear again.

This is a side-scrolling beat-em-up where you choose from six different characters in the Marvel universe: Cyclops, Storm, Dazzler, Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler. Then you fight your way through a short campaign using a combination of melee and special attacks, beating up faceless but familiar crowds and then taking down a small assortment of famous bosses and finally Magneto.

How does it play?

What impressed me about Backbone’s port is how much content they included, and how many options there are here. You can choose from the North American or Japanese ROM of the game to play, and the two have some significant differences, all of which are detailed in clever comic book-style instructions within the game. For example, in the Japanese version, there are item drops from defeated enemies. You can also choose which of the cabinet configurations you want to play.

The controls are pretty simple by modern standards, of course. You can move around using the left stick or directionals, there are two face buttons for the melee attack, a jump button, and a special attack button. Special attacks are limited. Depending on what ROM you’re using, they might consume your life energy, or orbs that can be collected from defeated enemies. You can hit start at any time to open a menu which, among other things, lets you swap characters, assuming the other characters aren’t already in use. Duplicate characters aren’t allowed.

Mutliplayer is great. The PSN version supports up to six players simultaneously. I played through three player local and had a lot of fun doing it. There is online multiplayer as well, which is ideal considering the potential for six players marching their way through this adventure. Playing online, the most players who showed up at once was three, but your mileage may vary. Online play is drop in drop out, which works very well for this type of game.

How does it look and sound?

The graphics are old, there’s no getting around that. However, they hold up surprisingly well. This was great art for its time, and it still looks just fine today, even on our huge modern televisions.

The voice acting is horrendous (Welcome to die!), just as it is in Captain America and the Avengers (You will be the one escaping!), but it would be a crime to edit such classic pieces of accidental comedy out of this game. In fact, there is a trophy called “Welcome to die” in this game, which I enjoyed.

The music is generic and forgettable, but you’re unlikely to even notice it while playing over the sound effects.

How’s the replay value?

There is a great deal of fun to be had in this game. Without the pressure of having to dump tons of quarters into your local arcade (remember when you had one of those?) you can work your way casually through what remains a challenging game without feeling like you’ll never make it through. It won’t take you long to make it through the game, but I played through several times with friends, playing the North American and Japanese ROMs with different numbers of players, and am looking forward to doing it again.

Is it worth it?

X-Men is every bit as fun and exciting as I remember it. If you don’t remember it because you’re too young, it’s possible you won’t enjoy the game as much as I did. If not, that’s your loss. Buy it anyway, and maybe we’ll get The Simpsons on PSN someday.

Four out of five.

Konami’s been rolling out new levels for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair pretty regularly, and now that’s finally kind of rolled to a stop. The last little add-on, called Getsu Fuma Den, is a bit of a departure. Getsu Fuma Den was a Famicom game from 1987 that was never released outside of Japan, and this new level is based on that game.

So, yeah. It’s kind of different.

Source: Konami

There was a time when the release of screens would send fan communities off into drooling, anally-retentive messes where they deconstruct environments, obsess over character clothing and complain that the second L in the logo isn’t as frightening as the first.

PREPARE YOURSELF, INTERNET. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES.

Konami have released a buttload of new screens of the upcoming Silent Hill Downpour, the latest installment of it’s established survival horror series, Silent Hill. These come hot on the heels of the confirmation of the game’s title and are the very first screens released outside of the Game Informer exclusive.

And as a veteran of the series (and a dedicated fan with seemingly too much time on her hands) I have to say … it looks good, people …

Check out all the screens on the other side of the jump.

How do they look to you? Room for improvement, or exactly what you’re looking for? Any surprises sitting in the images?

Source: Konami

It’s only been a few days since the last one came out, but Konami just dropped another DLC pack for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, called Lord of the Flies. This one features Beelzebub, a boss from Symphony of the Night. Like the other packs, this one’s 320 Microsoft points.

Koji Igarashi delivers an above ground section that draws inspiration from Symphony of the Night, which will take players on a treacherous mission into a castle to fight Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies.

Source: Konami

While I had serious issues with Harmony of Despair, both with its functionality and its design, many others did not. If you’re the latter, you might be excited to learn that Konami has released another DLC pack for the game that adds another stage called The One Who Is Many. For 320 Microsoft Points, you’ll get one more stage to play which features as its boss Legion, everyone’s favorite teeming mass of undead bodies.

Source: Konami

Read on for the press release.

KONAMI ANNOUNCES NEW DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FOR CASTLEVANIA HARMONY OF DESPAIR

New Legion Stage Pack is Revealed as Legendary Game Designer Koji Igarashi Continues to Provide Exciting New Levels for Players to Enjoy

KONAMI today announced new downloadable content for Castlevania Harmony of Despair, which is now available to download exclusively for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. In the new stage pack, which is called “Extra Stage: The One Who is Many”, players will encounter some new enemies as they try to overcome the level on their own or with the help of friends using online cooperative play.

Castlevania Harmony of Despair Legion Stage Pack is now available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 320 Microsoft Points. For more information please visit www.konami.com