RAGE!

So Castlevania DS gets the name, "Dawn of Sorrow," and an official release sometime this fall. The latest addition to the long line of Castlevania games looks to be a good one, with some innovative and interesting uses for the DS's touchpad.

The demo was essentially the first stage of the game, with some nice dialogue sequences and character cameos tying Dawn of Sorrow with the previous Castlevania title, Aria of Sorrow. The look was classic Castlevania, with some pretty responsive but also complex controls. There was more than one button for attacking, and special moves often require a sequence of timed button presses. Menu interaction was also on the complex side, with lots of things to equip and use and no explanation for them. Hopefully that will be taken care of in the instruction manual for the full version of the game. Most of the action takes place on the lower screen on the DS, while you can switch the upper screen to display either the area map, or your current equipment screen.

RAGE!

The first stage was pretty simple, even for someone who hasn't played a Castlevania game in a long time. The biggest part of the whole area was learning how to use "sigils", a magic lock/final attack sort of device which is almost the sole function in the game for the touchpad. When using a 'sigil', a set of dots arranged in a hexagon will appear on the screen, and a line will flash through a pattern connecting some or all of the dots. Players must then use the pen fto trace quickly the pattern the light made across the dots on the touchpad. These patterns range from a simple "V" to some pretty complex designs. Fortunately, one of the menu options allows you to practice drawing any sigil as many times as you like.

Besides being a sort of key to disperse force-fields blocking segments of the map, sigils are also used as a sort of finishing move on bosses. When the boss's HP reaches zero, the sigil appears on the touch screen, and you have to quickly trace it, or else the boss won't die.

So it looks like Castlevania has made a smooth move over to the DS, with some solid gameplay and enough fun-looking features to make Dawn of Sorrow's Fall release one worth waiting for.