Hands on with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Someone seriously needs to find a way to kill Dracula. Garlic, holy water, wooden stakes – the dude takes it all and manages to resurrect year after year in new Castlevania installments.

On the bright side, it means more fantastic Dracula-killing action to go around and that's exactly what Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles will provide for PSP owners. We went hands-on in Konami's booth during E3 to see about finally putting the infamous Prince of Darkness to sleep.

The Dracula X Chronicles outlines the bloodsucker's rise from death in an attempt to spread evil throughout Europe. You play as Richter Belmont, heir to a vampire-killing whip well-worn in his effort to save his fiancé held hostage in Dracula's castle. Belmont's rescue mission takes him into the heart of the Count's lair and, eventually, a face-to-face confrontation with the night-loving villain himself.

Not so much a new game as a remix of a previously released installment of the series, The Dracula X Chronicles nevertheless boasts added features that could trick you into thinking it is new. Based on the Japan-only Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the game follows the same storyline but spruces it up with three-dimensional graphics and new attacks.

In working our way through the first stage, entitled 'Dinner of Flames', we guided Belmont through a burning village and entered Dracula's castle. Although the game bears a slick new three-dimensional presentation, you still play from a side-scrolling perspective. There are ten stages in total, with hidden prime levels that can be accessed by locating secret entrances in the regular stages.

Complete the game in its entirety and you can play it through a second time with unlockable heroine, Maria. Even better, finishing the game opens up a revamped version of the series' most critically acclaimed chapter, Symphony of the Night.

Getting through The Dracula X Chronicles, which is intended to be done in a single gameplay session, isn't an easy task. The game is rather difficult, we discovered, having squared off against all kinds of evil creatures and big bosses.

Belmont can attack enemies with his whip, as well as with secondary items that cost hearts. The alternate weapons are the same as in other iterations of the series, ranging from throwing knives to axes to holy crosses.

New is the ability to spend a large sum of hearts and execute 'item crushes'. These special attacks boost the power of your currently equipped secondary weapon. For instance, triggering an item crush with the axe equipped unleashes an outward-moving circle of blades over the entire screen. When wielding the holy cross, we were equally satisfied to witness massive crosses fill the LCD during that weapon's item crush.

Even though The Dracula X Chronicles is a remake, it's shaping up to be rather special. The new glorious visuals and item crush attack give it a much welcome freshness. Additionally, packing in Symphony of the Night is more than great value, it's flat out fantastic. If you can face the game's difficulty, this should be one to watch out for this autumn.