Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia details and screenshots released

19 May 2008 10:46 GMT / By Verity Burns

New details about the recently-announced Castlevania game for DS have been released.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is the third in the series for the DS, following on from the rather cheerily-named, Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.

This instalment will see players taking control of a member of Ecclesia, an organisation sworn to defeat Dracula, rather than a Belmont as in previous games.

There is a whole bunch of new attack moves, based around a Glyph attack system. This means players will be able to use around 100 different attack combinations in their attempts to beat the Dracula's minions.

There are new game environments too, with players now being able to venture outside Dracula's castle to any of 20 explorable areas, ranging from forests to oceans. From the screenshots, it definitely looks like the best one in the DS series yet, graphically at least. We're suckers for pretty-looking games.

The final information released about the game relates to its multiplayer options, which make use of Wi-Fi and allow players to both compete head-to-head, or help each other out and trade items and equipment they've found while exploring.

Stick to the game's single-player option though, and you've got a chance for multiple endings, which are unlocked depending how you play the game.

"We have always felt that the Castlevania franchise has been an excellent fit on Nintendo DS", said Anthony Crouts, vice president of marketing for Konami.

"We fully expect Order of Ecclesia to ignite the fan base once again as it combines the classic Castlevania gameplay with an all-new combat system and outdoor environments."

No release date as yet, but we'll keep you posted.