Episode Two – Gavin breaks down the best video game soundtracks to get your nerdy partner in the mood.

You can hear more of Gavin on the Geek Nerd Dork Podcast and the brand new GeekNerdDork.com

Don’t forget to say hello to us at Wizard World Toronto this weekend, both the Dork Shelf and Geek Nerd Dork crew will be there all weekend.

Konami to Release Latest Castlevania Installment in North America This Fall

Konami announced today that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be available at retailers nationwide for the 360 and PS3 entertainment systems on October 5, 2010.

This reboot of the Castlevania franchise is being developed by Spain’s Mercury Steam in collaboration with Kojima Productions. Metal Gear Solid‘s Hideo Kojima has been involved with the development, but only in a small role. Lords of Shadow will bring about a radical re-imagining of the popular series with a central tale of love, despair and hope, in a time when the dead walk among the living.

Once again the Belmont family is the focal point of the Castlevania series. You will play as Gabriel Belmont, voiced by acclaimed character actor Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty), the protagonist and part of the legendary Belmont Clan. Lords of Shadow will offer over 50 diverse and challenging levels and players will come up against an army of enemies featuring over 45 different types. The game will also boast over 40 different combo attacks that can be added to Gabriel’s arsenal throughout the course of the game.

Watch the trailer fo Castlevania: Lords of Shadow after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more news and gaming info you can follow me on Twitter @The_GeekJock

Have you ever wanted to play the original Super Mario Bros. as Link, Samus or Simon Belmont? No? Well, then you’re crazy. However, if you’re anything like me, then you have always dreamed of slicing, whipping or blasting your way through the Mushroom Kingdom as one of Nintendo’s many other 8-bit heroes. That’s where Super Mario Bros. Crossover comes in, the new mashup from first time game designer explodingRabbit.

The game is the same as the original Super Mario Bros. complete with its eponymous plumber hero, but adds five characters to the mix. You can also play as Samus Aran from Metroid, Link from The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man from Mega Man, Simon Belmont from Castlevania and Bill from Contra; each character controls like they did in their respective games, complete with special weapons and power-ups. Any fan of the original NES will definitely get a kick out of Super Mario Bros. Crossover.

Play Super Mario Bros. Crossover @ Newgrounds.com

The game has gone viral on the net today, but thanks to Gavin for convincing me to post this.

BloodyDisgusting broke news that James Wan, director of the original Saw film, will be directing the live action Castlevania film. Castlevania is one of Konami‘s longest running video game franchises, dating back to 1986 on the original Nintendo.

The central story thread of Castlevania deals with the Belmont clan, a family of vampire hunters who wage an eternal battle against the forces of Dracula.  I’m a huge fan of the series, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is hands down one of the best games ever made. Although the series is a big seller in North America, Castlevania was created in Japan and has a very Japanese aesthetic.  Wan had this to say about the project,

The thing I love about what Konami did with Castlevania was taking the iconic Dracula mythology and Eastern-European setting, and retelling it with a Japanese pop-cultural sensibility… That’s the East-meets-West tone I want to visually expand on for the film. I’m thrilled by the opportunity to make a highly stylized, fantasy, action film that focuses on the gothic storyline and the cool, anime-like characters.

The film adaptation which previously had Paul W.S. Anderson of Resident Evil fame attached to direct, is due out some time in 2011.  Wan’s most recent feature Death Sentence was highly entertaining.  I really liked the original Saw and actually met Wan at the Midnight Madness screening of the film.  Very cool guy, I’m happy to see Wan in the director’s seat for this; he knows how to do dark and scary and if he can bring in that unique Japanese sensibility the series had then we’re gold.

Had Anderson ended up directing the film, I’m sure it would have starred Milla Jovovich—his wife—as a female vampire hunter and feature plenty of zombies and bad wire work.  I’m right and you know it Anderson!