Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - multiplayer hands-on

At this point, there's not a lot left to say about the next classic-in-the-making Castlevania. You'll run, jump and whip a path through a gory, gothic castle while discovering secret areas and new abilities, just like the past four handheld games. This time, however, you've got two vamp hunters to control and a series of haunted paintings that warp you out of the castle into environments most Castlevania games have never seen.

The single-player game may sound familiar, but the Wi-Fi enabled co-op mode is a brand new attraction that's got us stoked about slaying monsters again. No, you can't play the whole adventure with a friend (that would just be a little too cool, apparently), but you do get to run through a teeth-and-fang-filled gauntlet of unholy creatures together - this time from anywhere in the world. Besting this test of skill will net you rare items and of course, bragging rights.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.