Written by Kyle Williams  on May 12, 2004

E3 2004: Konami Press Conference:

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Los Angeles Public Library, Mark Taper Auditorium

Konami, the venerable developer and publisher, held their 2004 press conference for a select few members of the press yesterday.

Among the titles that are destined for release this year are sequels to past hits and new franchises that carry a lot of promise. Some of the games that received a brief preview in a video montage are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Gradius V, Phantom Crash 2050, Ys, Suikoden IV and two new Dance Dance Revolution titles.

Of course, a press conference is made up of more than just a brief mixture of coming titles and Konami started things off by unveiling Enthusia Professional Racing. Sure to draw comparisons to Sony's venerable Gran Turismo series, Enthusia is striving to be the most realistic racing title available. Filled with licensed cars from more than 40 manufacturers, Enthusia is introducing a new VGS meter that monitors the number of Gs being applied to your car and where. Enthusia will also take advantage of the PS2's pressure sensitive buttons for the brake and gas pedals.

Konami is also continuing the success that they've enjoyed with their Yu-Gi-Oh license by lining up five new titles. June will see two releases; Reshef of Destruction for the GBA and Joey the Passion for the PC. October will see two more; Capsule Monster Coliseum and Destiny Board Traveller. However, the real stunner was gameplay footage of a new Nintendo DS title, Nightmare Troubledour. Taking heavy advantage of the DS touchpad capability, Troubledour will be shooting to redefine handheld gaming, bringing card battle action to both of the DS's tiny screens.

An interesting entry in Konami's lineup for this year is Rumble Roses. An all female wrestling game, Rumble Roses is sure to draw some attention, not necessarily all good. Looking like it is hoping to fit in a similar niche as Namco's Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Vollyball, Rumble Roses is filled with stunning player models and bizarrely accurate "body" physics. However, Konami knows that graphics alone do not a game make and are shooting to make the wrestling engine accessible to a wide variety of players by speeding up the action. Drawing hilarious comments from MC Sue Murphy, Rumble Roses is also prompting Bikini Battles to be held at the Konami Booth throughout E3 (daily at 3:15pm if you are interested). Oh yeah, did I mention that there would be mud-wrestling matches?

Hideo Kojima made an appearance at the press conference to talk about his Boktai 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3. Boktai 2 will continue the story and solar driven gameplay of the original will expand the types of weapons available to players. As exciting as Boktai 2 looks, MGS3 really put it into the shadows. Continuing the idea of what we would like to pass on to the next generation, MGS 3 is moving the gameplay emphasis to survival. Using camouflage, food capturing and close quarters combat, players will be able to take the game to the next level. The crowd was awed by new gameplay footage as well as the rough cut of the introduction credits, which are an homage to the James Bond films of the 1960s and is being crafted by Hollywood veteran Kyle Cooper.

Another classic Konami franchise being brought into three dimensions is Contra. Neo Contra, slated for release later this year is aiming to keep all of the hectic run-and-gun gameplay of the original titles flowing in this transition to three dimensions. Video footage of the gameplay looked successful in this transition and gave us a hint of vehicle and mounted combat. A new addition to the Neo Contra team is ultra-hot comic artist Jim Lee (check out his upcoming stint on Superman) whose artistic style is going to grace the game's main visuals.

In an attempt to outdo themselves, Konami also showed off some footage of Silent Hill 4: The Room. This horror franchise looks more creepy than ever and is adopting a first person perspective in an attempt to draw people even further into the SH experience. Creepy? Yes. Wet your pants creepy? If you play this game alone in the dark, probably.

Last, but certainly not least, Konami brought in Shannon Elizabeth, star of film and TV, to promote the latest volume of Karaoke Revolution. With fun-filled performances of No Doubt's "It's My Life," Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" and the classic "I will Survive" by Ms. Elizabeth, the room really got excited. Of course, maybe some of that is from the fact that this was a room full of guys and this was the closest they will ever get to Shannon. Either way, Konami knows how to get things hopping.

With one of the strongest lineups that they have ever promoted, Konami is set to break loose in 2004. Classic franchises and stunning new titles should help keep Konami at the top of the pile of third-party publishers.