I always say when someone shows hard work and passion for their craft, that very same hard work and passion deserves to be noticed. In this month's column of Press Start I will be going over a few games that I feel deserve some serious acclamation for just the raw passion that the developers have placed in these games.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for Nintendo DS. Publisher and developer: Konami; Release Date: Dec. 5, 2006; ESRB Rating: T for teen; Genre: Action, Adventure; Players: 1-2; Support: N/A; Online: online co-op multiplayer

Vampires... I Hate These Guys
Anyone in the game industry or anyone who has even played videogames in the past 20 years knows exactly what to expect when they hear the word Castlevania. Some of us still remember the level-by-level gameplay and pixelated graphics of the first ever Castlevania on the NES but most of us relate the Castlevania franchise to its current flow of games that consist of a variety of weapons, "oodles" of magic and nonlinear gameplay. That's exactly what Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS offers and more!

As with the other Castlevania titles, Portrait of Ruin offers some beautiful 2D graphics and animation. All Castlvania: Portrait of Ruin images © Konami Digital Ent. GmbH.

The basic premise is this; whenever the world is on the brink of falling into absolute darkness, Dracula's castle appears out of thin air to put the final nail in the world's coffin. It's 1944, right at the most critical moment of World War II and, sure enough, there's Dracula's castle. The only problem is that someone already killed Dracula years ago so you think, "What the hell's going on?" Well folks, the castle is under new management by a vampire named Brauner. Apparently Brauner and his two vampire daughters, Stella and Loretta, are trying to resurrect Dracula in hopes of wreaking just a little bit more havoc on the world.

Now on to the good guys. First is Jonathan Morris, a hunter wielding the legendary "Vampire Killer" whip (the very same whip that first destroyed Dracula) and then Charlotte Aulin (a student of magic). They intend to stop whatever evil is in that castle before it gets out.

Whip It
Portrait of Ruin has some beautiful 2D graphics and animation. That of course is commonplace in almost any Castlevania title. If you have played the previous Castlevania title on the Nintendo DS (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow) you will recognize the similar anime-esque opening movie, which, by the way, is just an outstanding sight to see on the DS. Throughout the game you will come across other characters in the story, the game will show a still image of the character that is talking accompanied by a textbox displaying what the character is saying. The still images also retain that anime style.

Two things differentiate Portrait of Ruin from other Castlevania titles: players can switch between characters any time and there is the ability to play online.

As you explore through the castle, your map will expand and record each area you have visited. When you play through this game you will notice that the castle is enormous, but the game's size does not just end in the castle. Players will find the source of the castle's power emanates from a collection of magic portraits that hang throughout its many rooms. When you find these portraits, they open up a whole new level within the painting itself, containing a whole new set of monsters and environments based on the outside appearance of the portrait. At the end of each portrait level is a boss who you must destroy in order to drain the magic from the portrait.

Fighting off bad guys is really fun and it seems as though the developers have chosen to use the same game engine used in previous Castlevania titles, such as Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow. The main form of offense is your primary weapon. New and more powerful weapons can be either found or bought through the game. There is also a secondary weapon that is often times more powerful then the primary weapon, but depletes magic power when used.

There are two things about Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin that make it different from any other Castlevania. The first is that the player has the option to switch between Jonathan and Charlotte at any time during the game. The developers pulled this off very nicely. Switching between the characters is not only easy, but intuitive. Both characters can be onscreen at once and it's not confusing at all. In an added extra both characters can perform a team up super move that not only devastates any and all characters on the screen, they look amazing as well.

The second unique aspect of Portrait of Ruin is the ability to play online for the first time ever in any Castlevania game. Players can connect with other players online to play cooperatively through a "rush" mode that pits you up against various bosses.