Konami blew quite a few minds at E3 when they announced that Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima would be involved in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, their upcoming reboot of the Castlevania franchise. It has since come to light that the game is actually being made by Mercury Steam with Konami Europe producing. It wasn't even really a Castlevania game in the beginning. So just what does Kojima's involvement entail, then? The man himself answered that question in a recent Famitsu interview.

After the mostly dismal showing of last year's Castlevania Judgment, Konami is once again trying to take the Castlevania franchise in a new, albeit slightly more familiar, direction with the open-world action title, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

And the build up for E3 2009 continues. The good news is that the pre-E3 dry spell hasn't quite started yet, but we're in the final stretch here, folks. Everybody and their mother -- or grandmother, in the case of Old Grandma Hardcore -- is getting ready for June's big event. That still a week away, though. Now as for this week, we once again saw rumors, denials, confirmations and teases about what we'll be seeing not just at the upcoming annual game expo but for the rest of the year as well. Read on for all the big news that flashed across the QJ front pages the past seven days.

So far, we've seen a teaser image, two countdowns and some letters and numbers that all tease Hideo Kojima's next project. Now here's another one to add to the mix.

Whos' Number 1 for Famitsu for 2008? All was revealed at the Famitsu Awards, and the Monster Hunters still proved to be the favorite as Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G takes the top spot as Game of the Year.

Usually, the trend has been to experience a noticeable dip in the amount of news coming out the week before the GDC. However, this year's pre-event week proved to be a rather different one from those I've experienced in the past. Unexpectedly, but fortunately, there were a great deal of updates. It was a busy one, alright, and thank God you stuck with us throughout the week, making it such a blast!

Kojima's so good at what he does that he only needs one lifetime to get his second lifetime achievement award. Word has just gone out that living legend Hideo Kojima will be given this high distinction at the 2009 Game Developers Choice Awards.

Living legend of video gaming Hideo Kojima has agreed to deliver a keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. Hopefully he'll be able to inspire a new generation of video game devs to keep pushing video game development, the way he always did.

Dammit I have to stop sounding like fanboy when I talk about Kojima.

Hideo Kojima's genius is so huge that he's not only working on one, but two video games at the same time. Word is, one of these games will be made in a "style similar to the way his team has worked in the past." My money's on a new Zone of the Enders game.

Hideo Kojima recently visited the offices of Call of Duty studio, Infinity Ward. This caused a bit of ruckus in the rumor mill, with people taking this as a sign that Kojima's next game really is a first-person shooter. Robert Bowling from Infinity Ward, however, has something to say about that. Details after the link.