Castlevania is a series that seems to give co-op with one hand (Castlevania: Harmony of Despair) and takes away with the other (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow).  Reflect on this people as rumors are abound that upcoming 3DS title Castlevania: Mirror of Fate will be 2 player co-op.

Otomedius Excellent is a 3-player co-op shoot-em-up from Konami. Besides carrying on the legacy of the classic Gradius series, the Otomedius games are most noteworthy for their unusual character designs. Rather than serious and masculine fighter pilots, players control a number of anime-style ladies who pilot ships inspired by other Konami titles. Some gamers may look at these flying femmes and exclaim ‘WTF’ letter-by-letter, but that would be missing the point. The girls of Otomedius lend the game a ton of Japanese charm and levity. Each one has her own personality and voice, plus completely different weapon loadouts that instill ample replay value.

Playstation 3 owners have waited quite a while for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, which hit XBLA way back in August last year. Their wait will soon be over, as Konami has just announced that the PSN version is coming in September.

These chicks mean business.

Last month we brought you news about two new DLC's coming to Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.  Today, one of those levels is available on Xbox LIVE.  The new stage pack is called, "Extra Stage: The One Who is Many," and it is available for 320 Microsoft points.  The level is rumored to be based on the catacombs stage from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and the boss is suspected to be everyone's favorite big giant ball of corpses, Legion.  This is the latest DLC for Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, which has received a ton of DLC support, including new characters and levels.  Up to six people can take on Dracula's minions through online co-op, so grab your weapon of choice and get to slayin'.

This boss is pretty much impossible if you play solo.

As the gaming season winds down, we are still kneed deep in our reviews. This month we have several triple A single player titles to look at including two from the James Bond franchise, a new Assasin's Creed and many others. Beyond Co-Op Reviews look at the games that don't necessarily have co-op.

Queue the Jerry Seinfeld voice - "What is the deal with DLC leaks these days?"  

Many were shocked when Konami announced a six player co-op version of Castlevania, called Harmony of Despair. The series was never huge on multiplayer gaming, rarely offering a single partner for your vampire hunting. Can the game hold its own despite sharing content with previous titles?

Konami has just announced a release date for Castlevania Harmony of Despair on Xbox Live Arcade.  The six player co-op game will launch on August 4th and feature online co-op play through a brand new Castlevania story utilizing assets and enemies from all previous games.  The levels themselves are inspired by Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia.

Earthworm Jim has made the leap to HD, looks incredible, and has a few things he'd like to say to the Download co-op crowd. We'll also take a look at the Summer of Arcade lineup, hyping ourselves up for a great upcoming July.

We try not to give our hopes up based on a rumor, but it would appear the new Castlevania: Harmony of Despair will feature full campaign co-op. This is great news for Castlevania fans, and will be the next up on the list of XBLA's Summer of Arcade lineup.

This weeks On The Download will feature plenty of brand new downloadable co-op news, including some hot topics like Halo Reach's Beta, loads of new releases and even a rumor. We're also going to revisit the world of Aces of the Galaxy - one of my favorite recent co-op purchases on the XBLA.

Joystiq is reporting that a "trusted source" confirms the existence of a new Castlevania game coming to the Xbox Live Arcade. Another side-scroller, this one is rumored to allow up to six players fight side-by-side in full co-op and will be called Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.