A little less than two months to go before the sequel to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow hits the Nintendo DS. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is a promising follow-up that removes gimmicky touch-screen elements in favor of a hardcore Castlevania experience on the dual-screen handheld. We've already had tons of hands-on play with versions in the past, but Konami stopped by the office so we could check out the multiplayer component that can be experienced both locally and over the internet.
There are two different "connectivity" modes: a cooperative Boss Rush mode as well as a Shop players can set up to sell item for a decent profit. The shop is exactly what it sound like it is: a player chooses a set amount of items from his or her inventory and sells it for the in-game value to prevent cheating (you know, give a buddy a super rare item for a single penny? Not going to happen). When players sell their item to a friend, the item doesn't leave their inventory...they're selling a "copy" of it to the other player. This is good for players that might not have an item that the other player managed to secure deeper in the game. While in the other players' store, they're visually represented by their choice of Castlevania creature on the other person's screen.