Konami have today revealed the latest title from veteran designer - creator of the series. Boktai: The Sun is in your Hand, claims to be the world's first 'solar sensitive' GBA title, and the design mastermind is on hand at to demonstrate it's uniqueness. At first glance, Boktai is a third-person action/adventure title, in which the player assumes the role of Django - a young hero on a mission to rid his vilage of an evil vampire invasion. But of course. It is however, the solar sensor component in the game's cartridge that will set the game apart from other similarly plotted forays - for to defeat the vile hordes you must actually use real sunlight! Which is a rather odd, though undisputably original concept. Here's something official:

The idea of a light-sensitive game comes from Hideo Kojima's desire to combine the natural and gaming worlds in some way. As such, Boktai's solar sensor encourages the user to play the game outside to stand a better chance of defeating its vampire adversaries. It also ties in beautifully with the fatal effect of light on the vampires, with exposing the sensor to direct sunlight infusing rooms within the game with deadly light, thus killing anything it touches. As such, the player can form strategies wherein they can lure adversaries under holes in the roof and then expose the sensor to sunlight and thus the enemy – reducing them to ashes! The use of sunlight is also key to destroying the Master Vampires that dominate each stage. Django must first locate the coffins of the beast and store enough sunlight to power the different weapons he can add to his inventory. A battle will ensue with Django using the stored light to force the vampire overlords into their coffins, which he must then drag outside where a special sun-powered weapon can be found. This must then be powered with more light in order to ultimately destroy the vampire leaders.
It's safe to say then that Boktai is hardly designed with Scandanavian gamers in mind. The game will be released in spring 2004 on the GBA, and publisher are of course quick to point out that the solar element is far more than just a gimmick: forming an integral part of the gameplay. We shall see.

By Luke Guttridge