It's true that Death Jr. 2: Root of Evil for PSP and DS haven't had much of the limelight recently, but with the Leipzig Games Conference 2006 in full swing, developers Konami Digital Entertainment have rustled up some new information for all the Death Jr. fans out there. As we previously reported, both the PSP and DS version of the game centers on the adventures of DJ - just your average, everyday kid who happens to be the son of the Grim Reaper.

DJ is supported by a group of outcasts. He's is constantly getting into scrapes and must unleash some furious scythe and gun action to get out of them. In Death, Jr. 2: Root of Evil for PSP, DJ and his friends are charged with stopping a powerful spirit. Players now have the option to control either DJ or his goth friend Pandora, and as a new feature for this Death Jr game, team up using the handheld’s wireless systems for cooperative play in an all-new story that takes them into a conflict against an army of evil toys, robotic llamas, mutant security guards, and an evil waffle restaurant. Sounds like your everyday life? I hope not.

Both characters have individual moves and weaponry as they explore open-ended levels such as a Toy Graveyard, an abandoned Military Base, a saw mill, and the River Styx. This means you can use different characters for different situations, giving you a huge advantage playing co-operatively via Wi-Fi.

Backbone Entertainment and Seven Seas Entertainment will be producing an original manga that will be based on the popular PSP game Death, Jr.

Death, Jr. games were originally released only for the PSP, but a Nintendo DS version of this game titled Death, Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom is going to be released soon. Also announced is the upcoming sequel of the game for the PSP, Death, Jr. 2: Root of Evil.

The manga version of this popular game, 'Death, Jr.: Pandora', will be focusing on, well, Death, Jr.'s girlfriend Pandora. The story will be following Pandora's futuristic quest to save the future DJ from an enemy in the form of a snake-haired foreign exchange student.

Why futuristic? Pandora is actually in the future as she has uncovered a mysterious portal that sends her to her future and into her future teen body.

Blade Barter's Hai will be writing and drawing the entire shoujo manga spin on Death, Jr. This will be presented in black and white, digest-sized and with 192 pages. Death, Jr.: Pandora is scheduled for a 2007 release.

 
 

Death Jr. and The Science Fair of Doom was announced at E3 this year by Konami although news of its creation had been haunting the web since April. The first Death Jr. was for the PSP and this game looks to be a spin off of the series. In this title you will have two playable characters, Death Jr and Pandora. While more information about the game is not available right now a leaked release date might point to a October 11th launch. Go ahead and check out the early thumbnails below and let us know what you think about Death Jr. and his pals crashing the DS.

 

1up.com has reported that retailers have reported receiving an extensive list of release dates for a number of upcoming games from Konami. Most of the games aren't even announced yet but looking at the list you will see it is good news for all the current systems including Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and PSP.

• DDR Supernova - 9/13/06 - PS2
• DDR Universe - 10/11/06 - Xbox 360
• DDR Ultramix 4 - 11/14/06 - Xbox
• Karaoke Revolution: American Idol - 11/15/06 - PS2
• Bomberman Act Zero - 7/12/06 - Xbox 360 and PSP
• Silent Hill Original Sin - 10/18/06 - PSP
• Death Jr. 2 - 10/18/06 - PSP
• Death Jr.: Science Fair of Doom- 10/11/06 - Nintendo DS
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin DS - 11/15/06 - Nintendo DS

Just look at the list, we have new Death Jr. games coming out, Bomberman Act Zero for the 360 in July, and a brand new Castlevania title for those of you who have destroyed Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

It looks like this fall is going to be a fun time for gamers, so you should start saving up your cash now and the crazy thing is this is only the list of Konami's games, so makes you wonder how much more money we'll have to spend to play all the good games that come out this year.

GameStop has Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom listed as a game for the Nintendo DS. This wouldn't be news if it weren't for the fact that Death Jr. was a big-name exclusive for the PSP last year and hyped up to a huge level. When it came out, it received mediocre reviews as well as mediocre sales. Some believe that the Tim Burton-esque humour wasn't suited for the PSP. However, this move (if not a mistake) is a bit surprising for Konami because unlike the Gamecube and PlayStation 2, the PSP isn't that far behind in sales to the DS.