The Castlevania series has gone through multiple changes over the many years of its existence. It started off as a traditional side-scroller back in the days of 8-bit and 16-bit greatness. Then, after a poor attempt to jump into the third dimension, they adopted a free-roaming 2D gameplay style, similar to the Metroid series - with some RPG elements added in.

As a result, RPG elements have now become the standard for most newer games, and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair further added to this by introducing multiplayer. However, it has remained an exclusive title on XBLA, but PS3 owners will be happy to hear that the title is heading their way soon.

The title will be going for approximately $15.00, but PSN users will have a pretty sweet deal from the looks of things. Perhaps as a way of apologizing for the wait, the PSN version of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair will have both Julius Belmont and Yoko Belnades as playable characters from the start - whereas they were downloadable content in the Xbox 360 version. Also, the Pyramid of Ruin level will be available at purchase as well.

To further add to the deal, in addition to the already usable six-player online co-op, PS3 users will have four-player local co-op included in their version of the game. This is certainly an interesting inclusion to the re-release, and it does set it apart from its Xbox counterpart. Whether or not it's enough to get some multi-console owners to give the game another look remains to be seen.

The only negative part of the news is that no official release date was given for the title, beyond "sometime this summer." It would probably be safe to assume that the title will release on the one-year anniversary of the Xbox equivalent's debut, around August 4th, but Konami has yet to unveil the full details.

Will you be purchasing the game whenever it releases? Is the promise of four-player local co-op enough to cause you to finally pick the game up?