Konami today announced plans to bring the latest installment in the Castlevania franchise, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, to the Xbox. The game had been previously announced for the PlayStation 2. Both games will be released this coming fall.

Konami promises that Curse of Darkness will take the series in a fresh new direction, complete with new heroes and villains. Players will take control of Hector, a Devil Forgemaster and former lieutenant of Dracula. Hector was lured back to the vampire's castle to avenge the death of his girlfriend and uncover one of those sinister plots with intricate webs of deception and such.

In addition to a new story, Curse of Darkness will also introduce new gameplay to the series in the form of devil forgery, an ability that allows gamers to call upon more than 30 allies with unique abilities to help them progress through the game. One such ally can help Hector open heavy doors, while another gives him the ability to fly. Konami has also said that Curse of Darkness will be heavy on role-playing and adventure game elements. Players will earn experience points to increase their stats throughout the game, and there should be more in the way of unlockable features than in the previous PS2 title, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.

Today, Konami also gave more details on the upcoming Nintendo DS entry in the series, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. GameSpot got its hands on both titles. For more information, sink your teeth into GameSpot's E3 2005 Hands-On features on both Curse of Darkness and Dawn of Sorrow.