Devil Kings, DS Mega Man, Final Fight: Streetwise revealed

LOS ANGELES--This morning at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Capcom kicked off the preshow happenings with its own press event. Many of the games shown by the publisher--including Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Beatdown: Fists of Vengeance, and Killer 7--were already known to exist, but several titles were revealed to the public for the first time.

First up was an all-new intellectual property called Devil Kings. Exclusive to the PlayStation 2, the game is described by Capcom as "a fast-paced action game that pit players as one of various heroes in a land of warring nations." Players will be able to choose from a roster of "heroic warriors" all with their own individual fighting styles and powers, including magic attacks. Players will "lead their hero into a succession of hostile confrontations against an onslaught of opponents" in order to unify a shattered kingdom. Devil Kings is set for release in 2006.

The second new game Capcom announced will bring back one of the oldest names in fighting games. Final Fight: Streetwise will be the first Final Fight game released since the original Final Fight was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Set for release on both the PS2 and Xbox "this winter," it is also the first FF game to be release for a console since Final Fight Revenge hit the Sega Saturn in 2000.

Like its predecessors, Final Fight: Streetwise is set in Metro City, which is now a sprawling, lawless metropolis which will allow for Grand Theft Auto-style free roaming. Players will play as the "streetwise underground pit fighter" Kyle Travers, brother of the original Final Fight series' Cody Travers.

Kyle will put the smack down on an array of evildoers, ranging from low-level hoods to high-profile drug kingpins, eventually reaching "a sinister underground boss" responsible for a designer drug epidemic. By winning fights, players will gain experience-like "respect" points to "attain powerful new fighting skills, hardcore weapons, critical information and a wide variety of NPC (non-playable character) support." GameSpot's first look has more on Final Fight: Streetwise.

Last but not least was the announcement of Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team for the Nintendo DS, the first Mega-Man game for the dual-screen handheld. A combined port of the forthcoming Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Protoman and Team Colonel for the Game Boy Advance, it will feature Capcom's ubiquitous blue hero as he battles an "evil organization [that] is attempting to take complete control over the global Internet." It is set for release this fall.