It was first spied in Nintendo Power magazine last week, but now Konami has officially announced Castlevania Judgement for the Nintendo Wii - a beat-em-up featuring characters from the popular, long-running franchise.

Taking control of manga characters designed by Takeshi Obata, players will be able to choose whether to fight for good or evil in the Castlevania universe. Using the motion sensing controls of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, Konami promises that players will be able to slash, stab and whip their way through the game, as well as using environmental furniture (or calling on the services of monsters) to secure victory.

What’s more, Castlevania Judgement supports head-to-head play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and the ability to unlock bonus content via connection wth the Nintendo DS’ Castlevania: Order of Ecclessia.

“We wanted to take this addition to the signature Konami franchise in a direction that really sets it apart from the previous Castlevania titles in the series,” said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “The Wii Remote and Nunchuk capabilities, along with the iconic characters, make this game the ideal entry point into the fighting game genre. This combination is certain to thrill old and new fans of the franchise.”

Castlevania Judgement will be released in North America this autumn.