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The Behemoth finally has enough clout to get away with Game 4
The Behemoth, better known as the house that made Castle Crashers, is continuing a pattern in which it approaches new genres with each project. Its newest venture, Game 4, is a turn-based strategy game for PC and Xbox One that retains the developer's quirky humor and trademark charms while stripping away some of the expected tropes found in the genre. In it, players collect a team of interchangeable, oddball heroes wielding the strangest weapons and helmets, then select their movement paths on the battlefield and observe as attacks play out. It's an intriguing direction for a studio that made its biggest mark with a beat-em-up.
Seen@PAX: The Behemoth's arcade
Above is the massive control panel that powers The Behemoth's untitled fourth game, currently codenamed "Game 4." After organizing their troops across a hex-based field, players confirm their selections with a tantalizing glowing green button, and send out orders by pulling an unusually shaped lever at their side, slot machine-style. After completing the PAX Prime demo, the screen instructs players to fill out a nearby comment card to rate the experience. This isn't the only throwback hardware The Behemoth has on display at PAX, though. Hit the break below to get a look at some unique arcade cabinets created for Alien Hominid, Battleblock Theater, and Castle Crashers.
Castle Crashers dev teases its next game with Earth-shattering bear
The Behemoth, developer of Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater, is teasing the impending announcement of its next game. Labeled "Game 4" for the time being, its trailer shows an enormous six-legged bear crashing into the Earth as a narrator describes the apocalyptic event that happened as a result. Of course, the narrator couldn't imagine the planet in any state other than in a storm-riddled chaotic mess. The Behemoth revealed that Game 4 is in development for Xbox One in April. The developer began working on the game's concepts just before launching Battleblock Theater in April 2013. It said the game is "of a genre we haven't covered before and seek to breathe a new flavor into," and that a "lone survivor" prototype emerged during its beginning phases before noting that it may have hinted at its genre in the teaser video. The Behemoth plans on offering a playable demo of Game 4 at PAX Prime in Seattle, which begins next Friday, August 29. [Image: The Behemoth]
Battleblock Theater bundled with Castle Crashers for Steam launch
The Behemoth launched party platformer Battleblock Theater on Steam today, and is offering some special discounts and bundles to celebrate. For starters, those that don't already own Battleblock Theater and the developer's popular beat-em-up Castle Crashers on Steam can download both games for $22.49, or receive Battleblock Theater on the cheap with a loyalty discount for already owning Castle Crashers. If that isn't enough savings for you, Battleblock Theater is 10 percent off ($13.49) its standard $15 price tag for its first week on Steam. Those that own both games also have access to special unlockable content thanks to the "Can't Stop Crying Pack." The Castle Crashers knight opens up to Battleblock Theater players, whereas the latter game's character Hatty joins the pillaging crew in the beat-em-up game, bringing a golden whale orb and gem sword for the ride. Each discount is good until Thursday, May 22. [Image: The Behemoth]
Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater $5 each on XBLA this week
The Behemoth is hosting a catalog sale on Xbox Live Arcade this week, discounting the studio's downloadable Xbox 360 hits Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater to just $4.94 apiece. Castle Crashers, originally released back in 2008, is an arcade-style beat-'em-up in which up to four players band together to slay armies of barbarians, demons, and dragons. The more recent BattleBlock Theater puts a teamwork-oriented spin on the platforming genre, challenging players to work together as they clear dozens of included co-op levels. As a bonus, players who purchase both featured games will unlock Hatty Hattington in Castle Crashers and the Knight in BattleBlock Theater. The Behemoth's sale continues through April 14. [Image: The Behemoth]
Castle Crashers character DLC now available on PSN
Two new DLC packs for The Behemoth's multiplayer beat-'em-up Castle Crashers launch today on the PlayStation Network, bringing the PlayStation 3 version of the game up to speed with its Xbox Live Arcade counterpart. The Legend of the Blacksmith Pack adds the purple-clad Blacksmith to Castle Crashers' playable roster, and introduces five new weapons in the game's story mode. Today's second DLC release, The Can't Stop Crying Pack, was originally an unlockable bonus for players who purchased both Castle Crashers and The Behemoth's follow-up Battleblock Theater on the Xbox 360. As Battleblock Theater is not available on PSN, the pack is currently the only way to access Hatty Hattington character within the PS3 version of Castle Crashers. The Can't Stop Crying Pack and The Legend of the Blacksmith Pack are priced at $1.99 apiece.
All Behemoth games half off on Xbox Live until September 16
To celebrate its tenth year of making games, The Behemoth is offering up its games for half off on Xbox Live. Alien Hominid HD, Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater are all on sale until September 16. In addition to the snazzy 10-year anniversary trailer The Behemoth cooked up for the event, it noted that the developer's lead designer, Dan Paladin, has a birthday this week. To properly celebrate both events, might we suggest the gift of Castle Crashers 2 for everyone?
Steam Summer Getaway Sale: Reus, Dishonored, Terraria
The Steam Summer Getaway Sale sallies on unconcerned with the pummeling it's already put on your wallet. Today's fresh crop of discounts include Reus for $5 (which also has Steam Trading Cards), Max Payne 3 for $10, Terraria for $2.50, Killing Floor for $4, Dishonored for close to $10, Dust: An Elysian Tail for $7.50, Castle Crashers for $3.75 and Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion for $10. The Flash sale, which sees a new group of games discounted every eight hours, is currently featuring BioShock Infinite for $30, Mirror's Edge for $6, Oregon Trail: Director's Cut for $1.24 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 for $3.39. Finally, all of yesterday's sales are also still available.
Play Battleblock Theater as a Castle Crashers knight, Alien Hominid guy
Battleblock Theater launches tomorrow on XBLA, but two previous games from The Behemoth have been taking up space (and topping the sales charts) for years, Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid HD. Finally, all the hours of enjoying these games pays off, in the form of special unlocks in Battleblock Theater. Owners of Castle Crashers can play as that game's knight in Battleblock Theater, and owners of Alien Hominid HD can get the alien for Battleblock Theater.Intrepid players are able to unlock the "Can't Stop Crying" pack in Castle Crashers on XBLA by earning at least one achievement in Battleblock Theater, as long as both games are up-to-date and installed on the same system. With the Can't Stop Crying pack, earning achievements in Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid HD unlocks special heads in Battleblock Theater, and earning achievements in Battleblock Theater unlocks Hatty Hattington, that game's protagonist, for Castle Crashers.Both Alien Hominid HD and Castle Crashers are on sale for 800 MS Points on XBLA, now through April 4.
BattleBlock Theater closed beta starts Feb. 28, still time to sign up
We've been following The Behemoth's followup to Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater, for years now – and it's almost, almost ready to play. The Behemoth has announced that the beta, which took signups back in January, will begin two weeks from now on February 28. Roughly ten thousand players will be allowed in, and The Behemoth says there's still time to become one of them. A new video of BattleBlock Theater, above, shows what the beta will look like. Count on there being laughter, merriment, and plenty of antlers.
PSA: Castle Crashers gains entry to Steam
Castle Crashers is live on Steam right now for your adorable medieval animal orb pleasure, for $15 on PC and Mac. Since Castle Crashers launched in 2008 and is on both XBLA and PSN, the Steam release directly benefits staunchly anti-console gamers and those with a "don't play a game until it's been out for four years" policy.For those in either category, or for anyone looking to grab a free copy of Castle Crashers on Steam, stay tuned to the Joystiq Twitter account (Officially Verified!), where we'll be giving away free codes. Good luck, valiant Steam knights.
Castle Crashers takes the raid to Steam on September 26 for PC, Mac
Prepare the battering ram – Castle Crashers is making its way to Steam for PC and Mac on September 26.The Behemoth announced in August that Castle Crashers would be coming to Steam, with a playable version at Gamescom and PAX. The Steam version supports gamepads, Steam Cloud and online multiplayer.The Castle Crashers leaderboards boast more than 3 million players, after launching on XBLA in 2008 and PSN in 2010. It has sold more than 2 million copies on XBLA alone and remains a top-seller.Castle Crashers' Steam page is live now, along with the official announcement from The Behemoth.
Castle Crashers clocks in over 3 million 'knights in the making'
The Castle Crashers leaderboards crested 3 million players this month, meaning "over three million humans have hacked and slashed their way into a castle in hopes of gaining animated glory," as The Behemoth puts it."Reaching the 3 million in leaderboards means a lot to us for so many reasons," The Behemoth writes. "It shows us that there is still demand for 2D games like Castle Crashers. It motivates us to keep on creating fresh and original content like in Castle Crashers."Castle Crashers launched on XBLA the summer of 2008, came to PSN in 2010 and was recently announced for Steam. It consistently remains one of the top-selling XBLA games each month and has sold more than 2 million copies on XBLA alone.The Behemoth's next game, Battleblock Theater, has been in development since 2009 and we eagerly await a release date any day now.
Skin Pack 2 for Minecraft delivers 45 new looks on XBLA
The XBLA version of Minecraft received a new skin pack recently, which includes 45 different skins for the game's main character. Among the pack, the second released for the XBLA game, are themed skins from a variety of games, such as Left 4 Dead 2, Castle Crashers, and Gears of War 3. Skin Pack 2 is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 160 MS points.Click past the break to see the complete list of all 45 skins. %Gallery-163359%
Castle Crashers busting into Steam
The Behemoth's hit multiplayer beat-'em-up Castle Crashers is coming to Steam. No specific date has been announced, with the company simply saying it's "almost here!" The Steam version will be playable at Gamescom."This is our first time at the event, and we're sending our very own John Baez to the show all by himself!" The Behemoth said in today's announcement. The Steam version will also be playable at PAX in two weeks, alongside XBLA's Battleblock Theater.The Steam version will support gamepads, Steam Cloud, local and online multiplayer, along with all the Animal orbs that cuteness will allow.
Add bling to your Xbox in the Castle Crashers Tournament of Champions
The Behemoth is hosting the second annual Tournament of Champions to discover and reward the "best Castle Crashers Arena Fighter in all the world," with first place earning a real-life, honest-to-chicken, gold-plated Xbox 360.This mirrors (in a yellowed, rich kind of way) the top prize from last year's tournament, but 2012 adds some new rewards for first place: 25 squeezy chickens, a chonku-chonku mini-fig in the color of the winner's choosing, all nine Castle Crashers phone charms, a beanie, a Behemoth t-shirt and the new Necromancer figurine signed by Behemoth developers.Second place gets everything except the golden Xbox, but in fewer numbers than first place, and third place gets fewer things than second, though more than anyone in the top 50. The prizes are outlined on the Behemoth blog.To qualify, players must hit the top 100 on the XBLA Castle Crashers Weekly Ranked Arena Leaderboards by August 17 at noon PST. The Tournament is scheduled for August 25, starting at 8 a.m. PST and ending at 5:30 p.m. PST. The top 96 valid registrants will compete in one-on-one melee matches, hosted by a Tournament staff member, until just one player is left standing.Check out the full rules and schedule right here.
Battleblock Theater will have 200 playable characters, and at least one duck
Developer The Behemoth has been toiling away on its latest, Battleblock Theater, for a while now, and all we've learned about the game has come from a few scant glances at various industry events. But the game is finally code complete, so the developer is being a little more forthcoming with details.On the latest company blog, the team goes through the numbers on the new game: There will be over 200 characters to unlock (compared to Castle Crashers' 30), over 200 levels to play through, and over 10 "weapontools" to use. There will also be a full slate of online multiplayer modes, Achievements and avatar awards to earn, and a "soundtrack created by well-known artists and members of our community" (that community being Newgrounds, which was created by The Behemoth co-owner Tom Fulp).The dev has also shared a video (above) of artist Dan Paladin working on some of the creations in the game. The Behemoth promises more announcements later this year – here's hoping they'll finally be able to bring this long-awaited game to players soon.
You know you want these Castle Crashers LEGOs to exist
Castle Crashers is essentially a virtual personification of the make-believe adventures we'd take our medieval-themed LEGO kits on as wee children, lo those many years ago, so we're all about the idea of actual Castle Crashers LEGOs being put into production.So is LEGO Cuusoo user Czar, whose Castle Crashers prototype set (seen above) is doing its damnedest to gain traction over on the crowdsourcing service. If made, the kit would come with four knights, two barbarians, a forest set piece and the War Machine mini-boss. Anyone interested in proclaiming their interest in such a product can do so here. Hopefully Castle Crashers will be seen as more of a LEGO-friendly brand than Firefly was.[Thanks, Shaun!]
Castle Crashers (XBLA) on sale for $7.50 through May 21
We can't imagine there are people out there who haven't ever played Castle Crashers – well, maybe babies haven't. Those babies should to take advantage of the current Xbox Live Arcade sale, which has priced Castle Crashers at 600 MS Points ($7.50) through May 21.
Check out Castle Crashers on Gamecube while you wait for Battleblock Theater
All right, so Battleblock Theater doesn't have a release date yet. But The Behemoth offered a superb visual justification for why it takes as long as it does with each game: footage of an early version of Castle Crashers, back when it was a GameCube game and purely a side-scroller. "We decided it was cool but NOT COOL ENOUGH," Project Manager Emil Ayoubkhan said on the development blog."So anyway, this is why we took it back to the drawing board. We needed to tweak stuff and add awesomeness on top of it. This is essentially what's happening with BBT right now," Ayoubkhan explained. "Some of the largest steps forward have occured recently and we're so glad we didn't just settle on something that wasn't quite ready yet (and at the same time ready to explode from the excitement of handing it over)."This example suggests that Battleblock Theater could go through some dramatic changes before we finally get to play it. It also suggests that, if development progresses like Castle Crashers did, we'll get to play it.
