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Xbox Live Marketplace releases for rest of August scheduled
Though the Summer of Arcade promotion has drawn to a close, there's still plenty of upcoming Xbox Live Marketplace releases to be psyched over. Well, assuming you're a fan of side-scrolling beat-em-ups, that is. Major Nelson's blog recently released the XBLM schedule for the remainder of August (posted after the jump), a period which will see the release of Scott Pilgrim and Shank, discounts on Zeno Clash and some BioShock 2 DLC, and the arrival of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 Avatar items. You know, something casual for your Avatar to wear around the house.
Shank video cuts together some combo footage
Klei Entertainment and EA shot some footage, chopped it up and tossed it like a grenade onto the internets to give a better idea of Shank's combo system. Get a feel for the XBLA and PSN title's stylishbutton mashing after the break.
Shank concept art digs into our hearts
In two weeks time, you'll be viciously ripping through enemy after enemy with ... well ... shanks, but in the meantime we've got a handful of concept art for the game Shank. While we're looking forward to playing it as much as you likely are, this art sure is purty to look at. It'll do ... for now. %Gallery-99149%
Shank dated for late August, priced at $15; adds co-op mission [update: new screens, video]
One half of EA Partners' downloadable duo has already been released -- DeathSpank came out last week and was greeted by Joystiq with open arms-- and now we know when the second half will be released. Klei Entertainment's slick arcade brawler Shank will be released on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on August 24 and 25, respectively, for $15. In addition to those pesky details, a press release also reveals a new gameplay mode: "a special co-operative mission, designed to be played with a friend locally [...] This prequel mission allows players to play as Shank or his partner-in-crime Falcone, with deadly double-team moves and gameplay that encourages teamwork." It sounds like the co-op is limited to a single, "prequel" mission, which is a bummer; however, Shank's charm has always been its good looks, and you can enjoy that all by yourself. Update: By way of Shack, it looks like the official Shank site has added some details about the co-op campaign, which they say has levels and bosses really designed around cooperative play. The official site also dates the PC release as "fall 2010" so, that's something, right PC gamers? Check out some co-op screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-97867%
BAFTA-winning God of War writer working on Shank
While you wouldn't think a game with a title as brutally simple as Shank would need a heavyweight in the whole "writing" department, Electronic Arts recently announced that Marianne Krawczyk, who won a BAFTA award for her work on the God of War franchise, will contribute to Klei Entertainment's action-platformer. In a recent EA press release, Krawczyk said, "we are creating a story that will allow gamers to explore a world where values like integrity and loyalty take on their own twisted meanings." We assume said story will be related between opportunities to stab things using two knives simultaneously -- a genre which is quickly becoming Krawczyk's literary bread-and-butter.
Hands-on: Shank
We are, and I don't think I'm being premature about this, in the thrall of a full-on 2D renaissance courtesy of digital distribution platforms like XBLA and PSN. Developers are realizing that modern technology plus a less technically demanding perspective can lead to a really beautiful end product. That's the case with Shank, a fluid, violent brawler that artfully combines a sort of 2D Devil May Cry blend of sword- and gunplay with a Saturday morning animation style to create the coolest cartoon your mom would have never let you watch. %Gallery-89187%
See a cut of Shank gameplay
With Shank now being published by EA, Klei Entertainment is putting the increased development budget to good use -- with a trailer! Well, it's likely there would be a trailer this week anyway, as this week also marks the hyper-violent XBLA/PSN/PC brawler's appearance at the Independent Games Festival. The brutal violence may dominate the trailer, but our eyes were immediately drawn to the acrobatics. There's so much somersaulting, swinging, hanging, and other exciting-looking methods of movement that they even manage to distract us from the usually thrilling shoot-stab-saw combos on display.
EA publishing 'DeathSpank' and 'Shank' on PSN, XBLA
EA Partners, a division of Electronics Arts, has announced an exclusive publishing agreement with two upcoming indie games -- Hothead's DeathSpank and Klei Entertainment's Shank -- which will allow a much wider (and ostensibly easier) path to distribution for both games. EA claims Shank will be available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC this summer, while DeathSpank will be available on Xbox Live and PSN with no date yet announced. "Our mission at EA Partners is to work with the best talent across the game industry, and we are thrilled to extend our expertise to the leading creative developers in downloadable indie games," said EA Partners' outreach director Jamil Moledina. "DeathSpank is engrossingly fun and hysterically funny ... and Shank is an amazing experience." The EA Partners program has had some heavy hitters onboard, like Rock Band, Left 4 Dead 2, and Brütal Legend, but this marks the first time that smaller, downloadable indie games have been brought into the fold. We've toured through DeathSpank before (with Ron Gilbert himself!), and Shank was just named a finalist at the Independent Games Festival, taking place during GDC next week in San Francisco. It's interesting to see EA move into the indie arena, much like 2K Games has done with 2K Play (think: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and Axel and Pixel), but we'll have to see how it plays out. Hopefully they'll offer both in a Spank 'n Shank special bundle. We spoke with EA's Moledina and both developers, so stay tuned for more info shortly.
Independent Games Festival 2010 finalists announced
The contenders for the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival awards have been announced today -- you can find the full list of finalists after the jump. In addition to the Seamus McNally Grand Prize (nominees for which include Joe Danger and Super Meat Boy), there are specialized categories recognizing excellence in art, design, audio, and technical achievement. There's also the Nuovo Award, which honors "abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development." Previous winners of the Nuovo include N+ co-creator Mare Sheppard and Passage developer Jason Rohrer. We find ourselves particularly invested in this year's awards show, as -- deep breath now -- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard For Gravity was nominated for Excellence in Design. We've got, like, a million jokes we still want to make about that game title, but we're running out of opportunities to do so.
Eets developer working on Shank, possibly a new XBLA title
Footage from an early build of Eets developer Klei Entertainment's next project has been circulating the nets recently. The stylish brawler/platformer, titled Shank (monosyllabic titles seem to be Klei's specialty), has been wowing viewers with it's brutal gameplay and stylish, Venture Bros-esque visuals -- though many are wondering what the release platform of the title will be. An Xbox control scheme shown at the beginning of the video led many to assume the title would be coming to XBLA -- however, this isn't exactly confirmed.In an email, Klei Entertainment's Jamie Cheng explained, "The platform is currently not set in stone, but I suppose you could make an educated guess based on past experience. Even I honestly don't know 100%." Our guess, which is alarmingly educated, is that it will land on both XBLA and PC. While we wait to find out, we highly suggest checking out the aforementioned Shank footage, which we've posted after the break.[Via GamerBytes]
Home made Assassin's Creed wrist blade [update]
[Update: Based on community response, we have decided to remove the video displaying an actual knife. We'd like to point out that it was never our intention to endorse the creation or use of such a device, but rather to point out an interesting bit of gaming culture. We have replaced the video with the LEGO version, which, nerds that we are, we found much more interesting anyway.]We really have no idea how we missed this. It seems some enterprising Assassin's Creed fan created his own hidden knife similar to the one used in the game. It was created way back in July though, so those of you allergic to old news had best look away. The rest of you can marvel at the craftsmanship and ingenuity of the thing. The creator, known as sandman_seven, detailed the construction of the device on the Ubisoft forums (and apparently attempted to sell them as well).Now, while we can't deny the inherent coolness of such a device, it also creeps us out just a bit. So, we urge you to enjoy the coolness, but don't try this at home. If you must make a shank, may we suggest you make one out of LEGOs. To see what that looks like, you need only watch another video embedded after the break.[Thanks, OBM]
