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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]
PSA: Battleblock Theater now available on Games with Gold
Made by the creators of Castle Crashers, Battleblock Theater was a game that caught our attention last year. The multiplayer puzzle-platformer/brawler combined great things like evil cats, a snarky and sinister narrator, and the opportunity to kill friends over and over. If you didn't experience it last year and you're an Xbox Live Gold member, you can rectify that by acquiring Battleblock Theater at no extra cost. The game's just replaced Gotham City Impostors on Xbox's Games with Gold program, and so it'll stay free to Gold members until the end of the month. To grab it, head on over to the Xbox Games Store.
Games with Gold dips into Guacamelee on Xbox One
In July, Xbox Live members across Xbox One and Xbox 360 get a round of new, free games to download: Xbox One Gold members get Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition, replacing June's Halo: Spartan Assault. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood will carry over to also be free in July on Xbox One. On Xbox 360, Golders get Gotham City Imposters from July 1 - 15. Then from July 16 - 31, Gold members can snag Battleblock Theater for free. [Image: Microsoft]
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]
Battleblock Theater brings perilous platforming to Steam soon
Castle Crashers developer The Behemoth revealed that its manic co-op platformer Battleblock Theater is coming to Steam on May 15, with ports available for Windows and Linux. Released for Xbox Live Arcade last year, Battleblock Theater lets up to four players team up to tackle dozens of levels filled with tricky enemies and deviously placed traps. The upcoming PC version features weapon switching, new enemy characters, and custom level trading via Steam Workshop. The Steam version of Battlebock Theater is priced at $14.99. [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]
BattleBlock Theater coming to Steam, closed beta begins this month
Castle Crashers developer The Behemoth announced that its co-op platformer BattleBlock Theater is coming to PC platforms via Steam this year. The PC version of BattleBlock Theater boasts a number of new features not seen in its initial Xbox Live Arcade release, including weapon switching, new enemy types, and online item-trading with Steam Inventory. The port will also feature Steam Workshop integration, allowing players to build their own custom levels and share them with friends. The Behemoth will host a closed beta test for the PC version of BattleBlock Theater from March 24 through March 31. Beta signups are available here. [Image: The Behemoth]
Rumor: Steam database leak features Killing Floor 2, Battleblock Theater, Blackgate HD
Killing Floor 2 and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate HD have yet to be announced, but they are in Steam's database according to reports of another leak. Several Steam users posted what look to be captured screenshots of the portal's stats page, but with a whole bunch of unexpected names on there. Other standout games on the list include beat-em-up Battleblock Theater and multiplayer action game Happy Wars, both currently only on Xbox Live Arcade. Half-Minute Hero sequel Hero 30 Second is only out in Japan, but Half-Minute Hero Two is also on the list. While Arkham Origins came to home consoles and PC last year, Warner Bros. released 2.5D game Arkham Origins Blackgate alongside it on 3DS and Vita. There's been no word of an HD port of the portable game, and when approached about Blackgate HD's name being on this list, a Warner. Bros representative told Joystiq, "We have no comment on this." The stats page is back to normal now so we've been unable to verify the screens, and even if they're accurate they don't provide any confirmation the games will be released. That said, each one of the games we've mentioned certainly sounds plausible, so we'd say this is a space worth a watch. [Thanks, Jordan!]
Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2013
Team Joystiq is barging into 2014 with a celebration of last year's best games. Keep reading throughout the week to see our assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs. Skulls of the Shogun I have a pre-existing penchant for human skulls as decoration, so maybe that's why Skulls of the Shogun still resonates so deeply with me, despite it launching way back at the beginning of the year – before GDC, before E3, before Gamescom, before the reveals and launches of two next-gen consoles, before the holiday madness. Through all of that, Skulls of the Shogun remains a purely joyful, fun strategy game, complete with morbid humor, accessible mechanics and a lovely Saturday-morning cartoon style. Developer 17-Bit has a precise hand, and the team's attention to detail and flow makes Skulls of the Shogun sing across platforms: Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Steam and iOS. Skulls of the Shogun started the year off in the right way for me, so it's fitting to give it another nod at the end of 2013. Cheers, skull-chewers.
Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2013
Team Joystiq is barging into 2014 with a celebration of last year's best games. Keep reading throughout the week to see our assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs. FIFA 14 Regardless of any indicator that 2013 was a "tune-up" year for EA Canada's ongoing soccer sim series, FIFA 14 arguably remains the best sports gaming has to offer for another year. Retaining the elements of unpredictability with the game's ball physic, introduced in FIFA 13, the developer improved teammate AI and slowed the game's pace to force more deliberate, tactical on-field play. The result couldn't be any clearer in the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, which saw significant improvements graphically, particularly in the crowd's character models. While it may not be a top-ten game of the year, FIFA 14 was easily one of the most enjoyable.
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?
The Behemoth handing out three prisoners in Battleblock Theater for free this week
The Behemoth is offering three playable prisoners to Battleblock Theater owners this week. Players that log in to the full version of the game on Xbox Live will receive the Boot, Moose and 50% Off Prisoner characters for free. The developer plans to introduce at least one new Battleblock Theater prisoner on a weekly basis through the month of August, so those that have missed out on characters such as Donuts or Rose still have more to look forward to. %Gallery-184916%
Get free donuts this week in Battleblock Theater
In celebration of National Doughnut Day on Friday, The Behemoth announced the return of Battleblock Theater special prisoner Donuts. Players that log in to the game on Xbox Live any time from now until June 13 will receive the character for free. Donuts originally appeared in the game as an unlockable Furbottom Features character. Donuts isn't alone, either, as this week's Furbottom Features unlock is a Lava Lamp character.
Battleblock Theater adds 'Rose' prisoner in honor of Mother's Day
Mother's Day is tomorrow, in case you had forgotten, and to celebrate the Behemoth has released a new, limited engagement prisoner actor for its grand shows of bravery and daring do: Rose. Anyone that logs into Xbox Live and boots up the full version of Battleblock Theater between now and Thursday, May 16 should receive Rose automatically. What you won't receive automatically, however, is a happy mama, so make sure and do something especially special for the special lady that made you special.
Battleblock Theater lets loose a new prisoner for two weeks: Toast
Play and complete the featured solo or co-op fan-created levels in Battleblock Theater over the next two weeks and unlock another special prisoner, Toast. Mmm, crunchy. The levels can be found under the Furbottom's Features tab, where every two weeks developer The Behemoth brings out a new, unlockable prisoner for completing some user-generated stages. The Behemoth has already locked back up the Behemoth Chicken prisoner, Winston, Donuts and Furbottom, and Toast will be available for the two weeks following May 3. Check out the solo and co-op Furbottom's Features here.
Battleblock Theater ringtones tell the fart jokes for you
Battleblock Theater is charming beyond all reasonableness, and much of that comes from its hilarious narrator, adorable songs and, of course, the rampant fart jokes. The Behemoth has thrown some of Battleblock Theater's best audio material into a downloadable ringtone pack, available in .mp3 and .mp4 varieties.The ringtone pack includes tracks such as "Secret Song," "Relationship Song" and "Buckle ur Pants," and it includes the gem sound, the narrator's "Whoooooo" and "Mmmmhmmm" noises, and classic lines such as "Good job, baby farts" and "Everything's coming together like buttcheeks."The Behemoth is working on an official soundtrack for the game, currently listed as "coming soon." For now, download the Battleblock Theater ringtone pack and annoy all of your friends for free right here.
Play Battleblock Theater featured levels, unlock the Chicken Prisoner
Battleblock Theater is rolling out spotlight collections of the best user-created levels, under the Furbottom's Features (story mode) and Arena Feature (multiplayer) tabs. As an incentive to try out some playlists from unprofessionals, The Behemoth is offering a new character to anyone who plays through all of the Furbottom's or Arena features, available for an undetermined, limited time: The Behemoth Chicken Prisoner.If you are a professional unprofessional and want to get some levels on the Battleblock Theater featured tabs, check out The Behemoth's handy guide right here. Furbottom's and Arena features will be swapped out to highlight community-created content "in the near future."
Battleblock Theater review: Bring some friends and beat 'em up
Every week, a group of friends and I get together to watch the television show, The Walking Dead. By "watch" I mean we make fun of the terrible acting and bemoan the missing parts that made the comic so good. It's a joyful, heartfelt tradition that we look forward to each week, and not much distracts us from this routine. Except, of course, a really good excuse to beat each other up.This week we started our screen session with a local co-op round of The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater in Arena mode. Arena mode features a handful of four-player mini-games, all of which are co-op, two-on-two or every man for himself. We started with "Ball Game." After two hours of passing the controllers, running through various levels, rolling in laughter and punching each other whenever a sweet move went awry, someone suggested we start up The Walking Dead. The response was immediate."No way. We're playing this." And so we did, all night long.%Gallery-184916%
