bloodforge
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Bloodforge review: God of sore ... thumbs
Even before diving into Bloodforge's gore-soaked, beast-slaying combat or encountering one of its screen-enveloping enemies, the XBLA brawler announces itself as a God of War wannabe. From its pissed-off protagonist to its female narrator, the hack-and-slasher channels Kratos' exploits before the first entrails stain your sword. There are certainly worse series to crib from, and Bloodforge, while significantly flawed, generally feels more like a fan-made tribute than a cash-grabbing copycat.The first thing Bloodforge hits you with isn't some ugly monster's sharp steel, but a striking visual presentation. Contrasting a desaturated color palette with buckets of bright blood, Bloodforge looks like it may have jumped off the paneled page of a mature graphic novel. The dark vibe is further complemented by sopping rain storms, snowy landscapes stained with viscera, and marshes blanketed with mist. If all that doesn't set the tone, silhouetted corpses impaled on spikes and hanging from nooses should do the trick.%Gallery-137258%
Coming to Xbox Live: Deep Black, LEGO deals, more
Major Nelson has posted the upcoming schedule for Xbox Live. This Wednesday brings the return of vehicular madness with Trials Evolution, while next week brings Bloodforge and Deep Black: Episode 1, an underwater action game we haven't heard about since 2010.On the Deal of the Week front, this week is LEGO themed, with 25 percent off the Games on Demand versions of LEGO Batman, LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. In the US, that puts LEGO Batman and LEGO Indiana Jones at $15, and LEGO Star Wars at $22.50. Next week, XBLA's NBA Jam: On Fire Edition will be reduced from $15 to $10.
Microsoft reveals Xbox 360 lineup for PAX East 2012
We haven't figured out a way to travel into the future yet, and we're just as upset as you are about that. But the closest thing has to be playing games that aren't actually out yet, right? Microsoft is offering PAX East attendees a chance to do just that next weekend.Major Nelson posted the list of activities and upcoming Kinect and XBLA titles that will be playable at Microsoft's booth, including Trials Evolution, MineCraft: Xbox 360 Edition and Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. We hear one of our editors really liked that last one when he got a chance to play it earlier this month.Also of note is a playable build of Dust: An Elysian Tale, the winner of 2009's "Dream-Build-Play" competition. It's currently slated to launch on Xbox Live Arcade in 2012.
XBLA 'Arcade NEXT' promo includes Trials Evolution April 18, Minecraft May 9
How does Microsoft fill the space between "House Party" and "Summer of Arcade?" With a new promotion called "Arcade NEXT," loaded with important XBLA games. How important? Minecraft important.The promotion kicks off with Trials Evolution on April 18. Bloodforge follows on April 25; then Fable Heroes on May 2. The promotion culminates in the game that has all the top XBLIG devs terrified: Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition on May 9. Minecraft costs 1600 Microsoft Points, and Fable Heroes is 800; the rest are 1200 ($15). And all of them come with the new 400 Gamerscore ceiling. Find details on each game after the break.%Gallery-151283%
Bloodforge coming to XBLA, looks bloody
While the website for Bloodforge does a good job describing the upcoming XBLA game from Climax – promising "a brutal combat system, stunning art style, and a deeply compelling story" – it does very little to explain exactly what a bloodforge is. Is it a forge fueled by blood? Is it a forge that produces blood? Like, do you make blood with it? We'll have to wait to find out, it seems, as even a brief teaser trailer and a handful of screenshots do little to elucidate things. Hopefully Microsoft won't keep us hanging too long before revealing the truth (or the game's release date, for that matter).%Gallery-137258%
