Joystiq

Battleblock Theater adds 'Rose' prisoner in honor of Mother's Day

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 11 May 2013 21:00:00 EST

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 adds 'Rose' prisoner in honor of Mother's Day originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater lets loose a new prisoner for two weeks: Toast

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:00:00 EST

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 lets loose a new prisoner for two weeks: Toast originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater ringtones tell the fart jokes for you

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:15:00 EST

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.

Battleblock Theater ringtones tell the fart jokes for you originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Play Battleblock Theater featured levels, unlock the Chicken Prisoner

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:59:00 EST

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."

Play Battleblock Theater featured levels, unlock the Chicken Prisoner originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater review: Bring some friends and beat 'em up

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:30:00 EST

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: BattleBlock Theater (4/5/13)

Continue reading Battleblock Theater review: Bring some friends and beat 'em up

Battleblock Theater review: Bring some friends and beat 'em up originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater out now on XBLA

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST

It's been a long time coming, but The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater is finally available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) today.

The Behemoth announced yesterday that owners of its previous games, Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid HD, will be able to play as protagonists from those titles through unlocks in Battleblock Theater.

Battleblock Theater has been in development since... well, let's just be happy it's out now.

PSA: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater out now on XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Play Battleblock Theater as a Castle Crashers knight, Alien Hominid guy

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:00:00 EST

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.

Play Battleblock Theater as a Castle Crashers knight, Alien Hominid guy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater pulls back the curtain April 3

David Hinkle — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:30:00 EST

The Behemoth is finally ready to release its next game, Battleblock Theater. Initially penned in for spring, The Behemoth has shined a launch spotlight on April 3, when Battleblock Theater will launch on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 MS Points ($15).

Battleblock Theater has been in development since 2009 and will ship with a built-in level editor. The Behemoth recently concluded a final beta for Battleblock Theater, which will initially launch as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, though The Behemoth hasn't ruled out the possibility of other platforms.

Battleblock Theater pulls back the curtain April 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BattleBlock Theater to spotlight community-created levels

Mike Suszek — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST

The Behemoth recently detailed its plans to feature community-created levels in its upcoming platformer, BattleBlock Theater. The game will include a "Furbottom's Features" section, which will spotlight hand-picked user-created levels in the solo, co-op and arena playlists. Players will have added incentive to play these levels, since strawberries in featured levels will be replaced with gems that can be spent in the BattleBlock Theater Gift Shop.

We've embedded a trailer that shows off some of the levels created by BattleBlock Theater's beta testers above. These levels may not be included in the full game, which is set to launch this Spring.

BattleBlock Theater to spotlight community-created levels originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater's opening night is in spring 2013

JC Fletcher — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

We might have assumed this from the timing of the beta (starting this week), but Battleblock Theater has officially received a spring 2013 release window. The long, long wait for the game - we first heard about it as "Game 3" in 2009 - is almost over, probably. Depending on the beta, we suppose.

The news comes on The Behemoth's blog in poem form, which ends, "Mayhaps someone will Spring my friends... Mayhaps they near Release!" We think we see some hidden messages to that effect elsewhere, as well.

Battleblock Theater's opening night is in spring 2013 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BattleBlock Theater closed beta starts Feb. 28, still time to sign up

Mike Schramm — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:00:00 EST

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.

BattleBlock Theater closed beta starts Feb. 28, still time to sign up originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sign up now for BattleBlock Theater beta

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:15:00 EST

Registration is open now for the BattleBlock Theater closed beta, scheduled to occur sometime between February and March of this year. There are 10,000 spots available for determined gladiators, but you must meet the prerequisites listed on The Behemoth's site.

BattleBlock Theater is reportedly in the "home stretch," welcome words from the Castle Crashers developer who originally announced BattleBlock Theater back in early 2009.

Sign up now for BattleBlock Theater beta originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater development in 'home stretch'

JC Fletcher — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:45:00 EST

First off: no, Battleblock Theater isn't coming out this year. However, there is some progress toward an eventual release of the XBLA platform/brawler, with developer The Behemoth announcing that "we are excited to be hitting the home stretch with development of this game."

Though the developer warns of "many rounds" of testing, submissions, and other work between now and release, Battleblock is apparently complete enought to make it through ratings boards, which is also a good sign. The ESRB rated it "T," by the way, with content descriptors warning of "Blood and Violence" - one of which you can see in the image above.

Battleblock Theater development in 'home stretch' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Learn more about Battleblock Theater's level editor

Mike Schramm — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST

The Behemoth teased us with a PAX reveal of Battleblock Theater's level editor, and the Castle Crashers developer didn't disappoint. There's a full-featured level editor included with the game, and it's the same one the designers have been using to make their own levels, controller and all.

Every type of block in the game is available to be placed by you within the editor, and you can color them however you like. Each level obviously needs an entrance and an exit, but what happens in between is up to you. You can choose any of the game's modes (and can even combine some of them), lay out resources to collect, and even build little Rube Goldberg devices with the various available components. One example shown to us used boulders and timed pneumatic devices pushing them onto switches, which created a sort of timed trap for characters to navigate. Extra creative users will come up with even more complex and varied setups, we suspect.

Even if you're not looking to create levels, The Behemoth has you covered. To start with, users will be able to share and send levels to each other. There's a "Level Lobby" in the game's main menu, where you can download playlists of created levels, see feeds for highest played and Behemoth favorites, and play and rate all of the levels you can find. Levels do need to be downloaded locally to be played, but they're tiny, so bandwidth and storage shouldn't be a problem.

We'll have to see how the level sharing system actually works post-launch to see how prominent it becomes (Castle Crashers, of course, suffered from connectivity problems during its release, which made playing multiplayer tougher than it should have been). But The Behemoth has created a powerful editor here, and it'll be fascinating, as with most user-generated content systems, to see what players can do with it.

Learn more about Battleblock Theater's level editor originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater level editor lets you set up the blocks for battle

JC Fletcher — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EST

It's PAX once again, so it's time for more news on Battleblock Theater, the Behemoth game that, for the time being, only exists at the expo. The latest on the party combat game is the level editor, which allows users to design, upload, and download new levels using the same "super easy" tools The Behemoth uses to make the story and arena levels.

Battleblock is on display at the show, so we look forward to hearing about the one guy who holds up the line to finish his intricate dungeon design.

Battleblock Theater level editor lets you set up the blocks for battle originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater will have 200 playable characters, and at least one duck

Mike Schramm — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 22:00:00 EST

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.

Battleblock Theater will have 200 playable characters, and at least one duck originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In-fighting to win in Behemoth's Battleblock Theater

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:30:00 EST

I really wish The Behemoth didn't always have such an awesome booth set-up.

The giant, colorful arcade cabinets, adorable cartoon-emblazoned fight sticks and beautiful screens running Castle Crashers and Battleblock Theater are all an elaborate tease of things that only exist in the magical world of conventions. Every player's excited laughter turns into a cry of remorse as soon as he steps away from the booth and realizes this experience may never again be repeated, at least not in the comfort of his or her own home.

Battleblock Theater is poised to follow in Castle Crashers' footsteps as an addictive, enthusiastically fun cooperative platformer with oodles of replay value and longevity when it eventually launches on the XBLA. I played through two levels on two separate cabinets, on two separate days with two different people, and had the same joyful experience with both. Battleblock Theater is a game to be enjoyed with friends, or with people who seem to have a good attitude about getting hit with friendly explosive Frisbees in the middle of complicated platforming maneuvers.

Continue reading In-fighting to win in Behemoth's Battleblock Theater

In-fighting to win in Behemoth's Battleblock Theater originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater is 'code complete' [Update]

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Battleblock Theater, the long, long-awaited title from Castle Crashers developer The Behemoth, passed its code complete milestone just before San Diego Comic-Con kicked off last week, project manager Emil Ayoubkhan told us. We played a few rounds of Battleblock Theater at another fantastic installment of the Behemoth booth at the con.

Battleblock Theater still has no set release date, and has a few more stages to complete before The Behemoth gives it one. Right now the speed of development is "all on us," Ayoubkhan said, and every day is one step closer to a final version.

Update: The original story read that Battleblock Theater had passed Microsoft certification, and that The Behemoth planned to release it before the end of the year. We have received confirmation that this is not the current schedule, no matter how excitable anyone may have been at Comic-Con.

Battleblock Theater is 'code complete' [Update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check out Castle Crashers on Gamecube while you wait for Battleblock Theater

JC Fletcher — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST

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.

Check out Castle Crashers on Gamecube while you wait for Battleblock Theater originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BattleBlock Theater's prisoners step into the spotlight

David Hinkle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST

We imagine incarcerated people the world over aren't very fond of spotlights -- at least during escape attempts -- but perhaps the opposite can be said for the inmates of BattleBlock Theater. The Behemoth has unleashed videos focusing on ten different playable characters in the game and they don't seem concerned with the extra attention.

Some inmates are decidedly less blocky than others, but each is a unique individual that, at least to us, doesn't look like much of a criminal -- unless being too cute is a crime.

Continue reading BattleBlock Theater's prisoners step into the spotlight

BattleBlock Theater's prisoners step into the spotlight originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alien Hominid: PDA Games holds iOS devices at laser-point

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:30:00 EST

The Behemoth has brought the Alien Hominid PDA games to iOS devices with a pile of updates and shiny new things, including fresh art, 23 new achievements, 60 FPS, high-definition graphics and a pause feature that shows a run-through of your past 20 levels. The Alien Hominid: PDA Games app is available now in the App Store, with 15 trial levels for free, and all 500 levels for $0.99.

The Behemoth is steadily working on BattleBlock Theater, and Alien Hominid is a great way to ease the waiting period and get a glimpse of the gameplay that inspired the cat-crushing prison drama that is BattleBlock Theater.

Alien Hominid: PDA Games holds iOS devices at laser-point originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater player-to-player trading system channels Buffalo Bill

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:00:00 EST

The Behemoth has let the cat out of the musty prison cell with details about Battleblock Theater's's trading system, which was inspired by the hacking of weapon drops in Castle Crashers. Battleblock Theater players will be able to collect the faces of other prisoners by freeing them with green gems found in co-op levels, and weapons by distracting their feline foes with balls of yarn. All weapons and strangers' faces for you to wear as your own will be randomized, and there are no duplicates of any one item, meaning trading will play an important role in collecting the pieces you want.

If you see an item -- let's say, a face -- on another player online, rip off your face and throw it at him, and if he returns the gesture, you've traded. Sounds ~~painful~~ simple enough. There are over 100 unlockable weapons and faces in Battleblock Theater, with more in the works before launch, which is scheduled for later this year. We recommend stocking up on lotion (or hoses) now.

Battleblock Theater player-to-player trading system channels Buffalo Bill originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Behemoth had the best gaming booth at Comic-Con

Mike Schramm — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST

If you were impressed by the arcade machine Sony brought to Comic-Con for Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, you ain't see nothing yet. Indie developer The Behemoth went all out: They had a booth full of custom-made and designed arcade machines, playing both Castle Crashers and the upcoming Battleblock Theater, complete with all of the requisite joysticks and buttons for four or two players.

The Behemoth (and Newgrounds) co-founder Dan Paladin told me in between signings that the machines were hand-crafted by the company, in a project overseen by The Behemoth's John Baez. And they're even cooler than they appear -- Paladin said that the big screens up on top of the machines were controlled remotely, and could move in and out of the units mechanically for transportation.

If you missed these at Comic-Con, Paladin also said that they'll be on the road with the company, both at PAX Prime and the Tokyo Game Show later this year. The whole enterprise was very impressive; it's no wonder the booth was full all week long.

Gallery: The Behemoth Comic-con 2011 booth

The Behemoth had the best gaming booth at Comic-Con originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater prologue is very chatty, Hatty

Richard Mitchell — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:00:00 EST

Remember the delightful puppet theater magic captured by the Battleblock Theater introduction? You'll be happy to know it carries right over into the game's prologue, throwing in some wonderful hats and terrible cats in the process. We suggest you brighten your day by watching it right now.

Battleblock Theater prologue is very chatty, Hatty originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New BattleBlock Theater video throws a little surprise party

Mike Schramm — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST

It's been a while since we last saw The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater in action, so if you're forgetting all of the pertinent deets, let us remind you: The game, by the creators of XBLA superhit Castle Crashers, throws a few players with strangely-shaped heads into a theater run by cats and tasks them with navigating a maze of traps and troubles for the cats' presumed entertainment.

You can see some of that entertainment in this brand-new video, which features Prisoner 10321 and the game's co-op "throwing" mechanic, which allows players to launch their frienemies across gaps, into portal-like devices ... or into spikes and pits, if they happen to not be so fond of them at a given moment.

The official Behemoth blog says there's complexity here, too: you'll go farther when both characters are facing the same way, or not as far if they're facing apart. And while players can slide tackle each other while fighting, the throw move can cancel that out, blocking the slide and instead sending the slider into danger. We tell you that now so that when it happens in the game, you're not actually thrown for the proverbial loop.

New BattleBlock Theater video throws a little surprise party originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ocean was all, like, 'psych' in BattleBlock Theater's intro

JC Fletcher — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:00:00 EST

The Behemoth sets the scene for BattleBlock Theater casually, with an intro movie that doesn't even really seem sure of what happened. Find out approximately how Hatty Hattington and his round-headed, nameless friend got into their predicament after the break.

Continue reading The ocean was all, like, 'psych' in BattleBlock Theater's intro

The ocean was all, like, 'psych' in BattleBlock Theater's intro originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battleblock Theater preview: Uncooperation

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST

When checking out games on the show floor of a convention like PAX East, there's a strange phenomenon that occurs with surprising regularity -- you're paired up with a stranger to play along with you in a much anticipated, co-op focused game, and by the end of your demo, the two of you are as thick as thieves. The goodbyes you share as you leave the demo station are as painful and poignant as that fateful farewell ceremony on the last day at Camp Golden Friendships.

My demonstration for Battleblock Theater was not one of these magical instances -- not due to the nature of my unacquainted co-op partner, but because of the many, many ways The Behemoth's latest allows you to royally screw your accomplice. With so many annoyances at his disposal, I can't really blame him for his malfeasance.

Continue reading Battleblock Theater preview: Uncooperation

Battleblock Theater preview: Uncooperation originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BattleBlock Theater's curtain to rise in 2011

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST

The Behemoth's BattleBlock Theater has apparently gotten away from the team and won't make it to XBLA this year. The "confession" was made on the developer's site, in which The Behemoth said that the game is "becoming so much more" than the team had expected and that there's "a little more R&D than we thought and lots of new ground to break."

Following the impending, November 25 release of Castle Crashers on PSN in Japan, the team hopes to focus on getting more BattleBlock Theater videos and details together to share publicly. We're good with waiting for a quality product ... just so long as it has functional online support at launch.

[Thanks, Blacked Out]

BattleBlock Theater's curtain to rise in 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSN Castle Crashers set at $15, Behemoth heads to PAX

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The Behemoth has posted a quick update on the status of the long-awaited PSN port of Castle Crashers. While there aren't many concrete details, the dev states it is "right in the thick of the submission process" and has cemented the price. Just like its Xbox Live Arcade counterpart, Castle Crashers will arrive on PSN at $15 (packing some new features, don't forget).

The Behemoth also detailed its plans for PAX, set to go down in Seattle early next month. The studio is bringing along the latest build of Battleblock Theater and Behemoth merchandise. The company will also be toting along a custom, 4-player Castle Crashers arcade cabinet ... which we will be stealing.

PSN Castle Crashers set at $15, Behemoth heads to PAX originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Preview: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater (Comic-Con build)

Mike Schramm — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Indie gaming studio The Behemoth was an unexpected surprise among the video game booths at Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego. We haven't heard much about its upcoming Battleblock Theater since it was announced, making the brand new build on the show floor all the more enticing.

Like the previous version we played, gameplay revolved around little blockheads battling it out in a deathmatch ... put on for the entertainment of large cats.

Continue reading Preview: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater (Comic-Con build)

Preview: The Behemoth's Battleblock Theater (Comic-Con build) originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on: Battleblock Theater (XBLA)

David Hinkle — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

Battleblock Theater, the Castle Crashers followup unofficially known as "The Crying Leprechaun Game," was available in one distinct play mode at PAX East: a multiplayer team deathmatch variant that centered around eating souls. It's the bright, colorful and playful kind of evil you might imagine is okay in most Saturday morning cartoons, and it's exactly the patented style we've come to identify as "The Behemoth Touch."

The basic format of the demo was a 2-on-2 team deathmatch gametype, in which cute little blue blockheads (they looked like a cross between a cat and a bear) try to defeat cute little red things of the same origin. By jumping onto an opponent's head, he (she? it?) is effectively killed, releasing a ghost or spirit that can be captured. Once you grab the escaping ethereal being and hold on to it, points slowly accumulate on the scoreboard -- all the while, a timer gradually counts down to zero. This is a straightforward affair of ghost-napping.

Continue reading Hands-on: Battleblock Theater (XBLA)

Hands-on: Battleblock Theater (XBLA) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behemoth's BattleBlock Theater coming to XBLA

Justin McElroy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:05:00 EST

It's hard to say just how good The Behemoth's newly announced BattleBlock Theater will be when it launches (no release date yet!). Even with all the clips and screens we've seen and all the time we've spent with the title (previously codenamed Game 3), we still don't have a deep understanding of what, exactly, is going on. But the team's got a pretty good track record with Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid, so we're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

None of that matters, however, because what we do know is that what follows after the jump is probably our favorite trailer so far this year. It's actually -- and don't tell any advertisers or con-men this -- a little sad and scary just how easily we can be manipulated.

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Behemoth's BattleBlock Theater coming to XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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