the-behemoth posts (Subscribe to this feed)

The time-lapse evolution of a Castle Crashers boss

by Randy Nelson { Nov 24th 2009 at 8:15PM }

The Behemoth, purveyor of fine classic-style action games with lovely high-res 2D artwork, has posted a nice time-lapse video on its developer blog showcasing the evolution of one of its Castle Crashers boss characters. In it, we get to see The Painter come a long way from his meager palette-sporting beginnings to the giant roller-wielding, toolbox-for-a-head monster we've come to know and despise.

It's not often that we get a glimpse at this aspect of the development process -- perhaps because a time-lapse video of an artist creating the 3D model for, say, the Joker from Batman: Arkham Asylum would be the length of most theatrical releases. The Behemoth's video, after the break, is thankfully only seven-and-a-half minutes long.

Continued →

(Castle) Crash Halloween with this Behemoth of a costume

by Xav de Matos { Oct 24th 2009 at 1:00PM }

The team at The Behemoth know you're having a hard time coming up with something original and awesome for Halloween, so the team has included an instructional guide to creating your very own Castle Crashers inspired costume on its blog.

Taking a simple 5-gallon bucket, some foam and a pocket full of hopes and dreams, you can rock one of the best costumes we've seen (all week, at least). As an added bonus, the guide is simple and includes plenty of pictures to guide would-be costume designers -- and future "Best Costume of the Night" award winners.

Hands-on: The Behemoth's 'Game 3'

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 8th 2009 at 9:30AM }

There's a part of me that likes examining games' sub-superficial levels -- the lingering inspiration behind the art, gameplay, story and all the rest of its aggregate components. Behemoth's Game 3 is difficult to dismantle in this manner, largely due to the fact that, even when compared to past entries in Behemoth's bizarre repertoire -- it's an unabashed labor of madness.

It could also be due to the fact that the speed at which I was forced to play the Game 3 PAX demo could best be described as blistering. Still, it didn't take much time to get what the game's core components are all about: Frantic multiplayer platforming action, the likes of which you haven't seen since Super Mario Bros. 3.

Continued →

Castle Crashers Necromantic DLC coming tomorrow for 160 MS Points

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 25th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Wow. When Castle Crashers developer The Behemoth teased last week that its upcoming Necromantic DLC pack was coming "SOON," they weren't kidding. According to a countdown clock recently added to the game's official blog, it's due to drop tomorrow, bringing the long overdue chainsaw, two new characters and one new animal orb to the multi-man beat-'em-up.

The company has wisely placed the price of the expansion at 160

-- so before you download that new The Devil Wears Prada track on Rock Band 2, we want you to stop, and reconsider your priorities. Music from a hardcore band named after a Meryl Streep movie? Or chainsaws? (This decision is also a litmus test for whether we can still be friends with you. Choose wisely.)

'Necromantic' DLC pack coming to Castle Crashers

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 22nd 2009 at 5:00PM }

It's been a long time coming -- like, a looooong time -- but it looks like an upcoming DLC pack for The Behemoth's four-player beat-'em-up is finally delivering the oft-promised Chainsaw weapon to Castle Crashers worldwide. It's part of the "Necromantic" DLC pack, which in addition to the gas-powered armament, will give players access to two new characters (the titular Necromancer and The Cult Minion), a new "Dragonhead" animal orb and two new weapons (the NG Skull Mace and, yes, the Chainsaw).

The Behemoth didn't reveal a price or a definitive release date for the pack, but did mention it is coming "SOON." That's their choice of capitalization, not ours. As in, it's not coming "soon" -- it's coming "SOON."

G4TV gets hands on Behemoth's 'Game 3' platformer

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 19th 2009 at 12:01AM }

If your pure, pure love of Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid has left you starving for more info regarding The Behemoth's next title -- a multiplayer platformer tentatively titled "Game 3" -- then you should check out G4's recent hands-on with the title, in video form after the break. Adam Sessler got a chance to check out the idiosyncratic game while Dan Paladin rides shotgun, explaining a couple of the game's modes, as well as the overarching story for the title. In a nutshell, said plot features a schizophrenic madman who's managed to kidnap your friends, whom you must rescue. Sounds appropriately bizarre.

The video shows four players slugging it out in "Whale mode," and also gives a brief demo of the co-op mode. We can't wait to check it out -- sadly, with a nondescript launch window of "2010," it seems we'll be doing a great deal of waiting before we can do checking.

Continued →

The Behemoth's third game gets its first dev diary

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 14th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Rather than employing the glitz and glamor of a AAA-title's dev diary, The Behemoth kicks things a bit more old-school in its first dev diary for the development studios third game (found after the break). Featuring the game's "Soul Mode" (the name is still tentative), the clip details how two players work together to hang on to multiple souls for as long as possible.

Narrators from The Behemoth guide us through the four minute journey, culminating in their vast triumph over AI combatants. The talking heads do mention that the game will most certainly have a story mode, and we'll be getting a chance to check out more at PAX 2009 and then Tokyo Game Show not long after. Now all the game needs is, um, a name.

[Thanks, Deniz!]

Continued →

Comic-Con 2009: New details on The Behemoth's third game

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 23rd 2009 at 12:14PM }

We'll give it to you straight: we're still not entirely sure what The Behemoth's next game is. It's sort of a platformer, it's sort of a multiplayer brawler, but what is it really? We're one step closer to understanding today, as GameSpot got a chance to preview the game this week at the San Diego Comic-Con, and says the game "falls beneath the umbrella of the platformer genre."

Of what they played, only mutliplayer was available and it featured a handful of game types -- coin collection, territories and kill the carrier, in so many words. Players choose a single weapon before each game (from fireballs to portable fans) and employ it liberally to their enemies, all the while avoiding environmental pitfalls (water, radioactive ooze, etc.) and trying to win the game mode. Do yourself a favor and check out the videos embedded after the break for a better idea of what The Behemoth's third game will look like when it's released sometime in 2010.

Continued →

Castle Crashers storming PS3, playable at Comic-Con

by Randy Nelson { Jul 22nd 2009 at 9:00PM }

The Behemoth's four-player, hack 'n slash Xbox Live Arcade title Castle Crashers has crashed right through the wall of platform exclusivity and is coming to PlayStation 3, the developer announced on the eve of San Diego Comic-Con. According to GameSpot, a playable version of the game for PS3 will be on the show floor tomorrow for attendees to gets their hands on.

Castle Crashers hit Xbox Live Arcade on August 27, 2008 and reached a milestone of 1 million players last month. The version for Sony's console has yet to be dated -- or detailed beyond the fact that it'll include Trophies -- but might we suggest dropping it on the one-year anniversary of the 360 version's launch? (With lots of new goodies, of course.)

Super Meat Boy character select screen reveals playable Alien Hominid [update]

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 5th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Things are on the up and up for Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen. After releasing This is a Cry for Help last year and subsequently announcing SMB for WiiWare, he put his indie cred on display for the world in adding Braid's Tim to his upcoming game. And now, during a live video interview with Bytejacker, McMillen ~~revealed~~ The Behemoth's Alien Hominid as another playable character!

Quickly panning to his computer screen during the interview and teasing it, one of our wonderful readers snagged a screen grab so we could share it with the world. Now the real question: Castle Crashers characters playable as well? Hmmmm, McMillen? Hmmm?

(We love you. Please?)

Update: It was pointed out by a few astute Game Informer readers in the comments section that Alien Hominid was actually revealed as a playable character in a recent issue. Sorry, folks!

(Thanks, Zack!)

Castle Crashers reached one million players today

by Majed Athab { Jun 22nd 2009 at 6:00PM }

The developers of Castle Crashers must have been ecstatic when its XBLA baby grew to house over 900,000 users last month, but this probably doesn't compare to the excitement felt today. At 12:57pm, The Behemoth diligently verified via its Leaderboard numbers that its behemoth of a game has broken the seven-digit barrier, becoming host to exactly 1 million players.

Castle Crashers has reached this momentous milestone rather quickly, having been out on the market for only 10 months (hey, that's an average of 100,000 new players a month) and to celebrate, The Behemoth gave away a set of uber-fantastic stuff. If you signed up previously, you could've won a bag of prizes which included a custom Castle Crashers Xbox 360 Elite. Congrats to whoever won, and to The Behemoth!

Castle Crashers hits 900,000 players, Behemoth offers prize for guessing date of millionth

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 13th 2009 at 8:10AM }

The Behemoth took the time out of its busy Crying Sugar Cube Leprechaun (not real title) development to reveal that the Castle Crashers leaderboards have passed 900,000 users. That does not mean there have been nearly a million sales of the game, but it does mean that Castle Crashers has been doing well on XBLA, a mere 8 months after launch.

The company's site is now challenging users to guess the exact date and time that the main Castle Crashers leaderboard will hit one million players. The winner will receive something "SPECTACULAR." Best of luck, but don't get The Behemoth too distracted with your entry on the company's forum, it has another game to finish.

The Behemoth promises new game info in July, shows off artistic bento

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 13th 2009 at 10:00AM }

Feeling obligated to update its blog, developer The Behemoth showed off some Castle Crashers bento (above), created by Anna the red, and stated that it would have more information to share about its third game in July.

The Behemoth is teasing that its (currently untitled) third game will makes an appearance at San Diego's Comic-Con, taking place July 23-26. That's too bad -- we were hoping to see more of the Crying Sugar Cube Leprechaun at E3 in June.

Reminder: Alien Hominid HD for 400 MS points this week

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 30th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Major Nelson reminds us that Alien Hominid HD is only 400

($5) this week for Xbox Live gold members. The Behemoth's first XBLA title is normally priced 800

($10). If this is somehow your first time ever hearing about Alien Hominid, the title received generally favorable reviews -- and we'd also like to welcome you back from your troglodytic lifestyle of the last three years.

The Behemoth is currently working on ~~The Crying Sugar Cube Leprechaun~~ its third as-yet untitled project, which the developer recently showed off in trailer form.

XBLA Awards: Braid can't rewind loss to Castle Crashers

by James Ransom-Wiley { Mar 23rd 2009 at 6:52PM }

Castle Crashers recovered from a 4-month gimp to be crowned the Xbox Live Arcade "Game of the Year" in the second annual community voting awards. Somewhat surprisingly, Castle Crashers also managed to nab "Best Co-op Mode" despite being virtually unplayable online for four out of its seven months in release. On its way to top honors, The Behemoth's beat-em-up notably beat out its fellow indie nominee, Braid, which was famously dismissed by an American youth spokesperson.

Braid's losing streak continued in the "Best Single Player Game" category, which was claimed by Orange Box cutout Portal: Still Alive (oh right, it has "exclusive" challenge maps), but Jonathan Blow's timeless effort did mange to win "Best Innovation" amid stiff competition. (We were certain Kefling's innovative "use of Avatars" was a shoo-in.)

The complete list of awards and recipients is posted after the break.

Continued →