shank posts

Yet another busy day from GDC. It's great to hear that Minecraft and Amnesia, among other PC exclusive games, are selling so well and also gaining acceptance from game developers.

• As promised earlier this week the new Polynesian Scenario Pack for Civilization V has been released via Steam.
• Steam also has automatic updates available for Shank and Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Retribution.
• GoG.com has added the top down sci-fi shooter Shadowgrounds to its PC game download library.
• A YouTube video shows a man updating his PC through every version of Windows.
• Former id Software founders John Romero and Tom Hall look back at the making of the original Doom at GDC 2011.

It's been another busy day and with the DICE Summit starting up tomorrow the rest of the week is going to be brutal. Stay tuned.

• Electronic Arts' online store is offering a free copy of Shank with pre-orders of Bulletstorm.
• Steam has automatic patches available for download for The King's Crusade, Garry's Mod and the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty Black Ops.
• Steam also has a new patch for Breach that adds support for running dedicated servers for the game without the Steam client.
• Happy 20th anniversary Blizzard Entertainment. Check out this video of Blizzard's history over at G4TV.com.

Shank is not an ambitious game. This much is clear from the very beginning, and the impression persists throught the hyper-violent brawler. Shank is a game about linear, cartoonish murder, and it doesn't care about things such as innovation. It wants you to kill bad guys and spray the walls with their candy apple red gore. So why is a game so unabashedly straightforward one of most interesting games from EA in a while? It's pretty simple, really: it satisfies even the harshest and most grating desire for blood. Given the already intensely violent atmosphere of gaming today, this is a pretty impressive feat.

Tomorrow Microsoft is scheduled to relaunch their Games For Windows Marketplace as a web-based online store. There might also be some other announcements on Monday that might be of interest. Stay tuned.

• Sign ups have begun for the annual EVE Online Fan Fest on March 24-26 in Iceland.
• While it is not mentioned on Steam's web site a new patch update for Shank is now available for download via Steam.
• The new Xbox 360 Controller with the transforming D-Pad can work with a Windows PC. Here's how it can be done.
• This one is a no-brainer. It's Super Meat Boy in claymation.

It's a game that has an ultra-violent main character, has a cool comic book art style and is just plain fun to play. It's Shank, the newest game from developer Klei Entertainment. Released via download for consoles earlier this year from publisher Electronic Arts, Shank is now available to purchase and download via Steam starting today.

So why should you get Shank for the PC and how has the game been changed, if any, for the PC platform? We got answers to those questions and even more via Klei Entertainment's CEO and Shank's co-creator Jamie Cheng.

Shank is a game that knows exactly what it wants: gore and violence. This trailer also knows what the players want from Shank, which is the exact same thing. While listing the accolades already garnered for the console version of the hyper-stylized beat-'em-up, the trailer also shows off the many different enemies and moves that you will see during the game. There's even a quote from our sister-site Joystiq's review of the game tossed into the trailer. As has been made blatantly apparent, this is a game that will slake your thirst for murder.

Download HD Shank 'Accolades' Trailer
Check out all Shank downloads

Both EA and developer Hothead Games have been vague and a little non-committal about bringing the humorous action RPG DeathSpank to the PC. Well, that's no longer the case, since DeathSpank has been officially announced for both PC and Mac! The game will release via Steam on October 26, and pre-order customers will receive a 10 percent discount off the $14.99 price tag. Note that the release date reflects the PC version only. A Mac OS port is currently in development, but no official release date has been announced.

Action game fans can further their saving by purchasing the bloody violent action game Shank (developed by Klei Entertainment) alongside DeathSpank in the "Shank and 'Spank" Bundle. Customers that pre-order this two game bundle receive a 15 percent discount on the purchase, making for a fantastic value. If you want to get into the spirit of Shanking before the game releases of the PC, the official soundtrack is available to download for free here.

Download the Shank Soundtrack

As major AAA game development teams work with new hardware, the amount of money for making the average high profile game has gone up and up over the past few years. It's not uncommon to hear that a game has a budget in the tens of millions of dollars.

However, one game executive seems to believe that trend is over, at least for the moment. Gamesindustry.biz (free registration required) vchatted with David DeMartini, the head of Electronic Arts' third party EA Partners division, about budget issues. He he stated, " ... I think budgets for games have actually peaked and are starting to move in the reverse direction again." It's certainly true that small dev teams can make downloadable games that don't cost a lot to make and if popular can quickly make a profit. DeMartini states, "I don't think there's any one right budget for any game. It kind of depends on how big the idea is and what the team needs to be able to make a 90 (percent) rated game with the idea that they're working on."

Shank, the 2D side scrolling action adventure with a sharp edge, releases on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this week, with a PC launch expected in the fall. This launch trailer celebrates the momentous occasion, but that's not all. Since the Shank Facebook page was able to reach its goal of 1,500 fans, the developers at Klei Entertainment are rewarding fans by releasing the official game soundtrack in its entirety for free. That's 13 tracks of bloodthirsty, revenge seeking, DRM-free love. The track list is shown after the jump.

Download HD Shank Launch Trailer (90 MB)
Download the Official Shank Soundtrack (46 MB)
Check out all Shank downloads

The developers at Klei Entertainment recently announced a surprise feature to be found in the super-violent side-scrolling action game, Shank - a full cooperative campaign! Although the main campaign will be single player only, the game will feature a separate cooperative storyline that reveals the backstory of Shank. The game is scheduled to release on the PlayStation Network on August 24th and Xbox Live Arcade on the 25th then on the PC in the fall.

Download HD Shank Co-op Trailer (86 MB)
Check out all Shank downloads