The Behemoth's new game: geometric heads galore! Now with actual details.

cloudeagle

We all loved Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, right? If you didn't, you have no soul.

Anyway, The Behemoth, aka those two dudes who make great games with very little help, are sitting around drinking Mai Tais in the Bahamas thanks to all that fat Castle Crashers cash. ....wait, no! They're making a new game. Yes! And on their blog on their website, the developers have unveiled... this thing:



And that's pretty much it. So, what's the deal with his head? What are those things behind him? And why does he have an Irish-looking hat on?

Edit: Update! We now have actual info on the game! IGN tried it out, and...

The demo build consisted of a set of four selectable mini games, playable by up to four players. Players could customize their characters with special head parts and a single weapon of their choosing, split into up to four teams, and assign any number of CPU-controlled characters to join in. Upon selecting a mini game, we were taken to a hub offering portals to different stages of play for the game, along with a "store" area that was inactive in the current build.

We tried the following four games:

* A block painting game where blocks turn into the color of the player who first touches them. At the end of the match, the player or team who touched the most blocks wins.
* A soccer game where each team attempts to knock a ball into their goal. The goal is just a hole on the ground. and seeing as how there's no kick button, you move the ball about by simply bumping into it.
* A game where you collect gold coins that are spit out by a goldfish which floats about the stage.
* A game where killing an opponent releases its soul into the stage, and by collecting the soul, you earn points. Those who've lost their soul can also attempt to chase it down after respawning.

These were all enjoyable, especially once we got multiple players in on the fun. We had a particularly good time with the block painting game. Even though all you're basically doing is just racing to cover as much ground as possible, it turns out to be pretty intense, even when played entirely against CPU opponents.

Control over your little character (we have no idea just what those characters are supposed to be, although they do look like something you'd find in a Behemoth game) is limited to running around, jumping, punching, and firing your single weapon -- nice and simple, presumably on purpose. From what we could tell, punching merely dazes an opponent. Weapons have different effects. Some, like the ice blaster, daze your opponent. Others, like the grenade, kill your opponent. Weapons aside, we found that the sure-fire way to kill a foe was to jump on its head.

Once someone has died, he reappears somewhere in the stage. All the mini games we played zoomed in and out to accommodate all players. When played solo, though, the screen stays zoomed in on your character.

The stages themselves have a few gimmicks. Some blocks that comprise the stage's platforms support you by propelling you up to higher levels. Some kill you off with spikes and other contraptions.

It should be noted that, as Paladin said, everything in the demo was for testing purposes. In addition to the specifics of the mini games and character options presumably not being final, there could be more to the game than just a bunch of mini games. The trailer hinted at a lot of stuff that we weren't able to sample, including cooperative play and a story of some form.

With the game not due out until 2010, The Behemoth's will have plenty of time to fill us in on all the details, and maybe even give the project a name.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/963/963711p1.html

Huh, interesting.

Witchsight

Those Irish and thier silly hats!

darleysam

And it's being announced the day after St Patrick's Day, so could well be an Irish theme going on.

Halfmex

I eagerly await the release of this game in three or four years.

Peewi

cloudeagle wrote: »

We all loved Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, right? If you didn't, you have no soul.

I'm sure I'd love them if I had played them. I want them for PC! The original Alien Hominid flash game was great.

Slicer

Halfmex wrote: »

I eagerly await the release of this game in three or four years.

Evil Multifarious

i loved alien hominid the first time i played it

then i got it on xbox arcade and realize that the visual design of the game, mechanically, is kind of awful

the game is often difficult simply because bullets blend with the background and disappear behind sprites, explosions, foreground, etc.

i mean i beat it back in the day but it's kind of a dick move to make the only important threat in the game invisible half the time.

i sure love the art though.

Guibs

I loved Alien hominid (the Art style and humor where great) and I am a big fan of Castle Crasher. So I am indeed looking forward to Behemoth's next game. That picture doesn't give much information though.

JihadJesus

I need to finish Castle Crashers; I started it with a friend a few weeks ago but never got through it, and I want to make a magic dude at some point too.

Drunk_caterpillar

Things to note...

- A cash register
- An army of little red eyed robot dudes with horns
- Machines with exhaust ports
- A box headed little dude who looks like he's crying
- A big green gem

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Maybe it's an RTS?

cloudeagle

Don't forget the round gray thing in the left corner. The picture may be zoomed in, mostly obscuring the view of another cube-head giving Irish Hat the gem.

Bartholamue

I hope this isn't a puzzle game.

cloudeagle

Okay, we have details!

The name is... okay, it doesn't have a name yet.

The release date is... sometime in 2010, or whenever they get around to finishing it.

The gameplay is... some kind of cooperative and possibly competitive platformer/puzzler? I dunno. But everyone has geometric heads.

Anyway, here's a video that won't answer any of your questions at all.

http://cheats.ign.com/dor/objects/14314311/the-behemoth-game-3/videos/behemothgame_trl_development_031709.html

Witchsight

So... its like... Little Big Castle. Or something?

Food

This game looks sweet.

Honk

I find Alien Hominid incredibly difficult and I don't know why. I just can't dodge the bullets - ever. I'll try Castle Crashers soon though.

Evil Multifarious

this game looks ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC

desc

Don't cry over the gem, Mr. Square Head.

Rent

Game looks fucking sweet

Drunk_caterpillar

Looks awesome... I think?

urahonky

Honk wrote: »

I find Alien Hominid incredibly difficult and I don't know why. I just can't dodge the bullets - ever. I'll try Castle Crashers soon though.

It's like Contra, but harder. Plus you should always have a shield on.

Evil Multifarious

Honk wrote: »

I find Alien Hominid incredibly difficult and I don't know why. I just can't dodge the bullets - ever. I'll try Castle Crashers soon though.

you can't dodge the bullets because half the time they are hidden behind various other sprites.

SirUltimos

That looks so fucking awesome. They have some awesome co-op designs in that video. Everyone should buy this when it's released because The Behemoth is wonderful.

cloudeagle

We actually have details on the game! For those of you too lazy to scroll up to the newly-updated OP, here it is.

The demo build consisted of a set of four selectable mini games, playable by up to four players. Players could customize their characters with special head parts and a single weapon of their choosing, split into up to four teams, and assign any number of CPU-controlled characters to join in. Upon selecting a mini game, we were taken to a hub offering portals to different stages of play for the game, along with a "store" area that was inactive in the current build.

We tried the following four games:

* A block painting game where blocks turn into the color of the player who first touches them. At the end of the match, the player or team who touched the most blocks wins.
* A soccer game where each team attempts to knock a ball into their goal. The goal is just a hole on the ground. and seeing as how there's no kick button, you move the ball about by simply bumping into it.
* A game where you collect gold coins that are spit out by a goldfish which floats about the stage.
* A game where killing an opponent releases its soul into the stage, and by collecting the soul, you earn points. Those who've lost their soul can also attempt to chase it down after respawning.

These were all enjoyable, especially once we got multiple players in on the fun. We had a particularly good time with the block painting game. Even though all you're basically doing is just racing to cover as much ground as possible, it turns out to be pretty intense, even when played entirely against CPU opponents.

Control over your little character (we have no idea just what those characters are supposed to be, although they do look like something you'd find in a Behemoth game) is limited to running around, jumping, punching, and firing your single weapon -- nice and simple, presumably on purpose. From what we could tell, punching merely dazes an opponent. Weapons have different effects. Some, like the ice blaster, daze your opponent. Others, like the grenade, kill your opponent. Weapons aside, we found that the sure-fire way to kill a foe was to jump on its head.

Once someone has died, he reappears somewhere in the stage. All the mini games we played zoomed in and out to accommodate all players. When played solo, though, the screen stays zoomed in on your character.

The stages themselves have a few gimmicks. Some blocks that comprise the stage's platforms support you by propelling you up to higher levels. Some kill you off with spikes and other contraptions.

It should be noted that, as Paladin said, everything in the demo was for testing purposes. In addition to the specifics of the mini games and character options presumably not being final, there could be more to the game than just a bunch of mini games. The trailer hinted at a lot of stuff that we weren't able to sample, including cooperative play and a story of some form.

With the game not due out until 2010, The Behemoth's will have plenty of time to fill us in on all the details, and maybe even give the project a name.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/963/963711p1.html

Also, this is the most awesome game show booth image ever.

RainbowDespair

That's my new desktop background.

OmnomnomPancake

RainbowDespair wrote: »

That's my new desktop background.

What, like a better version? Sawce prease?

anoffday

I bought Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, but I'm a little reluctant to buy this new game. The first two games had horrible game ending bugs that took about half a year to fix. the Behemoth is starting to make a name for themselves for releasing the buggiest games known to man.

angrylinuxgeek

anoffday wrote: »

I bought Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, but I'm a little reluctant to buy this new game. The first two games had horrible game ending bugs that took about half a year to fix. the Behemoth is starting to make a name for themselves for releasing the buggiest games known to man.

This, combined with their reluctance to accept blame and not even offering fans any sort of apology makes me completely uninterested in their new product. Unfortunately, they have a legion of gibbering fanboys who will pay any price to play their games/buy their merch

Sheep

The video I saw didn't represent anything that I'm reading in the OP. I thought it was a coop game.

Competitive games are fine with me though.

They really need to rip off New Super Mario Brothers mini game star chase thing.

That was tits.

RainbowDespair

OmnomnomPancake wrote: »

RainbowDespair wrote: »

That's my new desktop background.

What, like a better version? Sawce prease?

Actually, I meant: "Looks like I've found my new desktop background."

cloudeagle

Hmmm, looks like there's a bit more info coming out now.

There’s no quick-and-easy way to describe the gameplay in Game 3, but it definitely falls beneath the umbrella of the platformer genre. Basically, the game allows a number of players to take part in competitive scenarios that control like a typical 2D platformer, but with all the eccentricity and charm The Behemoth is known for. Players begin by quickly creating a character from a palette of options that includes head shape, face, and weapon type (the first two of which are purely cosmetic). Then they jump into a lobby where each different map and game mode is behind a certain door, which is a sort of voting system where players jump to that door and enter it in order to profess which game mode they want to play.

The demo we took part in had three gameplay modes. One of them has you collecting points by picking up bits of gold from a magical, floating golden whale and depositing them in a similarly magical, floating safe; another has players running around the level tagging each block they touch with their team color; and the third tasks players with jumping on their enemies’ heads in order to pop their soul out of their bodies, then holding onto that enemy’s soul for as long as they can in order to rack up the points.

No matter the match, the screen can get very chaotic. The biggest part of that is the fact that every player has a suite of attacks. Remember how we said you get to choose your weapon prior to a match? These include things like grenades, ice balls that freeze players for a second, fire balls that scorch them, boomerangs that stun them, and fans that blow them backward. They can also perform slide tackles, pose like a statue to harm enemies that run into them, or simply jump on another player’s head to knock them out for a moment. Lives are infinite, but besides the second it takes to respawn, the consequences for death include losing out on magical whale gold in your possession or the enemy soul you might have tucked away.

There are a certain number of environmental hazards that come into play, as well. Liquid of any kind means instant death, whether it’s an inviting pool of water or a bright green toxic abyss. Certain blocks you run and jump on will explode the second you step on them, sending you shooting across the level, and others simply disappear instantly. With all this going on, matches can definitely get a little chaotic. However, it’s a manageable sort of chaos considering the only thing you or anyone else is able to do is jump and attack. There’s also an undeniable level of charm seeing a cartoon character freeze another in a block of ice while chasing a floating whale, so it’s not as though that chaos is especially stressful either. In short: Game 3 is frantic but fun.

Yes, but is it awesome? This sentence may answer it for you:

That said, Game 3 does maintain that same level of absurdness as previous titles, including a sort of mascot character who breakdances while crying… for no apparent reason.

Okie dokie. There's also a video if you're interested.

http://comic-con.gamespot.com/story/6213850/the-behemoth-presents-game-3-first-look?tag=topslot;img;1

muninn

Did they ever fix the netcode in Castle Crashers? If not, they can take this new game and shove it up their collective asses.

Cherrn

Honestly, I wanted to like Alien Hominid, but I don't see any conceivable reason to play it in a world where Metal Slug exists. It's like deliberately choosing rough toilet paper over the softer equivalent - sure, you can get by using the rough stuff as it still does the job, but given the choice, why would you?

Sorry, I was just reading the toilet paper thread in D&D.

Castle Crashers was a bit more appealing to me, but I never got around to buying it after all the post-release hubbub. Also, I'm not a big multiplayer guy, so this game doesn't look all that interesting to me.

Drake

angrylinuxgeek wrote: »

anoffday wrote: »

I bought Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, but I'm a little reluctant to buy this new game. The first two games had horrible game ending bugs that took about half a year to fix. the Behemoth is starting to make a name for themselves for releasing the buggiest games known to man.

This, combined with their reluctance to accept blame and not even offering fans any sort of apology makes me completely uninterested in their new product. Unfortunately, they have a legion of gibbering fanboys who will pay any price to play their games/buy their merch

I've got the Gamecube Alien Hominid. I never encountered a single bug in the game (DISCLAIMER: This doesn't mean they don't exist, I just never saw one myself). I assume you are talking about the XBLA version?

cloudeagle

Cherrn wrote: »

Honestly, I wanted to like Alien Hominid, but I don't see any conceivable reason to play it in a world where Metal Slug exists.

Butterscotch pudding monster.

Alternately, the fact that the FBI somehow has an army of giant robots, one of which has "DO NOT DAMAGE HEAD" written in big letters on its chest.

Alfred J. Kwak

But really, you only buy Alien Hominid for the awesome pba minigame:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqpdTY4HDFY

BloodySloth

I had no problem with bugs in Alien Hominid, and multiplayer bugs weren't an issue for me in Castle Crashers, because online multiplayer is poo compared to local, and so I spent very little time online.

I'm excited for game 3, but only because of the team behind it. What I've seen of the game itself isn't really drawing me in at all.

Drake

cloudeagle wrote: »

Cherrn wrote: »

Honestly, I wanted to like Alien Hominid, but I don't see any conceivable reason to play it in a world where Metal Slug exists.

Butterscotch pudding monster.

Alternately, the fact that the FBI somehow has an army of giant robots, one of which has "DO NOT DAMAGE HEAD" written in big letters on its chest.

Also, riding on an abominable snowman while trashing the Soviet army.

The UFO.

Biting off the heads of FBI Agents.

Hats.

Minigames where you can wear the hats.