Black Knight Sword

Starting today Xbox Live Gold members can capitalize on an exclusive price cut for the twisted platforming adventure Black Knight Sword. The sale runs for one week on Xbox Live …
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The development studio helmed by Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Grasshopper Manufacture, has been acquired by GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese company primarily known for online game services and the Ragnarok series. Fans …
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Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

The holidays are officially upon us. It’s been a busy week around these parts, thanks to our own Andrew Crews, who’s diligently orchestrated yet another year of fantastic giveaways. Today marks the end of The 12 Days of XBLA, and your last chance to score the amazing Grand Prize worth $55 in Xbox Live Arcade games. Be sure to check out the final entry of the contest, and toss your hat in the ring. Finally, we want to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays from all of us here at XBLAFans!

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Black Knight Sword was co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality and published by Reverb Publishing. It was released on December 12, 2012 for 800 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Moments before the curtain is pulled, it’s clear Black Knight Sword is something unique. Bright stage lights pour over rippled maroon as patrons titter in anticipation. Suddenly, an alarm bell rings out. Silhouettes quickly rise to shuffle away from the stage. The production’s now vacant audience is an appropriate analog for what’s to come; a unique experience targeted at no one in particular.

Black Knight Sword has been touted as many things: retro platforming homage, surreal fairy tale, dark twisted mystery. All this it achieves, helmed by Goichi “Suda 51” Suda, whose penchant for the bizarre oozes through the grim aesthetic. The black knight, assuming the role after coming into contact with the sword spirit, must battle through a punishing gauntlet of horrors, each chapter unfolding like a storybook parable — pushing along a loose narrative that resonates with deeper significance.

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Cherry Pop Games recently contacted us about our 12 Days of XBLA promotion and we were more than happy to add a few Pool Nation codes to our list …
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Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

We’re well under way in our 12 Days of XBLA giveaway. If you haven’t caught it, ’tis the season for giving and your chance to score dozens of terrific XBLA titles as the holidays approach. In other news, Minecraft gets some video coverage, and delays are discussed across a few games that fell away from the spotlight.

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Two new titles land on Xbox Live Arcade today. Black Knight Sword marks a second dip into XBLA waters for co-developers Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality since their release of Sine …
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Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

A solid week for Xbox Live Arcade. We’ve got some big releases and DLC to pour over, a lot of great games on the horizon and a few impressive milestones for XBLA favorites. What did you pick up this week? Are you battling for Middle-earth? Hitting monster combos in Tony Hawk, or pitting historic figures against each other in fantasy duels to the death?

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Opening night for Suda 51’s newest bloody adventure Black Knight Sword is next week, December 12 on Xbox Live Arcade. This theatrical hack-and-slasher comes from Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality, the same star-crossed teams from Japan and Hungary that brought us Sine Mora earlier this year. We saw the game earlier this year at PAX East, where we noticed a striking similarity to a certain other over-dramatized villain. The reverent nods continue in the press release they sent earlier today:

Bring out yer dead! Bring our yer dead! And, no, it won’t cost ninepence because The Black Knight from Black Knight Sword is here to rid the world of treacherous evil for the thrill of killing. The wicked, bad, naughty, villainous, duplicitous, and super evil Dark Princess must pay the penalty! So never fear, The Black Knight will make his grand debut in Black Knight Sword on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft Wednesday, December 12. Even without arms or legs, The Black Knight will partake in an adventure through a strange spin on a classic fairytale to defeat the wicked creatures of the night.
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Believe it or not my favorite part about video games isn’t the games themselves but the way they bring people together. Arguably no show demonstrates this bond better than PAX. Thousands of likeminded individuals flooded Boston this past Easter weekend. It didn’t matter where you worked or what you did or what you had to do when you hit the ground again on Monday; for one glorious weekend everyone was an equal: a gamer. It didn’t matter if your weapon was a die, a mouse, a controller or one’s own body. Everyone at this show had a passion for games.

A few of us from XBLA Fans made the trip and had the honor of mingling and checking out some of the upcoming XBLA titles for 2012 and beyond. We were able to hear developers in their element talking to fans about their projects. It was an amazing experience. Our own Andrew Crews has already elaborated on this issue, but in the end you remember the little things. That being said, there were some amazing games. Check out our full breakdown below!

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