Xbox Live Arcade fans have something to be thankful for now that The Behemoth has finally completed development on its highly celebrated action platformer, Castle Crashers. Game designer Dan Paladin recently made this proud announcement on the game's official devblog and gave out some additional details regarding the game's upcoming release. Find out more about what Paladin said by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Somehow these little developments managed to slip our tireless gaze at the news stream, but we figured hey, better it gets some spotlight eventually than never. Gamers on the lookout for updates on Gears of War 2 picked up word that the May 2008 issue of Game Informer magazine features a full cover story on Epic Games' successor to the Xbox 360 hit, Gears of War. And folks who got their hands on a copy of that issue have unlocked the secrets that lay within. Check the full story for more details.

The Behemoth development studio is mostly known for its Alien Hominid game for the Xbox 360 Live arcade service. That is about to change with the upcoming release of Castle Crashers. The company recently talked about the weapons and characters in this game on its official blog. Know the details after the jump!

Multiplayer mayhem in the spirit of Super Smash Bros. is hard to come by, which is why the upcoming Castle Crashers carries much promise. From the fame of Alien Hominid, The Behemoth is currently working on a title for Xbox Live Arcade that will put four players together in fast-paced combat.

Behind the facade of wacky characters and simplistic design in Castle Crashers are strategic elements to keep the competition alive. Stages are varied, and taking advantage of the terrain is important to gain victory. Power ups can also turn the tide of battle, making them important to collect.

If free for all face-offs get repetitive, there are other game modes in Castle Crashers to play around with. One equips your characters with bows and arrows in a brutal match, while another strips you bare naked with chickens as weapons.

A report by Games Industry had Dan Paladin, The Behemoth's co-founder, calling on all publishers to give developers leeway in the development process and let them do their thing. "I would like to see the traditional publishing deal change. I would like to see publishers act more as distributors," he said.

 

Paladin spoke out at last month's Nordic Game Conference, stating that developers will probably all tell you the same thing over and over again - their publisher has removed an idea they wanted in the game or that a feature was changed in favor of the publisher because they had the money and owned the intellectual property.

"I do think you publishers have too much power over developers, for the most part. All publishers are different, but on the whole," said Paladin in an interview with Games Industry, ending abruptly. Independent game developer studio The Behemoth funded and distributed their own title Alien Hominid over various platforms all by themselves.

"That's why we risk everything up front, so we can take it in and it's all there; we trust our own judgement," added Paladin. Developers are often forced to adopt the ideas of their publishers, according to him, and causes the games that used to be really good early on become a disaster when released later.

"The problem is the people who aren't making the game are calling the shots on how the games should be made," explained Paladin, calling such a way of development as "armchair developing." He claimed publishers just sit on their chairs and think of an idea, and say, "Wouldn't this be cool?"

It would be really cool if the ideas really worked for the game, but more often than not, they don't turn out the way everyone plans. "Publishers aren't developers, so I think they should stay out of the creative process," he concluded.

Major Nelson just pointed out that even more Alien Hominid HD downloadable content packs are available in all regions. There are three new ones, two of which are picture packs (both costing 100 MS Points each), while the other is In-Game Content (150 MS Points):

• Angry Faic Picture Pack
• Boris's Revenge Series (Picture Pack - 5 Gamer Pictures)
• PDA Classic Pack 1 (includes 100 PDA levels)
  

Despite the release of the DLC, some have still been complaining asking about a patch update for the game. Project manager Emil from The Behemoth dropped by the Major's blog to let us in on some dev info. Turns out their first priority is getting to roll out the title update for Alien Hominid HD. Their current status:

It's pretty simple actually, we have submitted the update to Microsoft and are currently working with them to make sure all of the issues are A) Resolved, B) Not causing any new problems in the game.

Just sit tight, folks. We'll get the update sooner than you can say "Take me to your leader."

The Behemoth today announced the first shipment of exclusive handmade trophies honoring the top Alien Hominid HD players on XBLA. These trophies, built with "love and elbow grease" at the developer's studio, are being mailed out to players who have scaled the heights of the Alien Hominid HD leaderboards.

"We wanted to find a way to recognize the top players of Alien Hominid HD," said Alien Hominid HD producer John Baez. "Making some spiffy trophies here in the office from genuinely simulated gold seemed like just the ticket."

The trophies are all individually customized and bear the worthy player's GamerTag, high score, and the date etched into the trophy's base. You can check 'em out below.

 

By way of Major Nelson (his site, to be exact), we've picked up an update for more Alien Hominid goodies waiting to be purchased at Xbox Live Marketplace. The first pack under discussion is a new PDA Euro Pack, which features 100 Europe-themed levels gamers in the US may not have seen before. This pack currently sells for 150 Microsoft Points.

The other items up for grabs are two new Alien Hominid picture packs: The "Boss" and the "Super Soviet Series". The former package will feature pics of Alien Hominid's meanest in-game bosses, while the latter features pics of in-game Soviet favorites, like the Yeti, or the KGB Blimp. These pack contain 5 pics each, and will cost 100 Microsoft Points (each). Just log into Live if you fancy purchasing the latest updates to this highly popular XBLA title.

Courtesy of Major Nelson, we just got word that there are new additions to the Xbox Live Marketplace which you guys may be interested in.

First up, we have MumboJumbo's Luxor 2, which after having heard so much about it for a while now, is finally available for download. For 800 MS points (US$ 10), the full version of the popular puzzle game can be downloaded. With a file size that's only about 25.7MB, this should make a welcome addition to your collection of casual games.

Next, there's some Alien Hominid goodies which are up for grabs. For 150 MS Points (about US$ 1.87), you can download 100 new PDA levels for this The Behemoth-developed Invader Zim-esque adventure shoot-'em-up. After that, there are also two gamer picture packs with five gamer pics each. Each pack is available for 100 MS Points a pop (about US$ 1.25). Both picture packs feature characters from Alien Hominid, with one pack containing Pudding Boss, the Fat Kid, and Screaming FBI Agent.

Now someone PLEASE tell us they have a picture of the chicken from the logo that The Behemoth uses...

What is game developer The Behemoth best known for? Alien Hominid for one and of course, pure unadulterated mayhem. Their new side-scroller Castle Crashers is promising to deliver that plus so much more.

We have two gameplay videos of Castle Crashers shown at the Game Developers Conference (GDC): Barbarian Bash and Castle Destruction. Barbarian Bash features four players and a boss that even Goliath would be afraid of. Castle Destruction on the other hand features two players going against hordes upon hordes of enemy soldiers. (The rain of arrows reminded us briefly of 300.)

Anyway, notice that different colored knights have different special attacks and weapons. We noticed the boomerang and bow and arrows alternates with the sword. Special attacks include the ice shards and the green plumes that we assume to be poison.

There hasn't been any word as to when the release is exactly (in Xbox Live Arcade) but rest assured that we'll keep a close eye on Castle Crashers by The Behemoth. We'll stop rambling for now and leave you to enjoy the videos.

The other castle crashing video right after the jump!