REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Award-winning independent game developer Klei Entertainment and EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced Shank™ 2, the sequel to last year’s Annie Award nominated downloadable action title. The original game was praised by critics at 1UP.com for being “…the freshest, most unequivocally rewarding beat-em-up game to come along in a decade” and EGM Magazine called the original Shank “…one of the most intense action experiences of the last few years”. Shank 2 will be available for Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PlayStation® Network and PC in early 2012.
“Creatively, Shank still has a lot to give,” said Jamie Cheng, founder of Klei Entertainment. “We took the feedback from the community and ran with it, putting our own flavor on every change. For Shank 2, we literally took apart the game and put it back together to push the envelope in combat mechanics, visuals, and 2D animation in games."
“We are honored to again partner with the visionary talent of Klei Entertainment,” said Jamil Moledina, Director, Business Development at EA Partners. “Shank 2 showcases their ability to blend emotionally resonant yet sardonically violent storytelling with pitch perfect controls and art design and confirms EA Partners' strategy of bringing the best independent games simultaneously to all leading digital platforms."
Shank 2 returns with a story of redemption as Shank, a former mob hitman with a dark and vengeful past, is thrust back into action when the lives of those close to him are endangered. Expanding on the original game’s rich and intuitive combat and control system, Shank 2 continues Klei's tradition of making fluid brawling controls and stunningly beautiful visuals that leapfrogs the competition in the 2D side-scrolling genre. The game also introduces an intense new, arcade-style survival co-op mode that has gamers working together to take down their foes, relying on the environment and weapon pick-ups for survival.
For more information on Shank 2, please visit www.shankgame.com and follow the development team at www.twitter.com/klei and at www.facebook.com/shankgame.
Klei Entertainment is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company’s game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.
In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.
About Klei Entertainment
Founded in 2005, Klei Entertainment is an award-winning game development studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia with both the technical and creative capabilities to create original and lasting properties on all platforms. Klei combines world-class talent and passion to craft great games with memorable characters that appeal to a wide range of audiences. It has developed and published games for the PC, PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade. To learn more about the Klei team and its latest projects, visit www.kleientertainment.com.
SHANK is a trademark of Klei Entertainment Inc., used under license. The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox, Xbox LIVE and Kinect are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and used with permission.