Australian developer Halfbrick has today announced Raskulls, a brand new platforming puzzle game for XBLA. Promising to follow up on the success of previous sidescrolling games like Braid and Castle Crashers, Halfbrick is hoping to be the next big thing on XBLA. This studio is not short of ambition.

"Gameplay is a unique blend of platforming, puzzle and racing," explains the studio's press release. "With hundreds of blocks arranged in Tetris-style fashion throughout each world, players must use a block-smashing wand to find their way through the level in the most efficient way possible.

"Some levels are simple point-to-point or lap footraces, while other modes involve diffusing bombs and conserving block-bashing "ammo". Up to four players can race with heaps weapons and powerups in a huge variety of levels and modes."

Sounds interesting, and the promo images released so far look disgustingly adorable. Raskulls should be released later this year and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on it. The very fact that the "King" character lists his favorite pasttime as "kinging" is enough for me.

Brisbane, Australia - March 27th, 2009

Prominent Australian developer Halfbrick today announced its brand new IP for the Xbox Live Arcade - Raskulls. Joining the heritage of the most popular XBLA titles such as Braid, Castle Crashers and The Maw, Raskulls is an entirely original and exciting puzzle platformer with a rich single-player campaign and an incredibly addictive online multiplayer component.

Gameplay is a unique blend of platforming, puzzle and racing. With hundreds of blocks arranged in Tetris-style fashion throughout each world, players must use a block-smashing wand to find their way through the level in the most efficient way possible. Some levels are simple point-to-point or lap footraces, while other modes involve diffusing bombs and conserving block-bashing "ammo". Up to four players can race with heaps weapons and powerups in a huge variety of levels and modes.

Games developed with a variety of genres in mind during the creation process often fail to provide enough focus and longevity for the player. Lead designer Daniel Vogt confidently believes that Raskulls will be a one-of-a-kind experience with quality gameplay to back it up. "It's difficult to categorize Raskulls, but instead of using that as an excuse, the whole dev team knows it's an advantage," he said, "Everyone is familiar with simple block-based gaming, but we've taken it to the next level by placing the player directly into the puzzle-based environment – and given them heaps of gameplay options. Combine the variety of powerups, the lengthy story mode and addictive multiplayer, and we know we're onto a winner."

The stars of the show are the Raskulls themselves. Cute, costumed skeleton characters with individual personalities, the humor and art style of Raskulls is tongue-in-cheek and constantly hilarious. Two teaser images have been launched to showcase the unique art style and mischievous humor found throughout the game. Screenshots, gameplay trailers and a whole roster of character profiles will be revealed soon!

Raskulls is scheduled for a worldwide release on Xbox Live Arcade in Q3 2009.