Atlus PR and sales bard, Aram Jabbari, describes The Cursed Crusade as "a story of salvation and survival" set during the often unpleasant Middle Ages. "The game's main characters are not heroes; they're just men, susceptible to temptation, easily made to feel doubt and despair," Jabbari says, plucking a string (but in like, a sinister way). "The raw, gritty accuracy of many of the game's historical locations is sharply contrasted by Denz and Esteban's supernatural struggle to save their souls. Their affliction, the Templar's Curse, threatens to accelerate their descent into hell, burning their humanity away as it engulfs the space around them in demonic flame."

Apparent non-comedy troupe Denz and Esteban star in The Cursed Crusade, a new third-person action-adventure game coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It looks to be heavy on the melee combat, with Atlus and French developer Kylotonn (see: Speedball 2) promising a wide variety of weapons and ways to inflict critical flesh wounds. The curse that threatens to overwhelm Denz and Esteban also seems to grant them supernatural strengths -- including the anachronistic ability to fight cooperatively over the internet.

Join Denz and Esteban on their violent tour of Medieval Europe in Summer 2011. Bring your demonic flame-resistant dalmatica.