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One half of EA Partners' downloadable duo has already been released -- DeathSpank came out last week and was greeted by Joystiq with open arms-- and now we know when the second half will be released. Klei Entertainment's slick arcade brawler Shank will be released on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on August 24 and 25, respectively, for $15.

In addition to those pesky details, a press release also reveals a new gameplay mode: "a special co-operative mission, designed to be played with a friend locally [...] This prequel mission allows players to play as Shank or his partner-in-crime Falcone, with deadly double-team moves and gameplay that encourages teamwork."

It sounds like the co-op is limited to a single, "prequel" mission, which is a bummer; however, Shank's charm has always been its good looks, and you can enjoy that all by yourself.

#contest Kotaku commenter Jessifer's correct answer to our trivia giveaway was chosen at random from 291 correct entries, winning her the coveted Shank maquette signed by the game's creators, Jamie Cheng and Jeffrey Agala. More »

#contest Who says you can't get your hands on the best goodies given out during E3? Klei Entertainment, makers of the heavily anticipated Shank, gave us this badass maquette based on the game, and we both want you to have it. More »

We had to shank some fool to bring you these pictures.

Slicing up fools on a moving train.

#e32010 First I shanked the guy, then I shot him, then I stuffed a grenade down his throat and punched him in the face, then it exploded, and then he died. More »

Revenge cuts deep.

#republished It was recently announced that God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk will be lending her talents to the upcoming game Shank.  I thought the God of War games were above-average in the video game narrative department and Shank looks like a well-done update to one of my favorite games, Metal Slug.  However, instead of making me anticipate the game even more, the news has left me perplexed.  Why?  Because this game was announced last year and has already been previewed by game reviewers.  The game is done and now it's time to get a writer on board.  As a writer, this strikes me as odd. More »

While you wouldn't think a game with a title as brutally simple as Shank would need a heavyweight in the whole "writing" department, Electronic Arts recently announced that Marianne Krawczyk, who won a BAFTA award for her work on the God of War franchise, will contribute to Klei Entertainment's action-platformer.

In a recent EA press release, Krawczyk said, "we are creating a story that will allow gamers to explore a world where values like integrity and loyalty take on their own twisted meanings." We assume said story will be related between opportunities to stab things using two knives simultaneously -- a genre which is quickly becoming Krawczyk's literary bread-and-butter.

#ea Marianne Krawczyk, best known for bringing Kratos to life as the writer of God of War, is lending her talents to a different kind of hero in Klei Entertainment's Shank. More »

This incredibly violent game called for a writer with some experience in the area.

Watch out for shanking.

#paxeast When last I left Shank, it was PAX West 2009. Six months later I got my hands on a whole new, platform-heavy level and word from Klei Entertainment's Jamie Cheng on quality versus quantity. More »

With Shank now being published by EA, Klei Entertainment is putting the increased development budget to good use -- with a trailer! Well, it's likely there would be a trailer this week anyway, as this week also marks the hyper-violent XBLA/PSN/PC brawler's appearance at the Independent Games Festival.

The brutal violence may dominate the trailer, but our eyes were immediately drawn to the acrobatics. There's so much somersaulting, swinging, hanging, and other exciting-looking methods of movement that they even manage to distract us from the usually thrilling shoot-stab-saw combos on display.

#gdc Kotaku darling, Independent Games Festival finalist and soon to be Electronic Arts-published game Shank gets a bit more face time this week as GDC kicks off. More »

Shank is one of those games that immediately catches your eye.

#eapartners Electronic Arts today announced a deal with the developers of Shank and Deathspank to bring the downloadable games to multiple platforms. More »

EA Partners, a division of Electronics Arts, has announced an exclusive publishing agreement with two upcoming indie games -- Hothead's DeathSpank and Klei Entertainment's Shank -- which will allow a much wider (and ostensibly easier) path to distribution for both games. EA claims Shank will be available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC this summer, while DeathSpank will be available on Xbox Live and PSN with no date yet announced.

"Our mission at EA Partners is to work with the best talent across the game industry, and we are thrilled to extend our expertise to the leading creative developers in downloadable indie games," said EA Partners' outreach director Jamil Moledina. "DeathSpank is engrossingly fun and hysterically funny ... and Shank is an amazing experience."

The EA Partners program has had some heavy hitters onboard, like Rock Band, Left 4 Dead 2, and Brütal Legend, but this marks the first time indie games have been brought into the fold. We've toured through DeathSpank before (with Ron Gilbert himself!), and Shank was just named a finalist at the Independent Games Festival, taking place during GDC next week in San Francisco.

It's interesting to see EA move into the indie arena, much like 2K Games has done with 2K Play (think: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and Axel and Pixel), but we'll have to see how it plays out. Hopefully they'll offer both in a Spank 'n Shank special bundle. We spoke with EA's Moledina and both developers, so stay tuned for more info shortly.

Tired of stodgy corporate games made by The Man and his minions? We're playing the 31 best indie games for a change of pace —- and so we can judge them. Today, Shank. In A Sentence Shank is a...

Give your enemies the bloody shank--literally, but also with chainsaws, dual pistols, and more.

Footage stabbed straight from the floor at PAX 2009!

Get your stabby hands ready!