As everybody knows, we Australians have the greatest sense of humour in the world, which possibly has something to do with the chance of dying of spider bite while sitting on the toilet. Whatever the cause, the games we make are capable of hilarity, and Aussie developers Halfbrick have thrown serious out the window with their latest Xbox LIVE Arcade project, Raskulls. What's a Raskull? It's a skeleton ... in cosplay. And apparently likely to be mischievous or cheeky, according to my dictionary.

The gameplay blends traditional block-based puzzling action with platform elements, in that your Raskull is actually dashing around amongst the gigantic cubes that make up the level, searching for the most efficient route through. Efficiency is pretty important, since your skeletal hero will be racing head to head with up to three other players. Halfbrick lead developer Daniel Vogt is enthusiastic about the resulting genre mix:

"It's difficult to categorize Raskulls, but instead of using that as an excuse, the whole dev team knows it's an advantage ... 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."

Well sure, that sounds good, but what we're all really interested in is the costumed skeletons. Ten Raskulls (and one hazard) have been revealed so far, so let's meet a few of them!


The first character to sit under our profiling spotlight is Ridinghood. She may be a distressing reminder of human mortality in a suspiciously derivative cape, but for all that she's just a regular gal on the inside... Or, you know, wherever skeletons keep their... I'm ending this line of questioning right now. Dragon is just about the cutest example of that scaly breed I have ever seen, but like his less adorable brethren he has a bit of a thing about power, which he satisfies by his association with King, apparently to the exclusion of all other interest. Finally, Blue Block is not actually a Raskull but one of the many barriers to victory found in level, and as such, spends most of his time being enthusiastically exploded by the rest of the cast.

You can check out the rest of the profiles (including Pirate, Ninja and ...Milk Carton) on the screenshots page. Raskulls is the second Xbox LIVE Arcade title from Halfbrick, following on from Halfbrick Blast Off, and is expected in the third quarter.