The Templars seem to be having a bit of a renaissance lately, what with The First Templar out last week, and an equivalent organisation featuring heavily in Dragon Age II. With the announcement of The Cursed Crusade coming this summer, the developers' obsession with the mystery and history of the Templars seems set to continue.
For those of you that haven't heard of the Templars, they were a group of Christian warriors from the Middle Ages. Endorsed by the Catholic Church, they were responsible for defending the Holy Land of Jerusalem and protecting the pilgrims that journeyed there. They were effectively a group of warrior monks, who were forbidden to retreat from battle unless outnumbered three to one, becoming an important part of the quest for the Holy Lands during the Crusades. Saint Bernard de Clairvaux describes a Templar Knight as "truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armour of faith, just as his body is protected by the armour of steel. He is thus doubly armed, and need fear neither demons nor men."
The Templar's summer barbecue turned a bit sour, after Denz lost the annual axe-dancing championship for the forth year running...
Billed as a 'historical thriller', the Cursed Crusade is set at the end of the twelfth century, at the begining of the Forth Crusade, and follows the story of two cursed warriors who are fighting to save their souls from something known as the Templar's Curse, which threatens to accelerate their descent into hell. The curse does have benefits though - by letting it take over, you can turn the world around you into a vision of hell, increasing your strength and your ability to see hidden things in the process - although quite how this works remains to be seen. After all, there has to be some cost to your humanity from sacrificing your soul to hell.
What interests us about the game is the news that you, playing as Denz, the Holy Warrior can recruit a friend to help out as Esteban, a rogue mercernary, and take part in the adventure together. Unfortunately, that's about all we know at the moment - although this is another one we'll be keeping a close eye on as we get closer to release. For the time being, here's a trailer to whet your appetite:
