Barkley 2 is one of those old Kickstarter games that dwindled out of public scrutiny after months of silence. It pulled in $120,335 back in 2012 with a promised release date of Dec. 2013, but seeing as we are way past that at this point, anything is a welcome sight now. And that's just what we have.
A new live-action teaser trailer, very clearly spoofing the Final Fantasy VII Remake teaser and the AAA gaming scene's reluctance to show actual gameplay, has bounced it back into prominent view with promises of the game finally being showed off at PAX this week. "Barkley" narrates, indicating that "At last, the promise has been made…"
For those who don't know, Barkley 2 is the sequel to the beloved free RPG Barkley, Shut up and Jam Gaiden from 2008 This first game takes place in 2041 and stars Charles Barkley, an NBA superstar who destroyed a basketball stadium after performing a Chaos Dunk, killing all in attendance. As a result of his actions, many basketball players were rounded up and killed, and the game was made illegal. Twelve years later, another Chaos Dunk destroys Manhattan and Barkley is blamed by the sellout Michael Jordon and his B-Ball Removal Department. Avoiding arrest and execution by an oppressive government, Barkley and his party must uncover the secrets behind this latest Chaos Dunk.
It's really that awesome. See the trailer below.
If we are going with official titles here, Barkley 2 is actually called The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 – Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie – Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. Naturally, Tales of Game's Studio was unable to score the likenesses of actual NBA players for a game created with the intent of being profitable, so many of the references towards the NBA have been scrapped. Our hero is now named X114JAM9, a cybernetic youngster who awakens from a basketball induced coma in the year 666X. He sets out on a quest in search of Cyberdwarf, the previous game's only returning character and "the only one who can reveal to him the terrible truth behind his forgotten past and make sense of his harrowing future."
Barkley 2 is a coming of age story, a story about love, hope, betrayal and redemption. It is a story about identity and sacrifice, a story about wayward jocks struggling for a purpose. It is a story about the trials of our dystopian future and most importantly…
…it is a story about You.
Yes, please. You should be caught up to speed before playing this sequel, so the first game is available for free from the game's official website. Hopefully, we'll finally be getting some gameplay from PAX.
