Knights Contract signed for Feb. 22

Namco Bandai earned a strong critical response in October with Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, a third-person action adventure in which a crafty female dominated a thuggish male in a far-future dystopia to ensure her safety. The publisher will be revisiting that formula next year with Knights Contract, announcing today that the gore-heavy action adventure will arrive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation on February 22.

Knights Contract sees players following the unlikely duo of the witch Gretchen and the immortal executioner Heinrich. Though Gretchen actually died at Heinrich's hands, she has been resurrected and now controls the scythe-wielding warrior. Together the pair struggles to save the world from a "black spell of death" and a supernatural army called the Harmonculous.

The duo fight in what Namco is calling "stylized and over-the-top action," with players controlling Heinrich and stringing together appendage-dismembering combos while the computer-controlled Gretchen uses her magic in a supporting role. Players will be able to coordinate the pair's attacks by issuing mid-melee commands to Gretchen, as well as executing finishing moves. While Heinrich is invincible, players will need to protect the vulnerable Gretchen if they want to make it far.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Knights Contract.