Shaq Fu returns -- "This time we won't FU it up!" devs say

The rumors were right. Shaq Fu is coming back. Organizers today launched a $450,000 Indiegogo campaign for Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, a sequel to the 1994 2D fighting game. The game is coming to PC for $30, though other platforms are being considered as well.

"This time we won't FU it up!," developer Big Deez Productions said on the Indiegogo website.

Big Deez Productions is a new studio staffed by developers who worked on franchises like Halo, Max Payne, Battlefield, Killzone, and Street Fighter, among others.

"We are in partnership with the man, Shaquille O'Neal, an avid gamer himself. We got tired of bowing to the monolithic men with the money and wanted to work with people who care about the quality of the product," the developers said. "We are people with passion that intend to make solid, addictive, kick ass games, without a whiff of BS."

O'Neal himself is quoted in the game's campaign video as saying, "Alright, I admit it. The first Shaq Fu was [thumbs-down motion] terrible [stabs self with fake sword]. Wait until you see the graphics on this one. I'm back."

Why launch a crowdfunding campaign when O'Neal obviously has the means to fund the game himself? "The purpose of bringing the game to the public is to see how much interest there is in becoming Shaq's partner and in seeing the game happen," developers said.

O'Neal is investing "a lot" of his own time and money into the project, as are developers at Big Deez Productions, they said. Unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo is not all-or-nothing, so the developers get to keep all funds raised through the campaign. 5 percent of all profits for Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn will go to the Boys and Girls Club of America.

As for the game itself, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is described as "Streets of Rage meets Street Fighter meets Devil May Cry." You'll play as O'Neal and learn "hundreds" of moves and battle techniques which you'll use against "thousands" of enemies. The game also will include "cool finishing moves," a co-op mode, and a head-to-head mode.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn also includes destructible environments, power-ups, and a progression system. There's also a campaign story "worthy of an Oscar" where you'll battle against the "villain for the ages" Black Star Ninja. Be sure to check out the Indiegogo campaign for a full list of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn features.

If you back the game at $15, you'll get a digital copy of the game, which will rise in price to $30 at launch. Supporting the project at $25 gets you a copy of the game and every piece of DLC released for the game throughout its entire lifetime. Moving up the ladder, paying $400 gets you access to the game's launch party in either Los Angeles or New York City, while giving $15,000 means you'll be able to play basketball with Shaq at his home. Pay $25,000 and you'll get to have a two-hour dinner with Shaq.

Finally, Big Deez Productions laid out a roadmap of stretch goals that includes support for platforms like Xbox 360, PlayStation, Wii U, 3DS, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. You can see the full list of stretch goals below.