In the dark, medieval-ish world of Blood Knights, a war between humans and vampires risks global annihilation, and only two bloodsuckers can save the day. That Jeremy begins the tale a regular mortal — making him and vampiress Alysa bitter foes, even after his transformation — just sweetens this action- RPG’s pulpy story.

In co-op games, share stolen blood to heal.

Our brief hands-on time gave us a good feel for both heroes, who you can switch between at will in a single-player game. Jeremy’s sword-slashing melee strikes and deadly whirlwind attack pulverize enemies up-close, while Alysa’s twin crossbows and grenades can decimate from a distance. Both characters have a special vampiric ability that lets them levitate a nearby opponent and yank the blood right out of their body — simultaneously killing them and boosting your health.

It’s a fun move that emphasizes your monstrous nature, while powering you up for fights against humans, vampires, dragons, and werewolves. You’ll also find lots of new weapons and armor in your seven-hour adventure, and can spend XP on new attacks. We chuckled at some of our demo’s hokey dialogue and voice-overs, but given this XBLA game’s $15 price, its hack-and- suck action should be enough.

Drop your enemy off a ledge!

PUBLISHER: dtp Entertainment • DEVELOPER: Deck 13 • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in local co-op only • RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2012 • FOR FANS OF: Vampires, slaughter-fests, apocalyptic storylines